Emio: The Smiling Man – Famicom Detective Club is a visual novel adventure developed by Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 7 and released for Nintendo Switch in 2024. The game continues the story of the Utsugi Detective Agency, bringing back familiar characters from the series alongside series veteran Ayumi Tachibana, who becomes playable for the first time in franchise history during select portions of the game. Players control this investigative duo as they work through a cast of characters with distinct personalities and hidden histories, attempting to separate the harmless from those concealing critical information. Gameplay involves asking questions, consulting accumulated notes, and drawing connections between gathered evidence to reach accurate conclusions. The emphasis is on careful observation and logical deduction rather than action, with the unfolding narrative driven by how thoroughly the player engages with the people and leads encountered throughout the investigation.
A student has been found dead! His head was covered with a paper bag with an eerie smiling face drawn on it—much like the victims of Emio, the Smiling Man—a killer of urban legend who is said to place such a bag over his victims’ heads. As an assistant private investigator, you are tasked with helping police solve this crime, which is reminiscent of a series of unsolved murders from 18 years ago. Has a serial killer returned, or is this the work of a copycat? Are these crimes inspired by the Smiling Man story, or the origin of it? Discover the answers to these questions and more as a member of the Utsugi Detective Agency in this intense story of suspicion, isolation, and fragility.
