The Real Face of a VTuber fully revealed on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Phoenix Wright-styled detective/courtroom mystery available now for download on Windows PC

There are two types of people in the world: those who know what a "VTuber" is, and those who don't. Fortunately, both groups are catered to in Lilien Games' newly released Phoenix Wright-styled murder mystery, The Real Face of a VTuber.

At the office of digital media company Lilien Entertainment (no relation), the CEO Mr. Chicken – who looks exactly like his namesake! – is brutally murdered. There are only six employees, all of them with keys, so one of them must be the culprit. The homicide took place while the company's popular VTuber phenom "Kuripa" was livestreaming, so whoever is behind her online computer-generated persona would have an airtight alibi. The problem is, corporate policy is never to reveal Kuripa's identity and multiple staff members claim to be the "real face" of the digital avatar. They can't all be telling the truth, so who better than prosecutor Justin Truth to investigate thoroughly, deduce the killer, then secure a conviction in court – after he figures out just what a VTuber is, that is. To succeed, players must "gather evidence, uncover testimony contradictions, challenge alibis, and outthink every witness in tense battles of logic and law," using some "top-notch social media sleuthing skills" along the way. 

It may star a prosecutor instead of a defense lawyer, but The Real Face of a VTuber is unabashedly inspired by Capcom's Ace Attorney series. Presented as a colourful hand-drawn visual novel with a "cute aesthetic," the game involves both an investigation phase, in which you can "summon suspects ... for questioning" in pursuit of new leads and lies, and the courtroom phase, where you must use "precise questioning [to] guide friendly witnesses [and] present evidence and point out inconsistencies in testimonies, undermining the credibility of hostile witnesses." The rules of law are important, however, so you'll need to "follow proper procedure" during the trial, avoiding leading the witness, speculation, hearsay, bad faith assumptions and irrelevance.

Younger players familiar with the world of online influencers should feel right at home, of course, but if your first thought of a game about a VTuber is "Kids like weird stuff these days," then rest assured that the protagonist here says this very thing himself. At no point does the game take itself too seriously, as "each suspect has their own colorful personality, and may occasionally get a little ridiculous." However, the case itself promises to be complex, a "hardcore, twisty whodunnit" that requires keen observation and logic, strategic planning and internet skills to scour the "full-fledged social media investigation system" created specifically for this game. If you need help, your assistant Emily can provide some, but ultimately it's up to you to "choose who to prosecute and shape how the story and truth unfold," leading to multiple possible endings. 

For those with no objections, you can get started right away, as The Real Face of a VTuber has launched on Steam. If you'd prefer to hold it a moment to test it out first, that's possible too via the playable demo also available for Windows PC.