Night Call

 Xbox One
Night Call Image
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
5.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 12 Ratings

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  • Summary: A mysterious serial killer stalks the streets of modern-day Paris. The body count rises, and the police are no closer to catching the culprit. You are a taxi driver and survivor to the killer's most recent attacks, having barely escaped with your life. You have seven nights to help find theA mysterious serial killer stalks the streets of modern-day Paris. The body count rises, and the police are no closer to catching the culprit. You are a taxi driver and survivor to the killer's most recent attacks, having barely escaped with your life. You have seven nights to help find the killer, or the police will pin it on you. These next few shifts will be far from ordinary or safe...

    Night Call is a non-linear, narrative-driven noire investigation game. You are no detective, but you do have a gift. Around you, people feel more at ease. They talk. They share their thoughts, their emotions, their stories... their secrets. To passengers, you are more than just a driver; you are also a friend, a confidant, a shrink. A voyeur catching a glimpse under the masked but very real lives throughout the City of Light. And you'll need to play these roles well if you want to catch the killer.

    Use the limited time you have available each night to gather clues while earning money to pay your bills. Drive passengers to their destinations, hear their stories and choose your responses carefully -- some are just regular people with a tale to tell, while others might reveal a clue that's key to your investigation. Follow the right leads to uncover new info about the suspects, and don't forget to make enough money to buy gas and pay your bills.

    Can you solve the mystery before it's too late? Better hurry -- both the clock and the meter are running...    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. TheXboxHub
    Jul 5, 2020
    80
    If you love the idea of spontaneously chatting with fascinating strangers, then Night Call will most certainly give you a long list of memorable characters.
  2. GameSpew
    Jul 7, 2020
    70
    As a concept, Night Call is fantastic; a narrative noir where you play as a cab driver on the dark streets of Paris is something that many people will want to pick up and give a try – and they definitely should. But I’m not sure how many people will be able to really stick with it and master it. As intriguing as its cases are, after you’ve played a few they all blend together, making it even harder to figure out what you’re meant to be doing. Give Night Call a try if you’re looking for a challenging narrative game about crime and investigation. But if you’re wanting an easy-going mystery, you won’t find it here.
  3. Metro GameCentral
    Jul 16, 2020
    70
    A stylishly presented, adult-themed adventure that explores the night life of Paris in thought-provoking but agreeably quirky detail.
  4. Generación Xbox
    Jul 29, 2019
    68
    Night Call is an interesting and quirky game hold back by its lack of depth and complex narrative threads. A decent and original game nevertheless.
  5. XboxAddict
    Jul 16, 2020
    65
    While Night Call may be perceived as a simple visual novel by most, and it is at its core, it’s not only compelling but has a unique and interesting backdrop that all comes together well. While it takes a case or two to really get the hang of the best way to play and spend your time and money, it’s a distinctive experience that I’ve glad to have played, even if the gameplay becomes repetitive over time. With dozens of characters to interact with and many branching dialogue trees, there’s plenty to talk about, even if it’s just a few minutes with the stranger in the back seat.
  6. Xbox Tavern
    Jul 24, 2020
    51
    Night Call for me is a really tough game to play through as I prefer more – or even some – action. It should appeal to those who like gritty novels and like to play as a detective. For those who can read between the lines and use clues to solve mysteries, it may be better suited. The game plays more as just reading the book with the occasional dash of strategy. But it does have some interesting stories and themes and should appeal to the right audience.
  7. XBLA Fans
    Jun 30, 2020
    40
    If you want to play an interactive book then you will probably like this. There just isn’t enough changing dialogue to really keep you engaged with repeat passengers even though a few are designed to have second pickups. You can refuse a passenger if you realize they are the same, but then you just lost gas money and precious time. I will probably play through the other missions just to do them, but I’m not entirely excited to do so.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. Am-I-A-Martian
    Dec 6, 2020
    9
    I enjoyed this game a lot! It's moody, delicate and challenging.

    The overall tone is very well done. Sometimes, you have encounters with    I enjoyed this game a lot! It's moody, delicate and challenging.

    The overall tone is very well done. Sometimes, you have encounters with strangers that fill your spirit. Other times, you just want them to leave your car immediately. You can tell the developers put in a lot of effort to make the conversations interesting and, for the most part, it really paid off. Also, as someone who has been in Paris myself, the parisian spirit is very well represented in the story.

    As for the investigative part, I loved it. The three cases are instigating and, it takes a real detective spirit to figure out who is the guilty suspect. You have to pay a lot of attention to the world around you and search for as many clues as you can. It's challenging, but not to the point that it's super unfair.

    Very fun. Would recommend it to anyone who like detective media and intriguing stories.    … Expand
  2. Xbox_Alive
    Jul 17, 2020
    8
    Night call... Now let me start off by saying the game style I expected was no where what i got but the game was only that much better for it.Night call... Now let me start off by saying the game style I expected was no where what i got but the game was only that much better for it. Basically you are a taxi driver bent on finding the killer who tried to kill you before your the one pegged for the killer. It requires you to balance the daily life of a taxi driver by making you choose your dialect and each one unlocks a different path with clues. I was captivated by the storylines put into the main characters and then the characters on the side that normally are pointless. But I found myself immersed in their story and comforting and learning more. Plus you had to maintain gas and expenditures. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and it comes with various different game styles allowing a different experience each time. I'm happy ingot to try this game gives me hope for other games amongst this genre. My only regret is you didnt control driving but I understand it would have taken away from the overall atmosphere and focus on the story of the game. Solid game over all for fans of the genre.… Expand
  4. PedroNeves28
    Apr 21, 2021
    7
    A moody, noir game, that it's really like reading a good short "who donne it" book. But you get to ask the questions and choose the suspects.A moody, noir game, that it's really like reading a good short "who donne it" book. But you get to ask the questions and choose the suspects. Quite enjoyed the game, a nice surprise from GamePass.… Expand
  5. SenorKoquonfaes
    Aug 13, 2020
    6
    Night Call is a narrative, investigative game that sees you play as Houssine, a Parisian cab driver who works the night shift. Throughout theNight Call is a narrative, investigative game that sees you play as Houssine, a Parisian cab driver who works the night shift. Throughout the game, you learn that Houssine has been haunted by a murky past and a criminal record who has been afforded a second chance at life. You’re carrying out your nightly routine when a serial killer murders your passenger and puts Houssine in a coma for a month. You awake from your coma and you’re eventually back on the job. Not long after that a cop by the name of Busset enters your cab and effectively blackmails you into digging up clues in regards to her various suspects in the murder case. Because of Houssine’s shady and criminal past, Busset tells Houssine that he’ll go jail for the crime if he refuses to work with her.

    There are three cases to choose from and the investigation for each of them last 7 nights. Each case’s core gameplay loop is the same: ferrying passengers to their destinations all across Paris, listen to their stories, get paid, dig up clues for your case and hopefully accuse the right suspect. When your shift is over, you go back to your apartment to parse through information and clues pertaining to the case. I rather enjoyed the duality that Night Call presents here: working a fairly mundane and unspectacular job as a cab driver in contrast to the information-heavy, problem-solving and no doubt stressful job as a private investigator where it’s your ass on the line if you **** this up.

    The interactions and storytelling from various cab patrons is where Night Call gets kind of interesting. Passengers really seem to open up to you, talking about their relationship issues, their life’s stories and various personal experiences, among others. Some stories/characters are memorable, just a name a few: there’s one passenger who tells a story about how he was so startled by a flock of birds in his backyard that he ran back inside and slammed the sliding door shut, not realizing that his family’s dog was sticking it’s neck out through the open door and was effectively decapitated. This is the sort of death sequence I’d expect out of a Final Destination movie, so seeing something like that pop up here was kind of jarring and morbidly ridiculous. You also get a passenger that is a black cat that has seemingly run away from home. Not only does is it give you a destination, it leaves a decent tip for you as well. Lastly, there’s this one passenger that’s recently undergone some form of brain surgery to merge his brain with a computer chip that allowed him to not only obtain information on a bystander you both drove past, but also hack an ATM machine that allowed him to pay his fare. There are also some surreal interactions that involves a ghost from a bygone era of Paris and a time traveller warning you about serious events in the future.

    There are dialogue choices with each passenger interaction and while some of dialogue can culminate into grabbing achievements, most of them don’t seem to be of much consequence in terms of steering the direction of the story one way or the other from it’s mostly pre-design ending. Some passenger interactions will grant you a clue to help with your investigation as indicated by a file folder notification that reads “New Clue available in your room”. You can also drive to various investigation points marked with a eye ball icon on the map which provide you with important information and more story related content.

    Night Call also has some resource management mechanics as well. You have to make sure that you don’t run out of gas for your cab or run out of money. If you run out of money, you fail the investigation. I understand the hint of realism the developers might’ve been going for here as well as adding in some other form of difficulty not related to the investigations, but in practice this resource management loop was a non-factor. I’m convinced you have to actively **** yourself over here if you want fail an investigation this way.

    When your shift is over, you head back to your apartment to sort out information you’ve collected. The suspects and any clues are all displayed on a cork board with certain clues being connected. Unfortunately, for an investigative, detective style game, you’re not in control of which clues and information get connected to which suspect; the game does all of that for you. This is unfortunate since it does remove a layer of difficulty and control for the player and is kind of immersion-breaking for me.

    Overall, I found Night Call excelled at being more of a visual novel than an investigative game. The stories told are memorable, while the investigation and detective mechanics are fairly bare bones and come up short in their overall execution. However, I’m willing to take a chance on an indie game with an interesting premise, even if the execution is flawed in some aspects.    … Expand
  6. Xbluannax
    Nov 21, 2021
    6
    Very short game set in dark Paris and the game is all dialogue and in black and white. Enjoyed playing it.but could have been better
  7. jyd1626
    Jun 24, 2021
    6
    This game shows an interesting idea which was not developed un the best Way possible, los potential in a average title
  8. Broyax
    Aug 30, 2020
    0
    Oh un étron indé français qui se passe à Paris la nuit ! ça doit être Joe le taxi qui conduit des cons qui racontent leur vie à chaque courseOh un étron indé français qui se passe à Paris la nuit ! ça doit être Joe le taxi qui conduit des cons qui racontent leur vie à chaque course ! Mais aucune voix ici, seulement du texte et seulement du blabla assommant à la fois de bêtise, de déjà vu et de clichés à dormir debout avec par dessus le marché de la prétention à revendre parce que c'est comme ça en France : ça pète plus haut que son cul dès que ça vient de démouler un étron !

    Bref, on se fait chier aussi sec dans cette daube indé avec sa musique d'ascenseur, on dirait un jeu flash dont même un vieux smartphone ne voudrait pas, même pas pour se torcher le cul. Si les smartphones pouvaient se torcher le cul bien sûr mais ça viendra... un jour ou l'autre. Pour se la jouer auteur trop intelligent, ce pseudo-jeu est tout en noir et blanc et aussi navrant que possible, graphiquement parlant...

    On enquête soit-disant sur un tueur en série mais on tombe de sommeil bien avant... tu parles d'une "enquête" ! et dire qu'ils vendent ça 20 balles, on croit rêver... y en a vraiment qui doutent de rien, putain.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2020

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