On Your Tail Preview: A Promising Detective Adventure (Switch)

I’ve had my eye on On Your Tail for quite a while now, so when I saw that a demo of the game had been released, I wanted the chance to play it. Demos are a great way to get a taste of what the game will eventually be like when it’s fully released, and help sway your decision on whether to get it or not. Playing a demo can go a few ways. You might love it and can’t wait to play the full version. You might enjoy it but haven’t decided yet whether to get it. On the other hand, you might be disappointed. Fortunately, On Your Tail wasn’t a disappointment. Neither has it left me still deciding whether to get the full release. After playing the snippet of On Your Tail, I’m happy to say I’m looking forward to seeing what the complete game will look like – and you should consider checking it out for yourself too. Why not; it’s free!

The demo of On Your Tail is now available on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. There is yet to be a specific release date for the full game, although it is slated for a 2024 release.

Story – Diana the Detective on the Case!

Although this is only the demo version of On Your Tail, they do make sure that you know that there is a story to this game, probably so you’ll understand the game’s setting, characters, and gameplay. I definitely appreciated this. It was like the game was telling me, “Okay, so this might be the demo, but there’s lot more like this when the full game comes out.” Getting the lowdown on the general setup of the story certainly helps with engaging with the demo, so I never felt lost or confused about what was happening or what the gameplay was for. Everything made sense, and nothing was made overcomplicated.

So, what exactly is the story to On Your Tail? The premise is you play as Diana, a detective who has travelled to the picture-perfect seaside village of Borgo Marina for a summer getaway, and of course, ends up solving a few mysteries while meeting the locals and doing some exploring and relaxing activities. 

The demo isn’t that long (I believe it took me less than an hour to complete, maybe even less than half-an-hour), but it does touch on the story a little, and you do get introduced to the characters. For the demo, you are given two specific tasks: meeting a local photographer called Paun, who will show you around a little; as well as getting to solve one mystery at the local pizza place. You’ll get to know a few specific characters in more detail, but you can also knock on all the doors around town to meet the other villagers. There’s a lot of them! 

Gameplay – Exploring & Solving a Mystery

I’ve played plenty of demos in my time, but what I loved about the one for On Your Tail was how self-aware it was. At times, the game will remind you that what you’re playing is a demo, only a snippet of the whole game. It doesn’t rub it in though. It’s clever and witty. It also makes you want to play more.

Take a Little Look Around

As demonstrated in the demo, On Your Tail is an open-world game, where you can run around solving mysteries, talking to different people, enjoying relaxing activities, and just exploring the beautiful village of Borgo Marina. When playing the demo, I made sure to explore every nook and cranny and take in all the details behind the village. Honestly, the setting has been so wonderfully put together, with lots of little details. My favorite had to be the beach, with sun loungers and parasols and beach games. It felt as if I was really there!

Since this is just a demo, you can’t explore too much. There’s enough to do for under an hour and to give you a good idea of the game though. If you try venturing up a street that’s out of bounds, you’ll be stopped by an invisible wall, and the game will even make a joke about it. I liked that touch, instead of just adding an obvious roadblock. It just made me more curious. I’ll certainly do more exploring when the whole map is available in the full release.

Take a little time to look around Borgo Marina.

Gone Fishing and Going Marbles

Along with the open world package, naturally, there are some side activities you can enjoy in On Your Tail, even in the demo. I tried two out: fishing and playing with marbles. There’s also apparently an activity involving skipping stones, but I didn’t find that one.

I’m not a big fisher, but I decided to try it out nevertheless. It was quite relaxing, not to mention easy to do. It wasn’t complicated or confusing, and it was fun reeling the catch in.

There was also the marbles activity, which I ended up doing with Paun, the photographer showing me around. With marbles, you have to move the marbles along a track in the sand. Whoever crosses the line first is the winner. Marbles wasn’t a difficult activity to do. However, I did find the controls a little janky. I didn’t end up winning the marbles race, but it was still an interesting experience regardless of the iffy controls. Remember, this is just a demo, so hopefully by the game’s release, these things will be ironed out and gameplay will be much smoother.

A Case to Solve!

One thing I was quite excited about with the demo of On Your Tail was getting to solve a mystery. After all, this is meant to be a narrative detective adventure. Thankfully, that’s exactly what you get to do! I arrived at the crime scene – the pizza place – not sure what to expect. You speak to the owner, then you have to search the place looking for specific clues using a strange device that allows you to see into the past. For example, you can spot whether something has been moved or disturbed from its original position. I found this particular mechanic quite fascinating.

Once you’ve gathered all the clues, it’s time to solve the mystery. This is where things got really interesting – in a good way! You’re shown a mock-up of the crime scene, almost like a cut-out dolls house so you can see everything, and there are also cardboard stand-ins for the victims, witnesses, and suspects. Using the clues you’ve got, you have to determine what happened by arranging the clues into a sort-of timeline. For example, when was the phone call made to get the owner out of the pizza place? When was that hat on the hatstand disturbed? As the sequence is played out, certain key points of the event are checked off (or not), such as when an item was stolen, to indicate that you’ve got the order right. I got it wrong the first time, but I didn’t mind because it helped me realise where I’d gone wrong. It was very satisfying when I cracked the case.

I honestly loved the crime solving aspect of On Your Tail. I felt it was one of the things the game absolutely had to get right, and it did. I can’t wait to solve more mysteries when the game eventually comes out.

Aside from exploring, solving the mystery was my favorite part of the demo.

Graphics & Audio – Bright and Sunny as the Italian Seaside Should Be

I really love the look of On Your Tail. It has a bright and cheery feel to it, but not sickeningly so, and it’s not oversaturated so it hurts your eyes. I was impressed overall by not only how stunning the world of Borgo Marina is, but the characters as well. They seem so alive with their movements, and they don’t come off as creepy.

The dialogue, which is displayed in text boxes, is presented well and easy to follow. I also really like the different sketches of the characters fitting their mood and what they’re talking about. These sometimes feel repetitive in games, but I didn’t get that with On Your Tail.

There were one or two tiny issues with the graphics that I experienced. Notably, the tunnel kept disappearing so I could see the blue sky and sea as I went through the right tunnel, but not for long, and it did correct itself. Since the game is still in development, you can expect a few niggles, but nothing game breaking, and they should be fixed by the game’s official release.

Regarding audio, I had no problems in this department. There were no obnoxious sound effects or irritatingly-repetitive music to report. It all fitted the game well.

The demo of On Your Tail was played and previewed on Nintendo Switch.