Zara Ndiaye’s Hollow is unlike any TV detective. She is not a brooding alcoholic (cliched). She is not a genius savant (overdone). She is a kinesthetic learner who solves crimes through muscle memory and pain.
She keeps a "wall of touch"—a board covered in fabric swatches, gravel types, and dried blood samples. She solves the season’s central mystery (who killed the original owner of the diamond) not by motive, but by the feel of a doorknob. A brass knob turned left. A brass knob turned right. Only one person in the criminal underworld turns left—a tic from an old wrist break.
That is the "Detective" part of the title: slow, obsessive, physical detection.
Described by its creator as a “hardcore tactile detective surrealist VHS-em-up,” Simony Diamond: Detective Do New is the follow-up (or possibly prequel? Or reboot?) to the cult web series Simony Diamond Investigates. The “Do New” in the title seems to mean “Do New Cases” — but even that’s a guess.
The game (or interactive experience) puts you in the role of Simony Diamond, a washed-up, chain-smoking detective who communicates entirely through stock footage clips and whispered asides. The “HandsOnHardcore” part of the branding is literal: you solve mysteries by physically dragging objects across your screen, flipping over 3D evidence models, and even typing keywords into an in-game command line.
Narrative Strengths
Narrative Weaknesses
