Maurice Leblanc’s Arsene Lupin is often considered to be the literary foil to Sherlock Holmes. Where the great detective solved crimes, Lupin, the great “gentlemen thief,” commits them. Despite his enduring popularity as a literary character, Studio Ghibli film, and references across any number of games (including Persona 5), though, Mr. Lupin has never yet starred in a video game.
Related reading: Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine anime review.
That changes soon, thanks to Microids, and the upcoming Arsene Lupin – Once A Thief. The company (which has published more than a few other adventure games starring classic literary characters in the past) has released a new trailer for the game, and it looks good. Very good.
Once A Thief is being developed by Blazing Griffin (a bunch of Hercule Poirot games and… for some reason an AR Catan game), This Lupin game has a lot of talent and heritage behind it for specifically this kind of video game, and the feature list is impressive, too:
- Master the art of thievery – Explore many environments, solve puzzles and take on a variety of disguises as you take on exciting criminal escapades, while constantly striving to outsmart the law. And stay one step ahead.
- The Artistic world of Lupin – Marvel at the vibrant artistry, reminiscent of an illustrated storybook., and meet colourful characters straight out of the stories of Lupin as he retells his own escapades with a flair for the dramatic.
- Experience the legends – Join Lupin and Maurice Leblanc by the fireside as they retell a selection of Lupin’s most famous stories and experience them from whole new perspectives.
- Investigate and deduce – See the stories from a fresh perspective as you immerse yourself in Ganimard’s role, searching for evidence, interrogating suspects, creating timelines, and connecting the dots to pursue and apprehend your legendary adversary.
Honestly, we all spend so much time playing detectives in point-and-click adventure games, the idea of being on the other side of the law is wildly appealing.
The game releases on just about everything (current and last-gen consoles, as well as the Switch and PC) in late 2024.
