At the time of this writing, I have never been a Space Marine, Super Soldier, Bard, Spider-Man, or most other professions that video game characters have. In This Bed We Made, however, I play as Sophie, a 1950s hotel maid. I have worked as a janitor in a hotel, so I speak with some authority when I say that Sophie should be fired immediately.

You "clean" each room. You empty the trash cans (Good), polish the bathtub (Great), place new towels in the bathroom (Lovely), and make the beds. 'A well-made bed is the best,' Sophie said. 'Bloody nerves.'

So if you're looking for an immersive maid sim, you'll be disappointed. But if you want to enjoy the adventures of your inner inquisitive amateur detective, I grudgingly admit that it's a lot more fun than making the bed properly. Bed sheets aside, this is a good example of how a new perspective can freshen up a genre.

Given how involved they are in dodgy activities, guests at the Clarington Hotel are surprisingly careless in leaving behind incriminating letters, detailed records of unpaid debts, and all sorts of juicy puzzle pieces. One guest has converted his bathroom into a black room for photo shoots. When he realizes that some of the photos hanging in the bathtub are of Sophie, he can't concentrate on scrubbing the tub clean. Yikes. Thus begins the investigation into why the guests are interested in you.

The game is told in flashback, and Sophie's interrogation by the detective frames it. This is a pattern familiar to fans of Persona 5 and Quantum Break. It's a good thing, because we are constantly forced to make choices that could make the inevitable confrontation in the interrogation room truly unpleasant. Certain objects or notes found can be discarded, which some squares might call "evidence tampering."

It is not only the bed that can be left in bad shape, but also the tendency to be careless about covering one's tracks when prying. In many detective games, crime scenes have been cruelly trampled, but it's refreshing to play a game that rewards a more considerate approach.

It's not as simple as just remembering to clean up after yourself. The creepy pictures you find are of you snooping through your guests' belongings. It is up to you to destroy these incriminating photos. These agonizing decisions keep you on your toes in this game that is truly skillful in its color palette. At certain moments, the mystery is relegated to the background, allowing gossip to flourish as you choose romantic lines with your colleagues or deliberately choose silly ones. At other times, the mystery is relegated to the background and you can enjoy a romantic conversation with a colleague or deliberately choose a silly line of dialogue. Seldom has the sound of footsteps instilled such fear as when rifling through someone's suitcase.

At the Disco Elysian, I liked to remind her that being a cop allowed her to get away with a lot of strange behavior because of the power and authority her job gave her. Sophie is a woman working as a maid in the 1950s, so naturally she has little power. The severe imbalance between the sexes and the abuse of authority is a constant theme and threat. Throughout the unauthorized investigation, there is a persistent tension that she may indeed be in trouble.

Several puzzles appear, including ciphers that need to be deciphered and locker combination riddles. Fun enough, but the real puzzle is how all the evidence you are gathering will fit together. As we learned more about the relationships between the various guests, the initial mystery of why someone was taking their picture deepened and darkened. I enjoyed unraveling that.

By the way, the letters you are peeking at are so beautifully written that even the invisible letters jump off the page. Most are funny, some are sinister, many are heartbreaking. They are full of troubling drama and paths tragically not taken. Honestly, the real mystery here is how such a well-made game ended up with such a terrible title as "This Bed We Made."

The on-screen characters are great. Beth, the receptionist desk clerk, is a well-spoken best friend that you always wish she had been, even if only because she is too horrible to be an enemy. Her co-worker Andrew is more of a pushover and likes to tease her (let's just say she found a love letter to him in one of the rooms). The game really captures the boredom and small pleasures of the workplace and, importantly, never lets you fall into boredom itself. It also helps that the great voice acting and great dialogue. Take the time to eavesdrop on the conversations that take place behind locked doors.

Sophie herself is a wonderful companion. Her compassion for her struggling colleagues and her enthusiasm for the mystery is palpable and likable. I especially enjoy that she is a terrible liar (until, of course, this gets her into trouble). However, she has a nasty habit of getting ahead of herself. When you examine a letter containing a revelation, Sophie responds with a comment the moment you read it, i.e., before you have a chance to read it. Imagine trying to read a mystery novel and someone is reading ahead of you, looking over your shoulder. It's a minor problem, but a persistent one.

After my first playthrough, I had satisfactory answers to many of the game's mysteries, but not all. You have to actually immerse yourself in the game and think through your choices, or else the game will happily spin the credits without resolving everything. The short play time of three to four hours was ultimately the game's strong point: to solve the mysteries of "L.A. Noire," replay the entire game Imagine having to When you are done crying, remember that it is a far more appealing prospect to replay the short experience to see if you can get back on track. Especially if it's the debut of a detective game as accomplished as this one.