D-lightful

D4 starts off rather grounded. The game's opening narration describes the tale as a "story of a man with a very strange fate." A man whose wife was murdered, and is tirelessly searching for her killer.

Then a cat girl named Amanda runs into your apartment, spits a mouse into your mouth, and you puke.

D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (Xbox One)

Developer: Access Games

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Released: September 19, 2014 (Prologue and first two episodes) / TBA (additional episodes)

MSRP: $14.99

[Editor's note: there will be no major story spoilers present for the episodes reviewed here.]



David Young is the hero of D4, and the mystery of his murdered wife is the focal point. Her last words linger in his mind since that moment -- "Look for D." Is D a location? A person?David's obsession with the event drives him off the police force and onto his own investigation. Oh, and one small note -- a bullet that went through his head as a result of that night granted him the power to go back to the past using items called "momentos," through a process called "diving." Yep, this isn't your typical noir thriller -- this is by Swery65, the famed developer best known for directing Deadly Premonition.

It's an adventure game, and fans of the genre will immediately pick up the simplistic control scheme. There's a cursor on screen, which can be used to investigate or interact with the environment. D4 supports Kinect gestures, but I felt completely comfortable using a controller the entire time (the analog stick controls the cursor