*Note: I received a game code for the Nintendo Switch for the game for my honest review. Thank you to Stride PR and Chorus Worldwide for the game code!
Frank and Drake is an interesting experience. It's a point and click rotoscoped mystery. From the start, I was impressed with the beautiful art style as the story introduces Frank. Just walking down the street, the art really stands out and I was curious to know more about Frank and waiting for Drake to make his appearance.
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| The rotoscope art looks stunning. |
The game itself lets you know right away that each decision you make doesn't just affect the story's ending, it can also affect what layers of the story you uncover and the relationship between the two characters. It's a unique and complex choose your own adventure visual novel with six different endings. We meet Frank in the story first who is the super in an old apartment building and Frank has amnesia. The building's owner has helped Frank just live a quiet life with his cute two legged dog and helping the neighbors where he can.
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| Frank and his cute dog in their apartment. |
Things change a bit when Frank gets a note from the building's owner letting him know he's going to be getting a new roommate, Drake. This gives a cool introduction into the puzzle aspects of the game with a puzzle as Frank gets Drake's room ready before he moves in. There's no rush and you can take your time with it. The first one I felt was nice and simple to ease you into things which I like so I wasn't overwhelmed.
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| Trying out this puzzle. |
I was already invested in the story with the interesting beginning, but then it added another fascinating layer with how Frank and Drake communicate with post it notes on the fridge. Frank is the daytime character doing things during the day while Drake is nighttime and figuring things out at night. I genuinely loved them both and wanted to know more about them. How did they get there? What were these strange things happening around them? They each offered a unique perspective with their viewpoints as they worked together the best they could with their circumstances.
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| Drake walks by a really cool art mural. |
Every time I thought I had the story figured out, it would surprise me with something new and the mystery deepened. The choices you make in the story really matter because they not only affect which ending you get, they can also affect how Frank and Drake interact with the world around them and with each other. The music is great and changes with the characters and the mood of each location they explore. There are various items you can interact with that add more details to their story. The artwork and music complement each other really well which added to the overall story and gameplay.
Some of the puzzles are hit or miss where some took a few minutes for me, a couple were a bit frustrating and took a little longer because it wasn't quite obvious what to do. It didn't sour my like of the game, but I do feel that perhaps there didn't need to be that many because I wanted to keep going with the story.
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| Drake was mad at this puzzle. This one was a challenge for me. |
The game itself isn't very long. I finished the first playthrough in about four to six hours. The whole point is it's meant to be played multiple times so you can get those six endings and get more answers to the mystery you're exploring. Frank and Drake is a beautiful world full of mystery and I didn't mind playing through again to unlock those secrets. Besides, Frank and Drake are pretty good company. If you appreciate beautiful art, music, interesting stories, and puzzles in a visual novel format then Frank and Drake is worth your time.
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| Drake and Frank slowly getting to know each other. |
*Frank And Drake are available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam, Playstation, and Xbox
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