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2.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

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  • Summary: Midnight in Singapore. Your contact's a no show, your client wants answers and your empty bank balance hangs over you like a neon-tinted Sword of Damocles. Welcome to 2032. Welcome to Chinatown Detective Agency.

    The world is in a state of flux as the global economy nears the nadir of its
    Midnight in Singapore. Your contact's a no show, your client wants answers and your empty bank balance hangs over you like a neon-tinted Sword of Damocles. Welcome to 2032. Welcome to Chinatown Detective Agency.

    The world is in a state of flux as the global economy nears the nadir of its decade-long collapse. Singapore stands as a last refuge of order but even here the government struggles on the brink of chaos. Private detectives are now the first call for those citizens able to afford a semblance of justice.

    That's where you come in. You are Amira Darma, once a rising star at INTERPOL, now a freshly minted Private Investigator in the heart of Chinatown, and your first client is about to walk through your door...

    Inspired by the classic Carmen Sandiego games of the 80s and 90s, Chinatown Detective Agency is a mystery adventure game that will take you across Singapore and the world in hot pursuit of criminals, witnesses and clues. Solve puzzles and uncover leads using real research and investigation, and manage your time and money to solve cases from clients both well-intentioned and nefarious. Along the way, untangle a web of conspiracies and plots that threaten to push the Lion City over the edge.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 3
  2. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. 90
    Overall, Chinatown Detective Agency is for sure one of the most unique and interesting adventure games I have played in a very long time, with its focus on using your own personal resources to bring yourself to a solution, providing a sense of satisfaction I don’t often find from mysteries. It is a game that is completely unafraid of letting you make mistakes and wasting your time and money, and this ties flawlessly into its well thought out setting and very memorable characters who will regard Amira with the results of your effort. The pixel art that makes up environments is gorgeous and expressive, with the nighttime streets of Singapore being my personal favorite to just spend time looking at. While it is disappointing how common the minor UI and audio bugs are, this is nothing that can’t be fixed with a few patches and does not take away from what is a mystery-solving experience that fans of this genre absolutely should not miss.
  2. 70
    No doubt the audience for Chinatown Detective Agency is small. Modern video games spoon feed everything to players, so I can only imagine how counterintuitive it will seem to many to have a game that’s actively telling them to Google It, Mate and is willing to leave them high-and-dry with only vague clues. This is a game for people that genuinely enjoy researching stuff, and niche as that is, I have to believe that there’s a space in the market for it. Otherwise, “where’s the curiosity gone?” becomes a very real and sad question that we need to ask about our society and the entertainment that we consume.
  3. Feb 17, 2023
    33
    I played CDA so you didn’t have to. Well, actually, I played CDA because I thought it would be great but it turned out to be one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever played. I have no interest in booting up a second and third playthrough to trudge through the mire of the other storylines and don’t recommend you trudge through even one of them. Play something else.
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