In this charming indie, an aspiring writer gets lost in a scenic coastal destination while searching for inspiration. Diana Caproni wanders Borga Marina, making friends and solving mysteries in this low-intensity detective story.
Italian developer Memorable Games has crafted a gorgeous setting that serves as an ode to Ligurian communities and Mediterranean vistas. The location and sleuthing format also recall seminal adventure titles of yesteryear – particularly the sun-soaked vibrancy of the Broken Sword series.
Struggling to improve her writing, Diana (who, like everyone else in this world, is an anthropomorphic animal) hops on her scooter and motors off to get her creative juices flowing – and to uncover more about a familial connection to an idyllic resort town. Immediately puzzling her way into the locals’ hearts, Diana’s journey takes her through one mystery after another.
Gameplay is a mix of dialogue sequences, minigames, and detective puzzles. Diana collects cards from every interaction and discovery she makes around Borga Marina. These cards are stored in her mind palace, where they can be reviewed at any time for context on the unfolding story.
During investigation sequences, certain areas hide a set of clues tied to past events. Fortunately, Diana possesses a ‘chronolens’, a device that gives her the ability to peer into the past. This enables her to uncover clues used in the investigation minigame. It’s always handy to have temporal manipulation gadget when you need one.
Investigations take place in a charming, board-game-style diorama. This turn-based activity has Diana applying the clues she’s gathered in the correct sequence. As the story progresses, the boards become more complex, but the sequencing remains approachable. If she gets stuck, Diana can use joker cards to simplify the investigation or boost the chronolens’s ability to find clues.
As she explores the town, Diana meets companions – some of whom will tag along on her adventures. These relationships unlock additional minigames. Taking a part-time job as a waitress unlocks a chibi serve-’em-up game. There’s also competitive marbles and a mail delivery gig, all in a day’s work for a complete stranger trying to solve a spate of robberies.
Engaging with these activities changes the world around Diana, adding a light social sim element that complements the mystery-solving dynamic. A day cycle resets minigame opportunities and adds progression to relationships, which creates a loop that can be satisfying to explore. There’s a lot to do here, an activity around each corner.
Despite its various systems, On Your Tail maintains a calming and cosy atmosphere for the most part. However, Diana’s peaceful sojourn is frequently disrupted by technical issues and performance hiccups on Switch.
For a game that encourages exploration and regularly sends our inquisitive hero trekking across Borga Marina, the frequent loading kills momentum. Simply walking from one side of town to the other can trigger a significant number of loading screens. Entering buildings or transitioning between story scenes also takes a noticeably long time.
In our review copy, area load transitions occasionally caused crashes, further slowing Diana’s holiday. These crashes are accompanied by numerous technical issues, including frequent texture pop-in and environments failing to load as Diana runs through them. The cards displayed for dialogue and location discovery often struggle to load as well. It’s worth noting that these visual issues seemed a bit less prevalent in handheld mode.
Elsewhere, conversations occasionally bug out completely, leaving Diana (and you) stuck between dialogue transitions. This can be resolved using a pause menu option labeled ‘Unstick Player’ – an odd addition that seems to suggest these scripting issues are both expected and unavoidable.
It’s a shame to encounter so many technical hurdles while playing On Your Tail, because the overall experience is clearly designed with care. The developers have lovingly built Borga Marina and its inhabitants; the music and relaxing soundscape pair beautifully as you stroll through the winding streets in search of clues.
Conclusion
An engaging blend of life sim and detective mystery, On Your Tail has a wonderful setting and great characters. Unfortunately, the overall experience is bogged down by painful load times and debilitating technical issues. The game isn’t a graphical powerhouse and the Switch is more than capable of maintaining a stable day in Borga Marina. Here’s hoping Memorable can patch in some improvements post-launch so that Diana’s search for inspiration feels less like a slog.
