I posted a review of Culpa Innata somewhere else a few months ago. Just give me a minute so I can translate it to English... There :
"I don't like adventure games much in general. Getting stuck because you didn't find the one item that is for no reason the only way you can accomplish an indispensable action is greatly annoying to me. From that point of view, Culpa Innata was a rather pleasant surprise. The use of objects is quite simple and does not happen too long after their discovery. You don't get to go through two thirds of the game with lipstick, a handkerchief and panties, desperately trying to use them with anything you see.
Aside from that, the wits of the player are tested during the dialogues and the puzzles.
The dialogues are the main part of the game (I dread to imagine how many hours the actor playing Phoenix spent on this job). There are many characters to speak to, mainly related to your investigation. The player can choose between several available choices, some bringing more information than others. The dialogues aren't bad but, as time goes past, the fact that most of them bring us only minor and useless informations about the victim gets a bit tiring. It is of course realistic, but a game is not meant to be perfectily realistic... The dialogues give more depth and life to the (brave new) world in which the story happens but, given their importance, I think they don't bring enough elements that can be used in our investigation.
I liked the puzzles. They are diverse and entertaining, without being abusively difficult. There are images you need to make whole again, machines you need to have working... The puzzles rely a lot on visual observation, but you also need to use logic and the clues you're given. And sometimes, you just have to be methodical and patient...
The story has two plots : the first one is about Phoenix investigating a murder ; the second one is about her discovering hidden opposition to the orwellian regime. During the whole game, I expected the second plot to gain more and more importance, eventually merging with or replacing the first one. And... that doesn't happen. Phoenix discovers that people are opposing the World Union but it doesn't lead her to anything substantial : many things remain hidden from her and her trust in the regime remains unshaken. The game ends when she discovers the reasons and the circumstances of the murder. I found this ending to be quite disappointing, especially since it leaves a huge amount of things with no answer or conclusion. A "Culpa Innata 2" is obviously planned but I don't like finding myself with such an incomplete story.
The game is not difficult. I usually suck at adventure games but I only had to use a walkthrough once (for a problem I could have solved with a bit more patience). Unless you keep asking the wrong questions, I have the feeling you always end up getting the information you need. You need to think to solve the puzzles, but they're hardly baffling.
From a technical point of view, the music is quite good, the graphics very average and the navigation is bloody awful.
Culpa Innata is a game I enjoyed playing but I'm left unsatisfied now that I've finished it. The story, the setting and the puzzles are good. The investigation strikes the player's curiosity. Phoenix is an interesting and original character, who completely believes the propaganda of the system in which she lives. But the dialogues are too long compared to their usefulness, the investigation is artificially stretched (you need several interviews to ask all your questions to a single character ; a key witness is unavailable for a very long time) and too swiftly solved, many elements seem forgotten along the road and the most interesting part of the story - the hidden opposition to the World Union system - is extremely underdeveloped and leads to nothing at all."
