Chinatown Detective Agency

released on Apr 07, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is a cyber-noir point and click adventure blending stunning retro design with innovative mechanics. Manage your detective agency and use real world research to solve cases as you unravel a global conspiracy.


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exciting, makes you really research irl, some frustrating parts

If the setting (cyberpunk Singapore) appeals to you, or if you're a sucker for detective games, play it. Even fpr all of its faults, Chinatown Detective Agency manages to immerse you in this time and place, and for the majority of its runtime it really feels like you're a detective, thanks to its light sim / management elements, stunning pixel art, and real-world deductions.

Having said all of that, this isn't a polished game at all. Even 6 months after release, it regularly has basic issues that can impact gameplay. They're workable, for sure, and maybe in the future they'll be patched, but some of these issues speak of a general lack of time and resources to edit and polish the final experience. These range from super obtuse puzzles that even the hint system gets wrong, to annoying audio bugs, where most voice-acted lines won't play -- even the ones that are clues for a puzzle!

I also wish there was an in-game browser, with cyberpunk interface and music while I look for the solutions. I also wish everything was voice-acted, or nothing at all, and that the written lines matched what the actors said. I wish the managing elements were a bit more intense and that you could play all client cases in one run (or at least that it had a "point of no return" save to jump to after beating the game). I wish the soundtrack had more tracks and that the ending wasn't bugged so I could get the perfect resolution. Oh well...

Overall, a short and sweet experience that could be easier to recommend in a more polished state. I hope the devs have the opportunity to improve the game or at least apply these learnings to their next project, because the potential is there.

Too easy. Didn't have to think at all, it was just a "walking" simulator with a very few options. I wish cases were longer and a little harder, because the investigation is lacking. Also, the voice acting was annoying, but that's just my personal opinion.

This review contains spoilers

I’ve completed the game twice and was planning on completing it a third time if Humble didn’t remove the game from their launcher today. The game has 3 different endings and there are 4 exclusive cases with each client (there are 3). All exclusive cases are worth experiencing imo. But I’m getting ahead of myself. In GDA you’re controlling a private female detective in Singapore (called PI in the game). You’re solving cases that appear simple early on, but there’s always more than meets the eye. What I love about GDA is how realised the world is and how alive it feels. The game has an in-game timer, you use a train or a plane all the time, you receive emails through your computer, there is a phone UI with all the people you know on your contact list, you receive money for completing cases and you use that money to pay rent and travel tickets mainly etc. All the things I mentioned are superfluous. You always have more than enough money and some people might not like travelling since it take a few seconds if you’re the impatient type. But this all added to making the game lively. The game also does an excellent job of making you feel like a detective. You have the leads that you need to follow and your contacts. The puzzles are based on real world knowledge. For instance, translating the Sumerian language or morse code. It’s a very satisfying feeling when you solve them. Some can be too challenging but luckily you can call a woman who will give you answers if you pay her. I enjoyed the story and the characters a lot. Most of the dialogue is voiced. It might not have the best voice acting but I felt it was charming and suitable. I really want to give the game a higher score but there is too much wrong with it. The kind of mistakes are unbelievable and unnecessary to be honest. By that, I mean when voice acting is repeated, somebody else’s voice is voicing a character, voice doesn’t match the text, some fully voiced dialogue having one sentence with no voice at all etc. What I mentioned happens in certain parts, not everywhere. It mostly happens with the last 4 cases before the ending. This one is serious, one puzzle has the wrong clues. You’re solving it right based on the clues you’re given but the answer is different. And this one is just an unpleasant design decision. You can’t save when you’re in the middle of a case. You can basically only save when you finish a case. The game received a beta patch in December 2022 on Steam. It supposedly fixed the bugs and allows you to save almost all the time. But they never released it officially. I didn’t get to play it with that patch on Humble. Based on what I’ve played, I really enjoyed the game despite the flaws mentioned. I’d love to play more games like it.

edutainment is good actually