Title (EN): Urban Myth Dissolution Center
Title: (JP): Toshidensetsu Kaitai Center (都市伝説解体センター)
Genre: Adventure
Platform: PS5, Switch, PC
Developer: Hakaba Bunko
Publisher: Shueisha Games
Release date: 13 February 2025
This review does not contain any detailed spoilers.
Developed by Hakaba Bunko, an indie developer which focuses on relatively small adventure games, Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a retro-styled adventure game which follows protagonist Fukurai Azami, a new member of the titular Urban Myth Dissolution Center, as she investigates various cases which involve what seem to be paranormal occurrences related to urban legends.
The first thing that stands out when discussing the game is its extremely unique visual style: It uses a retro-style aesthetic with gorgeous pixel art but few colours, and this blends very well with the creepy atmosphere in the occult mysteries that show up in the game. It should also be noted that the game is also priced very low, at only $17.99 USD/1980 JPY. While it’s obvious that the game, as an indie product, isn’t very high budget, with no voice acting, a small cast of characters, and around 15 hours of gameplay, the price tag still feels very low for the quality of the content you get: This reviewer feels that a $30 would have been absolutely justified, and that one could argue a case for even a $40 price tag.
As previously stated, the game follows protagonist Azami, a new member of the Urban Myth Dissolution Center, something akin to a private detective firm which investigates cases that involve the occult, particularly those related to urban legends. Gameplay has the player take direct control of Azami on a 2D plane, exploring environments, talking to people, and occasionally figuring things out through answering questions or fitting keywords into blank spaces, but this is all very simplistic and linear, feeling more like an illusion of gameplay than anything else: The player simply has to perform a few actions and the game will automatically progress, and if any mistakes are made the player just gets to choose again.
The game is, at its core, a linear visual novel with a few interactive features. This is not a bad thing, however: It simply means that the game is extremely focused on its narrative. And the narrative is definitely one of the game’s strong points: The game presents the players with multiple separate cases themed after urban legends, but also manages to tie them together in the end with both a narrative and thematic thread.
A player who is excited for the urban legend/occult aspects might be left disappointed, however, as these elements are mostly left underdeveloped or underused, especially if one has experienced games such as the Hayarigami series (which had the original trilogy ported to current gen platforms in 2023). That being said, the game does include mentions or more of several Japan-specific urban legends which may be totally new to players who are not familiar with them. Unfortunately, for those familiar with classic Japanese internet horror and urban legends such as the Kotoribako 2channel story or the Akai Heya flash animation, the game’s selection of urban legends may feel uninspired, especially since fan favorite Kunekune is not even in the game, being relegated to a spinoff manga.
The individual mysteries are generally straightforward and easy to figure out long before the game itself reaches their resolutions. And the game does explore some thought-provoking themes related to human behavior and societal issues, but while the ending does deliver a surprising twist, it seems to be focused more on delivering an emotional shock than providing a satisfying resolution.
The game’s auto-save function is also plain atrocious: The player is given a single file that auto-saves frequently, and there is no way to go back to a specific spot in the story aside from a clunky option to reset the save to the start of a specific previous episode. While this is serviceable if one only plans to play the game once without ever looking back, it becomes a nightmare if one, for example, after a revelation in episode 6 wants to go back and look at specific parts of episode 2 and 4: The player can only reset the save to the start of each episode, and then has to actually play everything up to the point they want to check.
That being said, despite its flaws, Urban Myth Dissolution Center truly excels in its storytelling and atmosphere, and fantastic main characters and visuals.
The Good: Great characters, fantastic graphics, and a captivating story.
The Bad: Bad save system, does not deliver much in terms of urban legends, and a divisive ending.
Conclusion: Urban Myth Dissolution Center is a fantastic mystery game with strong storytelling, visuals, and characters. However, its urban legend elements are more of a surface-level aesthetic than a meaningful focus, and those expecting a deeper exploration of the occult may find it lacking; while the game presents itself as about occult investigations, the urban legend elements are largely just set dressing for its true thematic focus. However, that focus is handled very well – though sometimes with a heavy hand – making the game compelling for reasons beyond what its premise might suggest.
Score: 80/100
This review was written based on the Japanese version of the game and might not reflect changes made in other versions
