On Your Tail review

On Your Tail is a game that has plenty of appeal, at least from the outside. It has a charming aesthetic in its unusual mix of anthropomorphic animals and a pastel-colored coastal town. There’s the promise, too, of exploring this lovely-looking piece of Italy and having adventures with its assortment of inhabitants. Some players might be drawn in by the uniqueness of layering a detective story on top, though for others this will be a distraction from the life simulation on offer. It’s a melding of ideas that’s definitely intriguing, yet the premise rings alarm bells over how such a mixture can be achieved. The end result is something compelling and shows the building blocks of greatness – but does nothing to contradict those doubts.

The story begins with the promise of a meaningful adventure. Lead character Diana is a student author who has great ambition but, in the eyes of her professor, a lack of real-life experience. By happenstance, however, she discovers that her grandmother had a link to a coastal town called Borgo Marina, and decides to begin her journey of self and life discovery by making a visit herself. Heading to this town is exciting, given that there are attractive sights to be seen on the way, and a wistful atmosphere that suggests a beautiful, unforgettable and – as the marketing promises – cozy experience.

It’s a couple of hours before there’s an opportunity for mini-games, and plenty of attention has been paid to them. There’s fishing, a bag-sorting puzzle game, an Overcooked-style table-waiting challenge, and more. It’s a good variety and they are largely enjoyable to play, with the main frustration being that some of them are too short. It would be more rewarding if you could sink more time into the mini-games, because unfortunately they are the aspect of play that ultimately proves the most complete.

Art design is obviously a central, positive part of the experience, and includes a massive array of colorfully created characters. One of the most interesting elements early on is the care that has been lavished upon Diana, with her emotions displayed by a range of animations and, in the style of a visual novel, accompanying static images. Each of the characters you encounter has their own unique look and personality, and this is fun to discover. The disappointment is that this is all surface level, and few of even the main cast have personalities that go beyond archetypes.

Superficial personalities would be less of an issue if the game’s tone were better pitched. It flits around too much because of its need to be a mystery, sometimes feeling like a bright, colorful, and silly children’s adventure, and at others stumbling into dark subject matter of loss and violence. And the cozy element of becoming acquainted with the characters is largely placed to the side. One of the options of getting to know them is taking on various activities around the town, but with little reward in terms of anything new or any meaningful connections. Such a scattershot approach to Borgo Marina makes it impossible to become immersed, and after twenty hours there’s no sense of it being a second life – or even telling a fun tale.

The story needed to be much tighter, not just to make the characters feel alive, but also to make the detecting worthwhile. Coming across these parts of the game was an unwelcome interruption, and the impatience caused by having to unpick mysteries in quick succession may have stopped me playing if I wasn’t writing a review. Understanding a situation means putting a number of cards in the right order to show how an event happened, but there’s not a lot of logic or investigation for the player. Instead you’re often forced to use clue cards or see if the failure screen can guide you, not leaving room for intelligence or discovery. Diana might be something of a detective but there’s little to no room for the player to feel like one.

Interrogation is the only element of detecting that actually is engaging, which is something of a shame, given it’s much more simplistic. The mysteries themselves have interesting cardboard cutout visuals, though they lose their appeal because of how frequently you’re forced to repeat watching potential outcomes unfold. Interrogations are simply about matching facts with statements to reveal more of each, eventually working your way to the truth. There is the appeal of seeing what works and keeping track of it until success is achieved, largely because it seems less obtuse. It doesn’t, however, leave the player feeling part of the world while in the process of discovering its secrets – but instead like someone forced to do a bit of light puzzling until the fun parts of the game return. 

The experience of wandering around the streets of Borgo Marina, accompanied by a sometimes stunningly serene musical score, is worth having. I don’t regret spending time in the world of On Your Tail, and at a couple of moments I felt a pleasing sense of nostalgia. That the developer (Memorable Games) apparently has more planned for this town is good news, as it’s a world that I really wanted to be engaged in throughout. There isn’t a sense in this particular approach of an inspiring, unforgettable adventure – but there’s enough potential that it’s worth diving in and getting excited for next time.