Game Review: Sol Dorado Heist

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox One, XBox Series XS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

We review a lot of visual novels here at A-to-J, and we're big fans of smaller titles that might otherwise be totally off our radars if not showing up for us to review. Sol Dorado Heist is exactly that type of game. It's a mystery-themed visual novel that first released on Steam way back in 2021, and set to arrive on consoles soon by way of publisher Sometimes You. We're going to be taking a look at it on the Nintendo Switch today, though I'm sure it'll be the same across all versions. This is probably going to be a quick one, so let’s just dive right in!

In the annals of video game history, there is one trope that rules them all. I'm of course talking about the main character having amnesia, a plot device that sets up this games opening. Sol Dorado Heist places you into the shoes of one Alex Thorn, a girl who wakes up in a hotel room with very little idea as to how she got there. The last thing she remembers is robbing a casino with someone else, but then nothing until waking up in the hotel room. It doesn't take long for the breadcrumb trail to reveal itself, as she is confronted by a detective as soon as she enters the hotel lobby. This detective, named Drake Carrigan, questions Alex regarding a series of casino robberies that she was conveniently near. These heists are all linked to a perpetrator known as the "Silent Ace", and it looks like the titular casino Sol Dorado may be next. Though Carrigan doesn't think of Alex as a suspect, his line of questions eventually turns to an information dump that bring Alex to the Sol Dorado Casino. She may not know exactly who she is, but maybe this Silent Ace does. The problem lies with finding out exactly who they are. And so her investigation begins.

As far as plots go, Sol Dorado Heist has one that does a good job keeping players invested. It takes a while to pick up steam, but the character interactions along the way more than make up for it. Since this is a mystery story at heart, your job is to find out who the Silent Ace may be. Is it struggling comedian Bennie Hart? Popular magician Jack Viper? Sol Dorado owner Rebecca Mendoza? Or any of the other characters Alex meets. There's even a mysterious figure whose very presence comes with the potential threat of violence. It is up to the player to choose who they're going to side with, and who they're going to throw under the bus, but it's done in a standard visual novel way. By this I mean it's a simple matter of choices made, rather than Ace Attorney-style dramatics. Though that would've been fun, this is a low-key visual novel that tells its story in three brisk chapters. Its twists may be somewhat predictable, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless. I never once felt bored by way of the plot, and I came to actually care about what the characters were going through. Your time with them is rather brief, but it's telling that even supporting characters like a waitress and a bartender, who only share a handful of scenes with Alex, can be just as interesting as the main cast. I'll circle back around to the story at the end, but so far, so good.

One doesn't go into visual novels expecting much in the way of gameplay, though Sol Dorado Heist does have more branching paths than you'd expect to find in a game of its size. Most of the choices just lead to brief optional scenes, but several of them steer the plot in one direction or the other. Some of these choices also take you to scenes that unlock CGs, but the shifts in the plot are more important. Without giving away what they are, the game features four endings that are quite different from one another. It can be hard to foresee where a choice will take you, but you can assume that being nice to certain characters will give you an ending that involves them. The finer details of the plot are only revealed to those who see all of the endings, but the game is brief enough so that repeated playthroughs are a breeze. There's also a skip option that you can set to "read" so you only see the new dialogue on subsequent playthroughs. This is nothing unique as far as the genre goes, but the endings are worth seeing in their entirety.

With plot and gameplay covered, let's move on to presentation. Put simply, I found the visuals of Sol Dorado Heist to be a bit hit and miss. Though the art isn't always the best, and there are some inconsistencies in character designs from their standard models to how they look in CGs, I found everything to be cool even at its worst. Some characters end up looking better than others, but that's a matter of preference. The backgrounds are all neat as well, and there are a surprising amount of locations for a game as short as this one is. I even think the art style itself is good, though it has one big issue. My only true complaint with the game's visuals has to do with how the characters emote during dialogue. I'm all for characters looking surprised, scared, or happy during scenes, but these characters literally jump from one emotion to the next with every line. This is most annoying with Alex herself, as she gesticulates wildly every single time she speaks. It's something I managed to get used to, but it stood out to me as odd right from the get-go. If only the developers had taken it easy with the characters' mood swings, I'd have given the graphics a better rating, but I guess it is what it is.

If there's one aspect of Sol Dorado Heist that is the most disappointing, it would have to be the sound. Keep in mind that I don't think it's bad by any means, but it seems like nothing was done to make it actually good either. The music all sounds like it came from a stock sound library, though I will admit that the choices made are pretty good. This is a game that goes for music that is meant to exist in the background, and that wouldn't be so bad if there was more for players to listen to. I personally wasn't expecting this game to be fully voiced, but I was excited to see that there was a slider labelled "Voice" in the sound menu. I turned it all the way up, and hoped for the best. I'm not sure if that slider was left in as a mistake, or if the developers wanted to give me the ol' bait-and-switch, but this game is as silent as can be. I can live with no voice acting, but this game just goes for minimalism in the sound department. I really wish that visual novel makers would include some sort of typing sound for their games if they're not voiced, as going through over an hour of dialogue with only the most basic of music can sometimes feel like a chore. It was not a deal breaker by any means, but I ended up lowering the volume on later playthroughs so I could play my own music instead.

Issues with presentation aside, I did enjoy the game for what it is. It tells a simple story, and it wraps itself up before it wears out its welcome. Though short, it does a good job delving into the motivations of each of the characters. They're a collection of tropes, and all have one big defining character trait, but they're also endearing in their own way. Drake Carrigan is a bad detective that wants to earn the respect of his colleagues, Bennie Hart has kids to raise following the death of his wife, Rebecca Mendoza is just trying to run a successful casino, and Jack Viper is good at fame. It's a great cast of characters, and it's hard to think of any of them as a potential antagonist. Your goal is to find the Silent Ace, but the real treasure are the friends Alex makes along the way. I especially like that all of the characters get proper epilogues in each of the game's endings. It's the simple things where the game shines, and this is a plot worth going through if you're a fan of visual novels.

With this review winding to a close, I guess it's time to discuss its length. I was able to fully clear Sol Dorado Heist in under two hours, and that included getting all of the game's four endings. Seeing everything requires a few playthroughs, and there's also a CG gallery for completionists to fill up. I'm a fan of all of that stuff, but I'm not a fan of the game's price on consoles. This new release comes with a $9.99 price tag, which is double what it costs on Steam. Not only that, but the game seems to frequently go on sale there for about $1.25. That's arguably way too low of a price for a game like this, but it also makes the console version's price feel sky high in comparison. It's not just the Steam pricing either, as I would still think that $9.99 is a bit much for a game of this quality and length.

Even though I'm all for giving Sol Dorado Heist a solid recommendation, I don't know if I can do that at its full console pricing. It's a decent game, but arguably worth about half of what it costs now. I guess one can always pick it up if it goes on sale, or you can just grab it now if money is no object. I still think it's worth experiencing, even if it isn't the most memorable story out there. Having said that, I really do hope that the developer gives us a sequel one day. That seems unlikely since it's been four years since this game's original release, but I can still hope. If a sequel or follow-up ever drops, I'll be sure to review it. Until then, I'll see you in the next one!

Check Out Sol Dorado Heist on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/sol-dorado-heist-switch/

---

Story: B
Gameplay: N/A
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: C
Value: C

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A fun visual novel that has a quirky and interesting cast.
+ Character designs and CGs are all of excellent quality, and every the game's world is full of charm.
+ Plenty of optional scenes and four endings give the game a decent amount of replayability.
+ The music is pretty good for what it is, even if it sounds like it may have come from a stock music library.

Cons:
- The sudden and non-stop shift of characters' poses is a bit much, and was something I found off-putting.
- I understand why the game doesn't have voice acting, but including "Voice" in the options menu feels like a bait-and-switch. Also, games without voice acting should really consider putting in typing noises to keep their games from being totally silent.
- This is a short game, and there isn't a lot of reason to play it once you've seen all its endings.
- Priced quite a bit higher than its PC release.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

---

Seriously, why is there a "voice" option?

#SolDoradoHeistConsoles