Chinatown Detective Agency

General Interactive deserve applause for their unique approach to detective work in adventure games, but the central mechanic in Chinatown Detective Agency feels like it deserves to be in a more substantial game. Still, what’s here features a fun story with a lot of memorable characters and nicely-challenging puzzles that test how well your online research skills are, so wannabe sleuths or adventure game fans will still want to take a trip out to this version of Chinatown, where an enjoyable adventure awaits.

Chinatown Detective Agency is an engaging point-and-click adventure with gorgeous art direction that falls just a bit short.

Chinatown Detective Agency goes down as one of my favorite detective games ever. You may not be actually doing any detective work and solving mysteries--you're not asked to figure out what's a clue, what it means, and how it may connect to other clues. But, even so, Chinatown Detective Agency successfully emulates the deductive reasoning necessary to be an investigator by simply tasking you with figuring out how to interpret a confusing clue. A collection of bugs and superfluous systems drag down the experience a bit, but the Singaporean setting makes for a thrilling setup for some real-world sleuthing, and excellent voice acting and a compelling protagonist sell the dystopian but somewhat tragically beautiful cybernoir future.

Chinatown Detective Agency accurately shows that a detective’s work consists mainly of research but the developers forgot that puzzles alone, even fresh and creative, are not enough. The game could use a better designed world and a more interesting story that doesn’t fizzle out after a decent beginning.

Chinatown Detective Agency’s main draw, the real-world investigation, is a great idea that worked very well for the most part. It will be interesting to see if it can survive the internet’s aggressive SEO algorithm, but I still think it’ll be a fun time for any mystery game fan. Unfortunately, multiple bugs and glitches that should have been caught before launch ruined a lot of my experience, along with a truly annoying inability to save mid-mission. The good news is, the developers have already been very active in fixing many issues with the game, so the grievances I have with the game may very well be temporary.

Chinatown Detective Agency is made in the image of classic adventure games and never aspires beyond that. Meeting it on its own terms, it’s an adequate cybernoir mystery with a compelling lead and colorful scenery. If you’re not into that already, this game probably won’t tickle your fancy very much. But if you are, you’ll find this to be a decently written and designed adventure. It’ll take a bit of research on your part, but I have the feeling that a lot of gamers out there will find that as fun as I do. Just know that, even weeks after its release, the game still has some sound problems that might make diminish your enjoyment.

Here's hoping we have bigger and deeper globe-trotting adventures with them in the future (provided we live to see it). [Issue#371, p.118]

Even when taking into consideration the game's bugs, Chinatown Detective Agency is a superbly told story with memorable characters and incredibly engaging gameplay. The unique noir-style take on Carmen Sandiego presents a strong, admirable protagonist that strives to be the hero even in the darkest of times, while provoking the question of what heroism really means. The game's case-cracking gives the player a true feeling of accomplishment and justice-served, with the added bonus of learning about interesting new topics. The game's greatness makes the fact it cannot be finished even more disappointing - without the large bugs, Chinatown would be a nearly flawless game. However, under the assumption the development team is able to make the necessary changes to the game, Chinatown Detective Agency has the potential to become a great modern point-and-click adventures.

An engaging plot, likeable cast, and funny and insightful writing save an otherwise uneven and frequently flat series of puzzles that over rely on search engines and not enough on the game’s strongest elements – its world and storytelling.

Unfortunately, I simply can’t recommend Chinatown Detective Agency. I wanted to love it, the premise is up my alley, and the setting immediately won me over. But it’s so bogged down by technical issues and design decisions that I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Amira’s a likable protagonist, and some of the puzzles will stick with me, but the problems eclipsed any enjoyment I could have experienced.

If the game’s story, characters, and research aspect sound really appealing to you, then go ahead and give the game a try – there is some intriguing gameplay under the incomplete covers. For anyone else, though, I’d recommend that you use your real-world Google skills to find another adventure game to play.

Chinatown Detective Agency feels incomplete, rushed and lacking in essence. A failed successor to Carmen Sandiego that which looks like a very adult game, but ends up being as simple as a story for kids with access to Google Play.