Hey Darksteal, thanks again — this is really useful feedback.
And no, you’re not being dumb 😄. I think the game currently doesn’t explain the investigation loop clearly enough.
The intended idea is that each clue gives you a lead about where the investigation continues. Sometimes it’ll be fairly obvious, while other times it’ll be more like a small riddle that you have to interpret to figure out the next location.
I’m currently working on a Leads system so you can always look back at what you know and what you’re trying to figure out, without simply giving you a waypoint or telling you exactly where to go.
The protagonist also has a kind of supernatural intuition, which you can access from the Constellation icon in the top menu. That screen shows things like your Doom level, information about the current arc’s boss once you’ve gathered enough clues, and the Augury card.
The Augury gives you a vague hint about where the investigation might continue, but it’s intentionally not a direct answer.
I’m also developing a connected feature involving a fortune teller. If you get completely stuck, you’ll be able to pay her ❤️❤️❤️ for a much clearer lead. At that point, the game will tell you directly where you should investigate next.
So the idea is that you can either solve the clues yourself, use the Augury for a vague hint, or pay the fortune teller if you just want a clear answer. I want solving things yourself to feel rewarding, but I also don’t want getting stuck to mean wandering around the entire map forever.
Your comment actually helped confirm that I need to introduce this whole system much more clearly early on, because I definitely don’t want players wondering whether they’re supposed to randomly search the entire map for evidence.
Really appreciate you taking the time to play and write this. If you keep playing, I’d love to hear where you get stuck or where something feels unclear — that kind of feedback is extremely useful right now.