Game Review: The Last Case of Benedict Fox (Xbox Series X)

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is an action-adventure video game developed by Plot Twist and published by Rouge Games. It released in 2023 and at the time of writing, is available via the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. In this Lovecraftian inspired Metroidvania you take on the last case of Benedict Fox. You’ll dive into a twisted world of secret organizations, forbidden rituals, and cold-blooded murders. You must explore the memories of deceased victims as you search for clues and fight demons.

The plot of the game sees you descending into a limbo of decaying memories as Benedict Fox, a self-proclaimed detective bound to his demon companion. Benedict must use that unholy bond to explore the minds of the recently deceased in search of clues. All the while, you’ll you uncover the mysteries of a massive, decrepit mansion — the site to a young couple’s grisly murder, and the disappearance of their child.

The Last Case of Benedict Fox is a mixed bag of a game. Firstly, as a fan of Lovecraft, the gothic aesthetic of this was right up my street. The world is wonderfully detailed with each new background/foreground more stunning than the last. There are short comings that I’m going to go into detail on shortly but the artsyle  alone makes this worth checking out. With all of its faults, the art direction is certainly not one of them. Well, other than maybe the character models which are pretty simplistic.

Traversing the world is fun with the abilities at hand. I’m a sucker for these types of games. If you’re not a fan of this genre than you’ll know what to expect and this won’t change any minds. I found that the game did a good job of giving you additional abilities that will get you so far while leaving plenty to discover when you’re given a new way of doing so.

I found the story to be interesting. However, do make sure you’re paying close attention as the narrative isn’t delivered in the most coherent way. I would be lying to you if I said that I was completely sure what the hell was going on half the time.

The puzzles can be a serious headache and the game doesn’t do the best job of explaining what you need to do. There’s certainly logic to them but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. I’m certain these tricky enigmas will be an aspect that will be a huge turn off for some. I would rather not have to look up guides online for solutions, I don’t know about you. To be fair, the answers are there if you’re willing to look and think hard enough. However, there were times that I just wasn’t feeling like it.

There were plenty of sections when knowing where to go next or what my objective was supposed to be felt very unclear. Thankfully, the game has a good map but how detailed it is will depend on whether you wish to tamper with the accessibility settings or not. Luckily, the option is there to make many of these issues less of a challenge so I appreciated that option.

The voice acting is solid and well performed. I definitely felt a certain level of intrigue towards the characters. However, I never understood who any of them really were. I don’t know if I missed something somewhere, wasn’t paying enough attention or what but the development seemed lacking. Additionally, the sound design and effects are top notch. That combined with the visual style adds a lot of cool atmosphere to proceedings.

Now, let’s talk about the most criticised aspect of The Last Case of Benedict Fox, the dreaded combat. Yeah, the combat is pretty damn basic and feels cumbersome due to the static nature of Benedict’s movements. I didn’t quite hate it like some but it’s just incredibly simplistic and more of an annoyance to do than enjoyable or particularly challenging.