Review: TR-49 Makes Data Analysis Enjoyable
We’re in an era of crunchy, meticulous games. I feel like the success of titles such as The Roottrees are Dead and Return of the Obra Dinn showed how many of us get excited about the idea of really poring over elements in an attempt to solve mysteries. Inkle’s been pretty good at offering these types of experiences before, what with Heaven’s Vault making us consider our choices and deciphering texts, and TR-49 offers the same kind of delightfully difficult experience.
TR-49 is designed to be immersive and, even though we’re largely spending our time looking at an ancient textual reassociator computer of the same name and data, it’s quite successful at it. We happen upon an unusual, perhaps even eerie, computer made by Beatrice Dooler and Cecil Caulderly for Bletchley Park. By we, I mean Abbi, a woman who wakes up in a church basement in front of this odd machine. She’s told by Liam, a man she can only hear over an intercom, that she must sort through the records within by finding the correct codes. Said codes consist of the first two letters featuring the author’s initials, then the second two numbers noting the year. By looking up data, deciphering text, checking notes, and seeing which other texts and input data that leads to, you can find out what’s going on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEIyvjVQCAE
The thing about TR-49 is that it is a game that could look incredibly confusing, perhaps even daunting, if you watch a trailer or look at screenshots. The text of the books that were fed into the machine can be scrambled and encoded, so you can’t really get accustomed to the nuances unless you’re immersed in it. The idea that you’re working out what the author and year codes might be can be a lot to take in, until you really start finding the texts you need and noting the patterns. It’s a thoughtful detective game for sure, but it also feels like a visual novel that would appeal to people who enjoy doing intense research to find answers that might not even exist. Basically, you're constantly reading entries, checking notes, and seeing where each text (real or created for this game) takes you.
The ambiance surrounding all of this happens to be great, which I found helps with staying on-point. Inkle ensured there’s fantastic voice acting present, so even though there is a lot of reading, it feels like there’s a deeper connection to actual people. The best way I can describe it is that it discourages detachment. Especially since we can also have Abbi check in with Liam about the situation as we explore.
However, I will say there is a downside. This is a fascinating game and the texts and codes we decipher in TR-49 is interesting. I also appreciated the twists and finding out what’s happening. However, it does involve falling into a very repetitive routine. I love these types of titles and simulations that can involve constantly plugging in data to uncover more data or track things. I also play, well, a lot of visual novels. Also, while it does feature puzzles, there is sometimes too much input guiding me instead of letting me work things out and possibly make mistakes on my own.
Images via Inkle
As a plus, there are some quality of life elements here that make it easy to play even as you’re doing the same actions over and over. One is that controller support is great. It also isn’t finicky about accepting correct answers, so you won’t find Inkle being persnickety about not being exactly perfect as long as you found the right bit of data in the machine. You can also get multiple endings in a single save file, which is helpful if you want to see other options without replaying the whole game.
TR-49 is a perfect type of puzzle for people who love reading through tons of data to complete intricate investigations. While the perspective seems simple, it’s well executed and features immersive voice acting and interesting texts. It can get repetitive, given the nature of its gameplay, but people who get caught up in the mystery might not even notice.
TR-49 is available for PCs.
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