Trick DS Ban: Kakushigami no Sumu Yakata

About

Trick DS Ban: Kakushigami no Sumu Yakata is a point-and-click puzzle game set in a remote mountain mansion haunted by unexplained vanishings. You take control of two characters Naoko a magician and Ueda a scientist who split tasks exploring clues interviewing witnesses and piecing together the mystery. The story unfolds through dialogue choices and environmental puzzles requiring logic and attention to detail. Each character has distinct skills that overlap forcing players to switch perspectives to solve locked rooms and hidden mechanisms. The mansion itself acts as a puzzle with shifting layouts and red herrings designed to blur the line between trickery and reality. The game leans heavily into its roots as a TRICK adaptation with layered mysteries that reward careful observation. Players who enjoy methodical investigation over action will appreciate the slow burn of reveals though the DS touchscreen mechanics can feel clunky at times. With a runtime of around 8-10 hours and a cast of unreliable villagers it carves out a niche for fans of cerebral mysteries. Released in 2010 it still holds up as a clever exercise in misdirection with over 70% of user reviews praising its twist on supernatural tropes.

Storyline

Naoko Yamada is a self-proclaimed talented and popular magician. She has been offered a job for the first time in a long time, performing magic on stage at an amusement park. However, her employer fires her and Naoko can no longer pay the rent for her apartment. In exchange for a check for three months' rent, university professor Jiro Ueda invites her to appear on a TV show. The setting for the show is Minakami Village, deep in the mountains, where there are rumors of an old mansion that is said to be cursed. Naoko, Ueda, and the TV crew arrive at the mansion to verify the truth. What awaits them is a terrifying apparition...