Ace Attorney is one of my favourite series, but eventually you reach that bittersweet point where you’ve played all the entries and can’t relive the thrill of solving a case for the first time. For anyone unfamiliar with it, the series began in 2001 with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, a courtroom-focused visual novel where players cross-examine witnesses, present evidence, and unravel increasingly elaborate mysteries. It went on to spawn multiple sequels, spin-offs, and a passionate fanbase thanks to its blend of sharp writing and a memorable cast. While I was searching for similar games to the series, I came across a Reddit comment by a user named Blueisland5, who shared a detailed list of recommendations. One title stood out – Paper Perjury, which he had created himself. After playing it through, I can say it deserves that recommendation.
This game, developed by Paper Cat Games, is an Ace Attorney fan project in everything but name. You are assigned cases, you question witnesses, gather evidence, and interrogate suspects, where you can either “question” (press) them or “deduce” (present evidence). There are a few clear nods to Ace Attorney, like the Trucy Wright–inspired Annie Carde and plenty of the series’ trademark punny names. Some might call it lazy, but as someone who absolutely adores Ace Attorney, anything that comes close to replicating the feeling I had playing through those games is welcome in my book.
That said, there are some key differences between Paper Perjury and Ace Attorney: instead of playing as a defense lawyer, you step into the shoes of Justina Smith, a police desk clerk dragged into detective work and mentored by the very Dick Gumshoe-like Ernest Hunt. Rather than a string of mostly standalone cases, you solve five that connect directly into one overarching story. Interestingly, this wasn’t always the plan, as creator James Acosta explained to me:
“I didn’t intend for all five cases to connect. I wanted them to be separate stories that connect by theme rather than plot. But after writing one case, I had to connect it to the next… then the next… until the five ended up being connected. It was kind of an accident that it happened that way, but I’m glad it worked out in the end.”
Unlike Ace Attorney’s often over-the-top courtroom drama, Paper Perjury opts for a more realistic tone, focusing on the day-to-day investigative work behind a range of crimes, from embezzlement to murder. As James explains:
“I prefer the more grounded stories in Ace Attorney. They may not be ‘realistic’, but the Shu Takumi games [original Ace Attorney trilogy] always felt more grounded and on a smaller scale. I’m not as big of a fan of Yamazaki and his team’s games [Dual Destinies, Spirit of Justice etc.] because they try to be as large as possible. So when writing Paper Perjury, I wrote the game how I would have wanted it.”
These differences are what make Paper Perjury stand out: its believable characterisation helps players to connect more deeply with its cast, and the fact that the game is one consistent narrative helps keep the player hooked to experience the next story beat. When you finally take down the main antagonist, it feels truly earned. We also see the friendships that grow between the police characters, and examining certain areas in the games allow for some interesting and humorous backstories for Justina and the others.
The game’s story weaves in sociopolitical commentary in a respectful and non-overbearing way, with particular focus given to the Eubank family and company, who are relentlessly trying to buy out housing from poorer tenants and owners to build expensive properties. James explained this:
“Gentrification is a theme I used based on my experiences living in California. Seeing gentrification happen before my eyes was something I wanted to write about.”
Importantly, no one is portrayed as purely evil. The writing consistently tries to understand each character’s motives, encouraging empathy even when their actions seem indefensible. It makes you really care about where every character ends up, and the epilogue does a good job of showing realistic but interesting outcomes for each of them.
There are a few changes made, though, that I would have preferred them not to have had. When examining areas, instead of moving a reticle around the screen, pertinent spots are listed in the top-right corner, making examination a literal checklist instead of an engaging hunt for key clues. The investigation sections also tend to follow the same formula – examine each area and talk to everyone, then review and deduce their statements – whereas Ace Attorney mixed things up more by forcing you to prevent specific evidence or profiles to characters to advance the plot.
Even so, there are some neat little details that give the game extra personality and show a level of design that most games of this nature don’t. The soundtrack, while similar to Ace Attorney, is still immaculately produced and will stay in your head for a while. The character spritework and animations (especially Justina’s and Fie’s) are all charming and expressive. My favourite moment comes in the fourth case’s interrogation, when the game flips the concept on its head: you switch from Justina to defense counsel Ferris Eubank and must poke holes in your own argument to move forward. It’s a shift that comes out of nowhere, but doesn’t feel unearned.
Paper Perjury is a confident and compact visual novel, with a story that can be beaten in about ten hours, and simple but engaging gameplay that streamlines the flow of Ace Attorney while moving at a brisk-enough pace that it never feels too repetitive. Obviously, this is highly recommended to any Ace Attorney fan, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to someone just starting in the genre either. James and Rebecca Collins, the writer and programmer for the game, are already working on a free DLC case, which he describes as “a stand-alone case that uses everything we learned from the base game to make something special.” If it’s anything like the main story, fans are in for a treat.
4/5
Paper Perjury is available on Steam.
