The Slaughter: Act One
The Slaughter is a noir point-in-click adventure game from Brainchild, which is a one man team I might add. It’s reminiscent of old adventure games like Monkey Island or Full Throttle, and more recently, it reminds me of The Blackwell Legacy (which also took inspiration from those classics).
In The Slaughter you play as Sydney Emerson, a down on this luck, behind on his rent detective-really is there any other kind-living in London in the East End in 1880. The story opens with Sydney on his side in a dark alley getting beaten by a large man named Sallis and his diminutive employer Mr. Finch. You luck your way out of that situation and you soon get a case to work on. There is a serial killer roaming the streets and a client is paying you for you private detective services.
– Real player with 18.5 hrs in game
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BRAINCHILD, we need more!
This little point-and-click is dark and adorable, funny and unique, and super entertaining! I couldn’t resist playing the whole thing in one sitting, but that being said, it is reletively short. Being hooked, I started reserching the game, and realized that this seems to have been a solo project of BRAINCHILD, which makes it all the more impressive.
| PROs | CONs |
| Entertaining story with adult themes |
– Real player with 8.0 hrs in game
Deep Night Detective - Chapter One
A very fun and addicting game so far. I can say for certain though, there were a couple of times where I couldn’t progress due to some bugs.
The pros. it’s a great and charming game! The dialogue is amazing and charming, and with very funny observations from the Detective that adds to their personality. The music is great and how it’s used in this game is well done, especially with the interrogation segment with Mrs. Bordeaux. The controls, though a little confusing in the beginning, is comfortable to use when you get used to it and when you do it controls well.
– Real player with 8.2 hrs in game
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im honestly hyped for chapter 2
The pixel art, the story, the gameplay… it’s all just so god damn good.
I’m a sucker for any sort of 2D platformers, so I’m kinda biased, but this game is amazing. It can be a bit buggy, and I’ll list all the bugs I found later on, but other than those bugs (one which made me have to reset and play the whole chapter from the beginning) every part of this game is perfectly executed.
Anyways, here’s some feedback:
Every character is interesting and so are the relationships between them. I hate reading through stuff and I tend to just mash through all of the dialogue, but I can’t in this game. Reading about how supernatural stuff works in this game is so much fun and so is asking people questions. The whole thing with the case book (I don’t remember what it’s called) makes it really easy to keep track of what’s going on and really keep you interested in the case.
– Real player with 4.9 hrs in game
This is the Zodiac Speaking
ATTENTION: REVIEW HAS SPOILERS!
First of all, I would like to congratulate the developers of the game for their work, because this is subject I am incredibly interested in.
I remember being 16 years old, and reading a magazine article about the Zodiac, and being equaly frightened and curious as I saw that drawing of the killer in his costume, as it was described by the surviving victim, Brian Hartnell. That, along with the letters and ciphers, is a case where what we expect could only happen in fiction became reality - someone was killing people, communicating with the public by sending letters to the press and challenging everyone to catch him (even making movie reviews, not kidding!). Since my youth, I have been acompanying the forums on the internet which discuss the Zodiac Killer case and all the recent news/info about it.
– Real player with 6.5 hrs in game
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Meh. I wish there were a “Meh” button instead of whether I do or do not recommend. It depends.
I had this on my wishlist and anxiously awaited release, and when the first wave of reviews were mixed, and I read about issues with the stalker mode (and knowing my history f’ing HATING games where I’m trying to do puzzles while getting stalked/usually killed), decided to just play the story mode.
Wise choice. Was still spooky without constantly destroying my will to play by making me start over chapters when I would have been inevitably caught. For that, I thank the devs.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
Inexplicable Deaths In Damipolis: Inner Thoughts
This game is in an unplayable, buggy state. It is my opinion that this game should not have been released in the state that it’s in. Some bugs that you’ll encounter:
-Does not appear to recognize controllers
-Both English and Espanol language options are labeled “Espanol.”
-“Notes” menu completely non-functional.
-Many inventory items are labeled “Placeholder” when trying to view.
-Getting trapped in menus is a common occurrence, causing user to have to force-shutdown game.
-Inventory items randomly disappear.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
everybody dead, whodunnit? not only is this a question regarding the story of inexplicable deaths in damipolis, but it also applies to the game itself. everything is pretty much broken, and I guess people mentioned in the credits dunnit. they had one whole tester, which explains a lot, and I’m sure kickstarter backers are ecstatic about the result.
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
Joe Kowalski Chronicles: Murder in a flat
Joe Kowalski Chronicles: Murder in a flat is a dark detective neo noir point and click adventure game. You take the role of a police detective Joe Kowalski who gets tricky case just as he was about to pass out on the bed. Woman was murdered in Joe’s neighborhood and he’s the closest detective sent to investigate. As you set on your journey lies, mystery, deceit and horror awaits in this atmospheric neo noir detective story.
Game has all standard point and click mechanics and additionally you can pull out a gun and use it to solve some puzzles, and in rare cases maybe even shoot people. Your main job is to find killer and solve mystery around dead woman.
This game is first episode, free to play prologue to four chapters that will follow afterwards where Joe will go on journey from police detective to private detective.
This chapter will be fully playable from start to end, mystery will be solvable and story will continue afterwards.
NORCO
NORCO is a sci-fi Southern Gothic Adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of Louisiana’s petrochemical hinterlands. Your brother Blake has gone missing in the aftermath of your mother’s death. In the hopes of finding him, you must follow a fugitive security cyborg through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans.
Immerse yourself in an uncanny and surreal South Louisiana
NORCO features detail-rich and atmospheric pixel art born from the natural and industrial landscapes of South Louisiana, accompanied by the eclectic soundscapes of composer Gewgawly I.
Meet strange, unforgettable, and dangerous characters
Navigate your way through a world of uncertainty and moral ambiguity as you venture deeper into the swamp to unravel the threads left by your brother. Fight, sneak, or fast-talk your way past any hometown bullies, security contractors, or death cults that stand in your way.
Explore vast scenic landscapes of pulsing nightlife and eerie solitude
Skulk through the crowds of downtown New Orleans, recruit a wild-eyed river dog, break into a refinery, boat through cypress swamps, and explore the desolate batture woods of the Mississippi River.
Discover a world haunted by both past and future
From Southern Gothic literature to adventure game classics to experimental indies, NORCO fuses its wide sources of inspiration into something new and unseen.
NVC: That’s when your dreams began?
Catherine: Yes. Towers falling from the sky. I’d stay awake just to avoid them.
NVC: You say here that they lasted for years.
Catherine: I worry that I somehow passed them onto Kay. She’d have nightmares of cell tower lights. She said they grew closer every night.
NVC: Have you told anyone about these dreams?
Catherine: No.
NVC: And tell me about the robot.
Catherine: Million?
NVC: That’s right.
Catherine: She came to me in the parking lot when Kay was twelve or so. She knew Blue from his days at the refinery. I stared for a long time into her constellation of eyes. They swirled in a kind of desperation. I took her home, knowing it was a mistake.
Post Mortem
This game is pretty broken in a few ways, some of which may prevent you (and others deter you) from completing the game. Since the game is meant to be played through multiple times to get to different endings, this is really unfortunate.
–——————-
I don’t like to give “not recommended” reviews in the first place, but this game contains a clearly identified, reproducible bug partway through that prevents players from completing the game: Inventory goes missing, and the “document reader,” which just moments before had shown dozens of documents, goes into an infinite loop on one end, showing the same document over and over, and never getting to the one you need to trigger the game to let you move on. I have a save just before this point in the game and it happens every time I pick up a particular item (one needed to complete the game.) (But actually it turns out there might be a way around it…unless it’s random. See below for why it’s too tedious to bother finding out.)
– Real player with 14.8 hrs in game
First off… reason that I do not recommend this game comes from the fact that:
- this is an old game which means it’s not compatible with Windows 7 64bit.
You can make it run, by changing settings on exe to run as admin, also you can choose compatibility mode (Win NT was ok).
But to be able to recommend I would have to be certain that any player will be able to make those adjustments, and that you will be able to bear other issues (like random freezing on loading game, or crashing after ALT-TAB to check walkthrough, because you will need it, trust me)
– Real player with 11.8 hrs in game
The Secret of Retropolis
Disclaimer: I was given a copy for free as I was involved in the beta testing for the Steam version.
The game was successfully enjoyed with an Oculus Quest 2 headset and Airlink.
The Secret of Retropolis is a classic point & click adventure game in VR that puts you in the pants of a robot detective that is hired by a famous movie star to retrieve a stolen necklace. The story will evolve in unpredicted ways in the classic style of a film noir.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room, it’s a short experience and it will not require more than 1h30 for a first playthrough.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
Don’t call it outdated – it’s retro! Point and click adventures are back in the charming, tongue-in-cheek film noir “The Secret of Retropolis.”
The Good:
1. Art/Style – Put simply, Retropolis is a bundle of cel-shaded panache that feels like someone took all the best parts of the artistic styles of Metropolis, Futurama, and the classic LucasArts SCUMM engine point and clicks, brought to life in VR. The “film within a film” cutscenes are a particular standout in terms of presentation.
– Real player with 2.8 hrs in game
Face Noir
Not a bad game until the ending, and the voice actor is terrible. He is not the right choice for a hardboiled Raymond Chandler type detective. His voice is effeminate to the extreme and his diction is too precise for someone just out of prison and working on their last dollar during the Depression. And that actor as an Italian? How insulting to Italians everywhere. How many times do we need to hear dannazione? It was a piss poor performance. Even the guy playing the Irishman Sean was awful. His accent degenerated as the game wore on. At first his accent was passable, but by the end he must have gotten tired because he was unable to hold it together at all. He started saying “da” instead of “the.” I think he forgot who he was supposed to be because he suddenly sounded Swedish at certain points in the game. Just total amateurs! Both lead actors almost killed it for me until I turned the voice volume way down and tried to enjoy the game without them.
– Real player with 52.8 hrs in game
I rarely leave reviews for games, but felt that with the mixed reviews, I should give my input concerning this rather unique Point-N-Click.
What makes this game unique? Having played a number of other P&C games, I liked the refreshing approach in this game to selecting/using items. Unlike most selections of this genre where items are viewed & selected from a 2 dimensional panel or menu, Face Noir allows the option to view & select items in a separate closeup 3-D view, where the main character holds each item individually, and of course provides witty banter concerning each one. Another refreshing difference in this game is the ability to use some of the items via moving the mouse in strategic directions, thereby increasing the interactivity of this piece beyond the traditional “Point & Click” mechanics. These of course are not deal makers/breakers as far as the core substance of the game, but certainly add their charm thereto.
– Real player with 15.1 hrs in game
Knee Deep
Knee Deep is a point and click adventure game revolving around a murder mystery. Set in a small backwater town called Cypress Knee in Florida, you control the three main characters as they investigate an actor’s murder, digging deep into a world of political corruption, blackmail, intrigue and even a bit of sci fi weirdness. The story is accompanied by nice graphics, atmospheric music and a unique take on gameplay where the story takes place as if it was a theater play complete with moving sets and all. The game is available on PS4, XBox One, and PC via Steam, which is the version I played for this review.
– Real player with 19.0 hrs in game
DISCLAIMER: This is a review of the first episode. No score will be given. A full review of the entire season will follow once all three episodes have been released.
It’s a good thing that I’m playing this game on a hot summer evening. It’s also interesting that I live just a few miles away from one of the largest swampland areas in Europe and the humidity, as always, is unbearable. It’s just curious that there are no mosquitoes tonight. All in all, a perfect situation to immerse myself into Knee Deep, a self-proclaimed swamp noir in three acts. And I am immersed in a matter of seconds. The first thing that strikes me is the music, a brilliantly moody mixture of American folk and blues. I start the game up and I am immediately seated in a theater. I silence my mobile phone out of respect for the actors. As the curtain rises on the stage, I find myself in a backwater Florida town of Cypress Knee. It’s a grim start as a washed-up actor has hanged himself from a tower next to a local inn.
– Real player with 8.1 hrs in game