In recent years, I have fallen in love with the Ace Attorney games. They are colorful, have lovable characters, intense courtroom scenes, and put your mind to work to see every angle in proving your party not guilty in a court of law that is quite off-kilter. With that said, I had not found anything else that gives the same kind of vibes as Ace Attorney until I came across Pro Philosopher 2: Governments & Grievances. I was lucky enough to be given early access to a demo of the game before Steam Next Fest and I can say that this indie game does its best to fit that model.
Pro Philosopher 2: Governments & Grievances is a visual novel where you will debate head-to-head with famous thinkers throughout history. Starting up the demo, I was given some background on what happened in the first game. Your character Ari was in a car accident with her dad, and somehow, they ended up in the afterlife for philosophers. From the wording used in the recap, it seems the first game’s debates were focused on life, but this time around, it’s all about politics. Oh, boy.
Phoenix-lite
As you might expect, the Pro Philosopher 2 demo gives us a bit of a lay-up in terms of “Is this right or not?” Niccolo Machiavelli argues that tyranny is good and leaders should rule with fear. Throughout this debate, you are doing very similar things to what Phoenix Wright and Co. might have in Ace Attorney. The opponent will give you a few text boxes of their thoughts. It is then your job to ask them to clarify or back up what they said (essentially, the press option from Ace Attorney). After they talk for long enough, you have portions of their arguments added to a list of ideas you can use to challenge them. When you challenge the right statements, you discredit their arguments and move on in the debate until they finally yield.
While the demo didn’t give much of a glimpse into the overarching story of Pro Philosopher 2, the writing I did see was enjoyable for the topic at hand. There were plenty of fourth-wall-breaking moments, a Phoenix Wright-like “Nonsense” thrown out, and a lighter side given to the overall more serious nature of these topics. It doesn’t make the topic a joke, but it’s also not an uncomfortable discussion. Of course, that’s a little easier to do when the topic is about tyrants, but I would be interested to see how well the full game can keep the player invested in its debates without making them feel ostracized if they don’t fully align with the argument the game, in turn, is trying to make to the player. These games are linear, so there is a chance that you could be forced to make an argument for something you don’t feel is right. Without knowing the topics, it’s a gamble.
Ending thoughts
Overall, the Pro Philosopher 2: Governments & Grievances demo was an enjoyable look at an indie game delivering an Ace Attorney-like experience in a world where Capcom only wants to re-release its older games without making new ones. Taking the opponent’s arguments and using them against them is a great foundation for finding success in a game focused on debates. Even in a quick demo, I was challenged to do some thinking to challenge the right statements. The character art is very well done, and the writing seems to be in a good spot that, hopefully, any worries about uncomfortable topics can quickly be swept aside.
