- Publisher: Rogueside
- Release Date: May 5, 2025
- Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
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May 7, 2025Best Served Cold has engaging mysteries, engaging characters, and limited gameplay. I like the setting, with its mix of historical inspirations and escalating social tension. And all the characters are fun to chat with, even if the killers tend to be a little predictable. This is a good narrative to experience alongside your choice of a cocktail. Unfortunately, actually mixing drinks is not exciting at all and serves most as a short pause for players to consider how they plan on steering dialogue. Still, some of the recipes are interesting enough that players should try mixing them in the real world. Best Served Cold is an enjoyable detective game that neglects its bartending side.
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May 4, 2025Best Served Cold is a graphic novel set in a speakeasy with decadent charm, located in a city in an alternative Eastern Europe. With a strong narrative and investigative component, the game places us behind the bar, mixing cocktails and confidences. Twenty-two characters each with their own personality, branching dialogues, noir atmosphere and inspired art direction make for a deep and engaging experience. The approach is slow, thoughtful and entirely based on listening, intuition and careful reading of details. For those who enjoy complex stories, subtle moral choices and conversations that can change the course of events.
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May 9, 2025Best Served Cold is a uniquely charming title that blends the style of 'VA-11 HALL-A' with investigative gameplay. The captivating atmosphere of the Prohibition era and its engaging mysteries are definite highlights, but the overall experience is held back by an intrusive interface and persistent bugs.
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May 4, 2025Best Served Cold is a digestif. A perfect palate cleanser to play after a larger more involved experience. Some elements don’t quite compliment one another, and there is certainly work here to improve the recipe. But these characters and world are strong enough to carry those shortcomings. While it isn’t a perfect cocktail, the writing and world elevate a mechanically simple experience into something narratively fulfilling. If you enjoy murder mysteries, and 1920s vibes, pull up a stool at the Nightcap — stay a while, and soak in the ambiance.
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May 7, 2025Best Served Cold doesn’t revolutionise the genre, but it does tell an incredibly compelling story about class, power, and people desperately trying to find their way in a world that’s not that different from our own. It’s not perfect, but it’s valuable nonetheless.
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May 5, 2025Best Served Cold is a detective game with fairly limited means, but it nonetheless makes the most of them to weave a compelling story of alternate-universe Prohibition. Excellent, natural-feeling diverse representation is a bonus on top of world-class world-building, keeping things light on detail but giving just enough info that the player feels the reality of the world outside the speakeasy. Just don't expect an explosive finale, and have patience for a few bugs.
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May 6, 2025Best Served Cold has its merits as a story, but its poorly built gameplay keeps the title from being more than a mere curiosity. More time in the fridge would have made these fine drinks ice-cold — the final product, however, highlights its flaws more than anything else.