Back in the early 2000s, CSI was insanely popular, as seen with almost every major city in the U.S. being represented in its own series. There were games based on the show, and they were…interesting. But now, fans of forensic science can look forward to a goofy indie game I was given to try by K148 Game Studio and JanduSoft titled FORENSIC – M.E. Protocol.
In FORENSIC – M.E. Protocol, you take on the role of a cop that’s part of the forensics team, and it’s your job to investigate the scene of suspected crimes to determine if a crime was committed or not.
Now, onto the game itself! The controls for this game will take some time to get used to, as it’s quite… unique. Unfortunately, there’s no real tutorial telling you how to use the controls, or even how to properly use some of the equipment you’re using in the game. There is a training level, but that really didn’t help much, so be prepared for some on-the-job training!
The soundtrack is shockingly chill for a game about investigating deaths; in some of the levels, the music is just soothing ambiance. I wish there were spoken dialogue when it comes to certain moments, especially while training. A massive critique I have is that some of the art in the game (photos you find on phones, pictures on IDs, missing persons profiles, etc) looks suspiciously AI.
Gameplay-wise, it’s alright. It’s a bit clumsy; the lack of a real tutorial makes using items properly difficult, which is possibly the main issue with this game, it can be fun, but if you’re willing to sit and learn how to play, as you play. It’s not bad, but it could be better. On my scale of 1-10, FORENSIC – M.E. Protocol is a 6.
FORENSIC – M.E. Protocol will be coming out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A release date has not yet been announced at the time of writing this, but I’ll assume it’s soon.
