Customer Ratings & Reviews

Emio The Smiling Man sets a new benchmark for the Famicom Detective Club series with its outstanding animation and emotionally charged narrative. The game offers high-quality visuals, tackles mature themes with depth, and features streamlined gameplay with fully voiced recaps. The multi-protagonist perspective enriches the story, while the hidden epilogue and Studio MAPPA’s OVA reward dedicated players. Though its mature themes and complexity may not appeal to everyone, and some content might be missed, the game is a must-play for visual novel and mystery fans, thanks to its compelling story and exceptional voice acting.

I cant believe this game left a huge impression on me. I have been curious about this series but with the release of Emio, i had to buy it. Dont regret a single thing. I havent played a visual novel, so i didnt really think i would like it. Its more than that, its a detective adventure game. The characters are amazing and the story gets dark. Stay until the end, then keep going. This series deserves some more love and i am here to spread that.

While I enjoyed my time with the game, with its decent mystery that had me asking plenty of questions and made me feel very much involved in the investigation, which a fan of detective fiction would want, I found myself frustrated at a lot of times. Now, those familiar with the Famicom Detective Club franchise would say that this is par for the course, as the original two games had many of the same frustrations, but those frustrations usually came from having to brute force the game. Here, however, things are far more frustrating because there are times where you have blanks that you fill. These boxes that you fill in do bring something new to the table, but there are times when you either must put in things in a particular way, like saying the victim’s cause of death was suicide and not “a suicide” or you have to put in the same answer again after having entered or selected it. This really hurt my enjoyment while playing it, especially because I have not had to do this in the other two games. Still, the story was good enough that I would recommend it, even though it is frustrating in ways it should not be.

I am still running through the game, but I find the story to be engaging 75% in and will see this to the end. Fun cast of characters, neat point and click elements, and the music stays in my head after I close the game. Recommend if you are a fan of visual novels

We loved the first two games, and so far, this one is a worthy follow up. We love supporting games like this. It’s still a little clunky and slow to get started, but my wife and I love playing through it.

Compeling story! Some dated mechanics but thr story made up for it

Took me some time to really get invested in this narrative. But when I did I found a tragic and touching mystery with a satisfying conclusion. A great game for anyone who loves Visual Novels

Emio - The Smiling Man has cemented itself as one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games and one of my favorite video games ever. From the ever twisting mystery of who Emio really is, to the great writing and portrayal of the many characters you meet, this game makes for an excellent package. The finale is especially harrowing and had my jaw on the floor.

Great game. Definitely a little different but in a good way. Must play if you’re a fan of detective games.

This game is pretty disturbing for a Nintendo game, which is kind of surprising. Hopefully one day they get around to renewing eternal darkness license to the point that they remastered it or something in that effect.

This game is alright. The gameplay is really slow but it has a really interesting story with a big twist at the end. I'd get it if it's on sale and you dont have anything else to play. I had a good experience buying through Best Buy. In store pick up was quick and simple.

I did play the demo and it was good but I mainly bought it for collecting purpose because this game seems to be a little hard to find.

Coming back at full force from the days of the Famicom, this region locked series roars back to full international, AAA prominence asking the question "What if Heavy Rain didn't suck?" Beautifully animated with the type of production value you can only get from a master craftsmen.

When the remakes of the original two came out I had the feeling that they were testing waters for a new one and I'm glad it happened, it was an amazing experience full of mystery

Reminds me of Phoenix Wright but without the stress of a Game Over. Good story, beautiful graphics. I hope Nintendo brings more of these over.

Its a fun crime visual novel with nice artwork. Worth checking out if that’s something you’d enjoy.

The most eerie and terrifying investigation visual novel published from Nintendo.

I had no idea this was voice acted in japanese only with english subtitles. The actions also felt repetitive within an hour, ask question, follow up, observe speaker etc.

Very fun game with shocking suspense a surprise I did not see coming.

Must have for any fans of mystery and visual novels!