Aviary Attorney

Aviary Attorney
Developer(s)Sketchy Logic
Publisher(s)Sketchy Logic
Vertical Reach (NS)
EngineConstruct 2
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo Switch
Release
22 December 2015
  • Windows, macOS
    • WW: 22 December 2015
    Nintendo Switch
    • WW: 30 January 2020
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Aviary Attorney is a 2015 adventure game in the style of the Ace Attorney series. The player takes the role of a defence lawyer, and must investigate crimes and then defend their clients in court.

Gameplay

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The character artwork is taken from the caricatures by J. J. Grandville.

The game is set in 1848 Paris inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, and the player takes the role of Jayjay Falcon, a defence lawyer who must defend a series of clients in court. For each case the player is given a limited number of days to explore various locations around the city of Paris, gathering clues, but also numerous red herrings. The player must then use the results of their investigation to cross examine witnesses at the trial, to try and procure a verdict of not guilty from the jury.[1]

The game is composed of a series of cases. The game makes use of public domain works, the character artwork is taken from the caricatures by J. J. Grandville, and its soundtrack includes the music of Camille Saint-Saëns.[2][3]

Development

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The game was developed by Sketchy Logic, and partly financed through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, raising £18,917 towards its development in January 2015. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in December 2015.[2]

On 30 January 2020, Portugal-based Vertical Reach published a Nintendo Switch port under the title Aviary Attorney: Definitive Edition in North America and Europe, exclusively via Nintendo eShop.[4] In November 2022, Singapore-based publisher Leoful announced they are launching the Nintendo Switch port on 15 December 2022 both digitally and physically for various Asian markets, such as Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, with Japanese and Chinese language support included.[5]

Reception

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Critical reception was generally positive, generating a score of 77/100 on reviews aggregation website Metacritic,[6] Eurogamer recommended the game, highlighting the characters as "written with poise and wit, making for laugh-out-loud moments and genuinely exciting revelations".[9] USGamer in their 3.5/5 review, described the artwork and the music as the "perfect accompaniment", but felt the game did not reach the same heights as the Ace Attorney series.[1] Hardcore Gamer panned the game, giving it 1.5/5. They cited numerous bugs in the initial release, delay in the release of the final chapter, and the brevity of the game as reasons for the low score.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bob Mackey (13 January 2016). "Aviary Attorney PC Review: Fowl Play". USGamer. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b Sketchy Logic (9 December 2014). "Aviary Attorney". Kickstarter. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  3. ^ Allison Meier (21 January 2016). "19th-Century French Caricatures Reinvented in a Game About Bird Lawyers". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Aviary Attorney: Definitive Edition for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  5. ^ Iggy (10 November 2022). "Aviary Attorney: Definitive Edition Launches December 15 On Nintendo Switch™ In Asia". Leoful's official website. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Aviary Attorney for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Aviary Attorney: Definitive Edition". Metacritic.
  8. ^ "Aviary Attorney Review". PC Gamer. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  9. ^ Johnny Chiodini (21 January 2016). "Aviary Attorney review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  10. ^ Marcus Estrada (3 January 2016). "Review: Aviary Attorney | Hardcore Gamer". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
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