Coffee Noir: Business Detective Game

About

"Coffee Noir" is a narrative-driven business detective game. Play as a struggling coffee shop owner turned private investigator, solving mysteries in a film noir-inspired world. Make strategic choices in investigating cases and managing your coffee shop to grow your business and reputation.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Coffee Noir: Business Detective Game screenshot

+12

61%

Audience ScoreBased on 51 reviews

story27 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features a unique blend of detective storytelling and business management, creating an engaging experience.
The art style and soundtrack are praised for their quality, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
The story is intriguing and keeps players invested, with some players enjoying the character interactions and narrative twists.

The gameplay mechanics, particularly the clue connection system and negotiation outcomes, often feel random and lack depth, leading to frustration.
There are numerous grammatical errors and translation issues that detract from the overall experience.
The game can become repetitive and grindy, with some players feeling that it lacks the complexity expected from both a detective game and a business simulator.

story
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
59%
5%
The story is generally seen as intriguing and thematically rich, blending elements of a detective narrative with business management gameplay. However, many players find it messy and disjointed, with frequent interruptions that disrupt immersion, leading to a feeling of a flat or overly complicated plot. While the art and atmosphere are praised, the execution of the story often leaves players feeling uninvested or frustrated, particularly due to its linearity and abrupt transitions between gameplay and narrative segments.
- “The story is a lot of fun, the voice acting is excellent and the graphics look solid.”
- “An intriguing noir storyline, mixed with a pretty fun business sim.”
- “It's a beautiful story and we loved every minute of it.”
- “After you've finished all of the story components for a chapter, there's literally nothing else to do.”
- “The story itself feels a bit flat, at least until the point I reached, and that, paired with the subpar voice acting, really makes for irritating interruptions.”
- “Clues often felt misleading, not because they were designed to do so, but because the story got way too confusing way too soon, giving you like 20 characters, who all had to do with each other and clues that almost sound the same, yet you need to pick the 2 right ones.”
gameplay
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
66%
14%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it overly simplistic and repetitive despite an engaging narrative and art style. While some enjoyed the unique business negotiation mechanics, others criticized the detective elements as unsatisfying and poorly integrated, leading to a disconnect between the story and gameplay. Overall, the game is seen as lacking depth, with a steep initial learning curve that ultimately results in an easy and routine experience.
- “Running a coffee empire was fun, and there's a unique business negotiation mechanic that I found very engaging.”
- “The mechanics work pretty well too!”
- “- gameplay mechanics are clear and are nicely described in the tutorial.”
- “I like the core idea and the setting, but the gameplay itself quickly becomes routine and monotonous.”
- “The gameplay was a huge miss for me; there was so much information at the start that I thought it would be this super complicated ordeal, but it was way too easy. It's basically just 'check you have enough coffee, if not get more' and put the employees to work in their respective areas.”
- “The detective part of the gameplay is not really satisfying; it's really about choosing 'similar' clues quite randomly, without any reasoning or creative thinking.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
45%
14%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while many players appreciate its atmospheric quality and fitting style that enhances the overall experience, others find the limited track selection repetitive and quickly tiresome. Some users noted issues with volume levels affecting voice acting and specific sound effects that detracted from enjoyment. Overall, the soundtrack is often highlighted as a strong point, contributing positively to the game's unique blend of detective and management elements.
- “The team really did a great job here - the art, the music, and the setting feel very fitting and generally leave room for an interesting story.”
- “The artwork is absolutely amazing and the soundtrack is just top tier.”
- “Gotta love the office's music and the whole retrofuture theme of neo-London; it works wonders in this unexpected combination of business tycoon and noir fiction novel.”
- “The music got old quickly.”
- “Within my first hour playing, I muted it and just put on some generic detective noir music from YouTube instead.”
- “The music track itself contains coughing noises, which makes the game unplayable for somebody with misophonia.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
15%
23%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique art style, effectively capturing a retro 1950s detective aesthetic that enhances the overall atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the superb visuals as one of the strongest aspects of the game, complementing the engaging storyline and top-tier soundtrack. While some mention that the graphic art is merely "okay," the general consensus is that the artwork significantly contributes to the game's charm and immersive experience.
- “The artwork is absolutely amazing and the soundtrack is just top tier.”
- “Art style is pretty awesome and nails the noir detective feel.”
- “Great mix of detective and management elements with superb visuals and soundtrack.”
- “I think aesthetics received way more attention.”
- “The story line takes a 'steampunk' approach to the world but instead of Victorian ideals making it to the future, it's 1950s style detective/aesthetic going forward.”
- “The music and artwork are the strongest points of the production.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and lacking in tangible rewards, as it often involves repetitive tasks like farming for XP and money without meaningful incentives. The inability to skip dialogue during chapter replays further exacerbates the frustration, making the overall experience feel monotonous.
- “I found myself doing the equivalent of grinding for XP... just running out the clock to earn as much money as I could with my given setup before moving on.”
- “There is no tangible reward for doing these things (save for completing all of them across all chapters) and it just becomes tedious.”
- “There's no easy way to skip dialogue, so when I had to replay a chapter after going bankrupt, it was pretty tedious.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional bugs, particularly in areas like staff assignments and production mechanics, but these issues are generally not game-breaking. While some players express frustration over glitches affecting gameplay, many still find enjoyment in the interactive story despite the stability concerns.
- “It's a bit buggy at times (especially in the staff assignment roster, the coffee production levers, and some of the in-game numbers and achievements), but nothing that outright stops the game in its tracks.”
- “I really really wish they would fix the glitches.”
- “I had fun until I could no longer fulfill the contracts in the game because of poor design and glitches.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization system requires players to run ads for six weeks to identify the most effective campaigns, after which they can select and arrange advertisements. This process may feel lengthy and cumbersome for users seeking immediate results.
- “So if you want to actually pick the best ad campaigns, you have to run ads for 6 weeks.”
- “Finally, you can go back and pick the proper ads.”
- “You can also arrange for some advertisement.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers an emotional journey that deeply engages players as they explore the lives of the Kersey family and their community, while also prompting self-reflection through the character of Arthur Oliver, a private investigator. However, Arthur's personal emotional connections can sometimes cloud his judgment, adding complexity to the narrative.
- “It takes you on an emotional journey as you get to know the people surrounding the Kersey family, the Kerseys themselves, and most of all, yourself (playing as Arthur Oliver, P.I.).”
- “But he struggles to see past his own emotional connections sometimes.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, with users highlighting the impressive music and graphics that enhance the overall experience. The combination of a compelling storyline and artistic elements contributes to a captivating ambiance, despite the 2D presentation.
- “The good parts of the game are the atmosphere - mostly the music and the graphics.”
- “The storyline is great, and the background music and art create an awesome atmosphere even though it's 2D.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is noted for having minimal replay value, with users expressing that there is little incentive to play it again after completing it.
- “Almost zero replay value.”