Displaying items by tag: Detective
Interrogating is really not the answer. Worth some of your time, especially if you’re into that whole noir scene, but otherwise, you can give it a pass.
Headspun makes up for its lack of gameplay with an emphasis on visual style and storytelling. While not for everyone, fans of narrative adventure games will find something to enjoy here.
Colorful visuals, aesthetic flair, and quirky puzzles keep this title fun and entertaining throughout, though the potential need to backtrack can be frustrating at times.
The first installment of what looks to be an interesting series, Misadventures of Laura Silver: Chapter 1 brings polish and interactivity to the visual novel genre.
A challenging detective experience with interesting gameplay mechanics that will appeal to horror fans, but is hindered by wonky controls, loading screens, and an empty world.
A successful PC port with exceptional storytelling that lacks important control options and falls short of expectations in certain technical areas.
With beautiful artwork, a compelling story with fleshed-out characters, and an original soundtrack, the few foibles and a shorter-than-you'll-want playthrough time shouldn't stop you from checking this title out.
While it delivers a strong start, Call of Cthulhu starts to stumble and fall near the end, demonstrating a lack of polish and poor localization.
Lamplight City is a steampunk detective adventure with great voice acting and unique worldbuilding—but the gameplay is full of unrealized potential.
Despite minor hiccups, Unforeseen Incidents is a great experience. From the tasteful soundtrack to the aesthetically-pleasing visuals, this point-and-click shines.
The Council fails at what it should do best: narrative. Poor voice acting, coupled with mere adequacy on every other level, places this title firmly in the wouldn’t-recommend category.
Dreamy yet disturbing, Cherrymochi’s Tokyo Dark keeps its crosshair leveled at a sweet spot between Japanese visual novel and point-and-click adventure. Backed by beautifully illustrated environments and an eclectic soundtrack, Tokyo Dark gives the impression of having been carefully crafted; the creators were thoughtful in how they integrated different elements to evoke a striking ambiance. Featuring supernatural cults, dark family secrets, kawaii cat maids that wax existential and a protagonist who speaks primarily in ellipses, the game nails narrative but misses the mark on a pointless stat system.
Another Lost Phone is truly a masterpiece in its kind, setting a bar in both creativity and meaning that will be hard for future installments in the genre to match. In addition to being one of the most innovative vehicles for a puzzle-based story to be released in a long time, the story is immensely engaging from the moment you unlock the phone. Accidental Queens have now issued a challenge to game designers everywhere: use your art to tell stories that need to be told.
When a game isn't pretty, nor long, and when its puzzles are as simple as clunky controls make them painful, then it better be good in terms of story. Bucket Detective is not. And the frustration from the lack of a good narrative is made all so much more frustrating by the fact that there is potential here in pockets, including some good humor, silly art, and cute music.
A wonderfully insightful story with fleshed out characters and captivating dilemmas, not to mention a great soundtrack that accompanies it, A Normal Lost Phone is the kind of experience that inspires you to get back into the world with a renewed sense of compassion toward all those who live in it. At $2.99 on Steam, some would argue that makes it worth it.