Review: On Your Tail is a Vacation Worth Taking

One of the big pros of modern gaming coming from so many different voices is that you get to see such a wide view of the world and various cultures in various ways, be it battling against mythological beings, reliving historical events and more. But sometimes maybe all you want is a little vacation of sorts, a way to virtually travel to a new area and experience a part of the world that you might not normally be able to travel to. And with On Your Tail, the Italy-based Memorable Games invites you to take a trip to quaint little seaside town...one with a mystery to solve, but a quaint town nonetheless. But is this tour of a little bit of Italy worth your time?

The game centers around Diana, an aspiring writer in Turin who has sadly just had her latest work shot down out of a competition. Realizing that she needs a vacation and looking for some sort of inspiration, she decides to head to small town known as Borgo Marina, which seems to be excited to finally see a new visitor after so long. But after arriving, Diana quickly learns of some thievery going on, seemingly being committed by some sort of masked phantom. Now Diana has to play detective and use her analysis skills to figure out what's going on and even uncover some of Borgo Marina's secrets in the process...all while still trying to relax.

An Italian Getaway

On Your Tail starts off after a little prologue and tutorial, as Diana arrives in Borgo Marina and almost immediately gets caught up in solving some initial mysteries. It starts out simple, gathering clues either by talking to those around the crime scenes or hunting for changes by using her chronolens to view into the past (which amusingly, is just treated as some sort of casual device whose time powers are apparently no big deal to Diana or anyone else). Once all the clues are found, the view switches to that of a diorama in the style of a board game where Diana uses cards to act things out and figure out the proper order in which things have happened in order to recreate the crime. Simple, easy to figure out, and all with a unique presentation.

Afterward, it becomes clear that Diana has to not just find a place to stay while in Borgo Marina, but also a way to earn money. So you learn about different ways to do so, which can vary from mini-games such as serving food as a waitress to working at a gelato restaurant and honing the perfect flavors, or something more direct like delivering mail around town. Frankly, this writer felt that the mail delivery was the best job, mainly because it easily highlights On Your Tail's biggest strengths as you traverse each street, knock on doors, and get to know some of the one hundred various villagers in the game. All of them are quite adorable and drawn in an attractive style, and even those with bit parts still get to showcase a good amount of personality.

The other big strength that comes from this is Borgo Marina itself, which is quite the colorful might to behold, with the Memorable Games perfectly capturing a small Italian town with winding streets, scenic hills and vistas, and signs of life in every corner. And as you explore the town, you begin to discover more to do, such as fishing, which lets you earn more money and gives you something to collect. You can also hunt for hidden constellations, compete in photography, engage in marble races with surprisingly intricate courses and a whole lot more.

And on top of that, On Your Tail even gives you friends with relationship mechanics to work with, where you can have them follow you around and join in on your activities. You can go swimming with them, play games, watch movies, cook dishes for them and much more. The mini-games in general are nice, fun and well-executed, same for one or two exceptions (the controls in the cooking segments never quite clicked for me), and again, the characters you can make friends with are an enjoyable lot, and you'll want to find ways to spend more time with them. But after spending some time with them and engaging in some other activities, one question comes to mind...wasn't there a mystery you were supposed to be solving?

Oh, Right, The Crimes...

Yes, On Your Tail is sort of a life sim/adventure game hybrid, but much like Mineko's Night Market (which oddly came from the same publisher, Humble Games), it has trouble trying to balance its life sim mechanics with the actual narrative. And to be fair, engaging in the life sim elements is sort of a major point, as Diana is looking for new experiences to help out, and they remain optional for the most part, but On Your Tail clearly favors those bits in favor of the driving story. And even when you do focus on the story, it feels it tries to make sure that you engage with the town maybe a bit too much.

To bring up an example: at one point, Diana has to explore an abandoned villa as part of an investigation. So you have to walk all the way back to the entrance of Borgo Marina (there sadly seems to be no fast travel) so that you can get on Diana's motor scooter to head there. When you get to villa, you're greeted with a locked gate, the only thing to interact with, and Diana realizes she needs to open it. Her solution? Have Chea, the mechanic, whip up a skeleton key device that was established earlier. So now you have to head back to Borgo Marina, then go all the way to Chea's workshop -- which is on the other side of the town, no less -- only for her to tell you that it'll take a day to rig one up. So then you head back to Diana's room to sleep and advance things, except when you wake up, the game lets you know that new friend activities are available, tempting you with doing those instead...

Yes, unfortunately, a lot of On Your Tail involves back-and-forth travel, trying to see if there's something you want to do in between, like an amusement park ride that constantly sends you through the gift shops. It can get aggravating after a while, especially if you're trying to focus on the mystery so you can see just where this whole thing with a masked thief is going. But do you know what the most aggravating thing is? In the end, all life sim elements honestly feel a lot more satisfying than the actual mystery that you're trying to progress.

The Mystery of the Akward Mystery Elements

For the record, that isn't a knock against the life sim stuff, which is genuinely well-done, especially when combined with such an endearing cast of characters. But the gameplay for the mystery segments begins to fall flat after a while. Collecting clues just starts to boil down to playing a game of "spot the difference" with the chronolens, and the board game segments start to rely way too much on trial-and-error gameplay in order to learn things, with only one correct order of cards to choose, no matter how much you have a grasp on what the final answer or plot-relevant element basically is. It's not like something like Phoenix Wright where you can just choose a different piece of evidence if you guess wrongly. In On Your Tail, the only option is to start over.

It also doesn't help that the chronolens basically becomes Diana's only means of investigation, and only through trial and error do you learn crucial details that the game doesn't seem to show you. In one investigation, Diana was trying to solve a mystery concerning who may have broken into someone's cellar. During the deduction when playing the cards, we're told that the thief apparently moved a rug to paint a ritual symbol on the ground, then move it back. But the chronolens part never suggested anything about such a symbol, and even before, when Diana learns the rug was moved, she never moves it again to see the symbol. Basically, it feels like the mystery elements cheat a bit by withholding what should be essential information. At least the wholly card-based interrogation segments fare better and are way more logical...but there are only four of them in total.

As for the actual story at the center of the mystery, it's fine and well-told, even it has a plot twist that's blatantly obvious (at least one line of dialogue had me wondering how Diana didn't notice such a massive red flag). But really, On Your Tail arguably focuses more on the lives of the inhabitants of Borgo Marina and their individual stories, small or large, and it says a lot that this writer wanted to find every single inhabitant and talk to them to learn more (I still haven't as of the time of writing, even with the story finished). And if what you want is merely a little sandbox to spend time in, with a lot of fun characters and a lot to do, then this is still an easy game to recommend.

Closing Comments:

On Your Tail can be a bit rocky at times, with the game sometimes struggling to balance both its life sim and detective elements, not helped by some awkward gameplay segments surrounding the core mystery. Still, thanks to a strong and lovable cast of characters and a gorgeous little town filled with a lot of fun stuff to do, there's a ton here to enjoy, especially for those looking for something more cozy to chill out with. Indeed, it's a nice little vacation worth taking.