A three-part demo of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is coming to Nintendo Switch.
Starting August 20, players can download the episodic demo to play through the prologue and Chapter 1.
Two additional chapters will be automatically added to the demo – Chapter 2 on August 23 and Chapter 3 on August 28. Players can carry over their progress to the full version of the game when they purchase it.
“In Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, a student was found horrifically dead, his head covered with a paper bag with an eerie smiling face painted on it,” says a synopsis for the game.
“This disturbing visage bears a striking resemblance to a recurring clue in a series of unsolved murders from 18 years ago, as well as to Emio (the Smiling Man), a killer in urban legend who is said to give his victims 'a smile that lasts forever.'”
Players take on the role of an assistant private investigator at the Utsugi Detective Agency and are tasked with helping the police solve this crime.
“Along the way, examine the clues and witness statements you collect for possible connections to the gruesome events of the past,” says Nintendo.
Famicom Detective Club consists of two crime games that were originally released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System in the late 1980s.
“The Smiling Man” follows the previously released first and second parts of the series, which were re-released for Nintendo Switch.