Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a hard-boiled mystery game, where you, as ex-NYPD cop Kyle Hyde, stay at a hotel under the guise of a salesperson for Red Crown. While that is true, you are also on the hunt for your missing partner Bradley. During the game play, you encounter both old and new friends and essentially dealing with everyone's problems while avoiding getting caught for sneaking.
There are several stories that all mostly tie up into one main story. Each hotel guest has their own demons to deal with and you, as the not-very-kind detective, always manage to get wrapped up in them and find ways to interrogate people (in your tough-guy way). Kyle Hyde comes off as a wounded man, but I honestly thought he was a pretty basic, straight-forward character. You know what his priorities are, every decision is intentional, and he says what he means. It is all the other characters that you constantly have to tread around.
Gameplay: You hold the DS sideways (like a book) and you can move around using the circle pad or the control pad, as well as dragging the C stick on the screen. You interact with objects, people, and doors using the on-screen buttons - it is a little weird that most doors, you have to push the door button and there are a few where you sort of glide into the room. Majority of the time, you know where you should be going, who you should be talking to, and what you should look for - the dialogue is very clear with directions. Interacting with objects is a little weird and 90% of the items that can be clicked on are just useless things (like the side table by the bed, the plant in the corner, etc.). You get to carry a number of items, but there are other items that you can't carry until you need them - thus, you will do a bit of backtracking.
Story: If you are the type that likes everything wrapped up, this isn't for you. Each hotel guest has their own issues that you deal with on top of yours and considering it takes place during the one evening/night stay, it is unrealistic to solve everything in the time frame. I felt that the story started off strong and interesting, but one a lot of details were revealed, it got a little clunky.
Characters: Honestly, most of the characters are pretty forgettable. I liked Rosa and Louie a lot, but the others... eh. shrugs
It's a good game for someone who enjoys mysteries and puzzles, but also may be new to it. After playing all the Layton games, this game was super easy to achieve. Also good for the casual gamer, it takes about 14-15 hours to complete in the first run. It appears that you can play a starred version of the story after completing it once and get new puzzles/scenes as well as getting a couple different endings. Since I had a few "game over" moments, I got the default ending - from what I understand, there is a better ending for getting no "game overs."
