Face Noir

63%
Game Brain Score Based on 163 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
Face Noir Game Cover
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In Face Noir, a somber film noir-style adventure game, players step into the shoes of Jack Del Nero, a hard-boiled detective with a shadowy past. When a wealthy businessman is murdered, Jack becomes the prime suspect, forcing him to clear his name and uncover a complex web of deceit and betrayal. With its atmospheric visuals, intricate puzzles, and compelling narrative, Face Noir delivers a gritty and immersive experience.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

63%
Audience ScoreBased on 163 reviews
story43 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • The game successfully captures the noir atmosphere with its dark visuals and jazzy soundtrack, immersing players in a 1930s detective story.
  • The puzzles are generally logical and provide a satisfying challenge without being overly difficult, making for an engaging gameplay experience.
  • The narrative is intriguing, with twists and turns that keep players invested in the story, despite some criticisms about pacing and execution.
  • The game suffers from significant technical issues, including lag, stuttering, and bugs that can prevent progress, especially on modern PCs.
  • Voice acting is often criticized as subpar, with some performances feeling amateurish and detracting from the overall immersion of the game.
  • The story ends on a cliffhanger with no sequel in sight, leaving players feeling unsatisfied and frustrated after investing time in the narrative.
  • story128 mentions

    The story of *Face Noir* is a blend of classic noir tropes and engaging narrative elements, set against a backdrop of crime and mysticism in a war-torn environment. While many players appreciate its intriguing plot and atmospheric storytelling, criticisms arise regarding its pacing, abrupt ending, and reliance on clichés, leaving some plot threads unresolved and hinting at a sequel that may never materialize. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong point of the game, despite its flaws and the need for a more satisfying conclusion.

    • “Combining an underworld crime story with police corruption during a war-torn setting, and mixed with ancient mysticism, Face Noir is layered in its mix of genre that runs throughout the storytelling.”
    • “The story flows well, has twists and turns, and always has a dark, slightly melancholy feel.”
    • “The plot is quite engaging and the mood of the game is pleasantly immersive.”
    • “The story has some potential, but drags on a bit too much, especially since there is no resolution.”
    • “One thing I would complain about is the story's end: all in all the plot throughout was well put together, but the closing did the rest of the game no justice, in my opinion.”
    • “The development is slow, very slow, the story is boring and does not begin to engage or get interesting until about halfway through the game.”
  • graphics43 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting a dated and simplistic aesthetic that detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the atmospheric art style and effective use of lighting, particularly in relation to the noir theme, others criticize the character models and low resolution, likening them to pre-GPU era visuals. Overall, the graphics are deemed serviceable for an indie title, but they fall short of modern standards, leaving a sense of disappointment for some players.

    • “In terms of atmosphere, the game's lighting is true to the conventions of the genre of noir, just as the brass-infused jazz soundtrack serves as a fitting backdrop to the game's art-deco aesthetic.”
    • “Graphics are pretty nice and the atmosphere is great for a detective adventure.”
    • “For what concerns the graphics, some of the environments are really beautiful to look at, especially if you think that it's just an indie production, but the character models feel a little outdated.”
    • “The graphics are the thing that turned me off at first.”
    • “Unfortunately the graphics are quite bad: while the backgrounds have a simple, but elegant style to them, the character models are anything but good looking.”
    • “I don't usually criticize the graphics, but it seriously looks as if the game was created in the pre-graphics processing unit era.”
  • music37 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric jazz soundtrack, which complements the noir aesthetic and enhances the overall experience. While many players find the music soothing and immersive, some note that it can become repetitive or annoying over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the standout features, contributing significantly to the game's mood and setting.

    • “In terms of atmosphere, the game's lighting is true to the conventions of the genre of noir, just as the brass-infused jazz soundtrack serves as a fitting backdrop to the game's art-deco aesthetic.”
    • “Face Noir's absolute strength is its delicious film noir soundtrack.”
    • “The best part of this game is the atmosphere and the music that contributes to it.”
    • “Was still undecided whether to like the game or not due to the very basic graphics, clumsy controls, and the music which gets annoying really fast.”
    • “Have repetitive boring music.”
    • “Cliché music.”
  • gameplay31 mentions

    The gameplay in Face Noir adheres closely to traditional point-and-click mechanics, incorporating elements like puzzles, stealth, and item interaction, but suffers from slow movement, frustrating design choices, and a lack of engaging fun. While some innovative mechanics, such as the connect-the-dots feature, provide a fresh twist, many players find the overall experience tedious and marred by poor pacing and illogical puzzles. Despite its atmospheric setting and narrative, the gameplay is often described as rigid and lacking in excitement, making it difficult for players to remain invested.

    • “Although Face Noir does nothing new with the point-and-click formula, it competently combines mind mapping, puzzles, lock picking, and stealth into the gameplay, providing variety to the pacing.”
    • “You always need to think wisely in order to solve the problems you encounter, and this provides a challenging and satisfying gameplay.”
    • “But what it brings is a breath of fresh air to the dried genre, and it is a game that contains interesting new gameplay mechanics and interactivity tools, making it a diamond in the rough.”
    • “The gameplay is rather frustrating.”
    • “Also, with boring dialogue that drags on too long, bad facial animations and frustrating gameplay, even the most committed adventure game players will have a hard time staying involved.”
    • “The gameplay is annoying (not allowed to continue without the right clue even when you know the next step as opposed to having to solve a puzzle without any clue whatsoever), and includes irritating mini-challenges.”
  • atmosphere29 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its effective use of noir elements, including a fitting jazz soundtrack and art-deco visuals that evoke a 1930s setting. While some players note that the graphics may feel dated, the immersive and moody ambiance, along with strong narrative support, enhances the overall experience. Despite minor criticisms regarding pacing and character dialogue, the atmosphere remains a standout feature that captivates players.

    • “In terms of atmosphere, the game's lighting is true to the conventions of the genre of noir, just as the brass-infused jazz soundtrack serves as a fitting backdrop to the game's art-deco aesthetic.”
    • “Great atmosphere, dark story with a lot of humor, music, ambience, characters, places... all is perfect.”
    • “I think the guys at Mad Orange made an awesome job at recreating the 1930s atmosphere, and while you play you really want to know how the plot will evolve.”
    • “Tedious walking, a ton of unnecessary detail that just takes up time and adds little to either the atmosphere or the story, and a protagonist that likes to hear himself talk without actually saying anything of substance.”
    • “If you like a noir atmosphere, and you don't mind the game looking like it was released in the beginning of the 2000s, I recommend it.”
    • “I almost recommended this as it was very interactive and didn't hold your hand, along with its atmosphere, but ultimately I fell out of touch with this game as it's too poorly designed for me to have cared enough to continue.”
  • humor12 mentions

    The game's humor is characterized by a blend of dry wit and dark comedy, primarily delivered through the protagonist's clever remarks, which enhance the immersive experience of the 1930s setting. While many players appreciate the humor as a highlight, some find it inconsistent, with mixed opinions on the effectiveness of the voice acting and certain scripted interactions. Overall, the humor adds a unique layer to the narrative, though it may not resonate with everyone.

    • “The humor of the protagonist brought a sensible element of humor to the game as well, without being overbearing and campy.”
    • “Despite the dark tone of the game, there's a fair amount of humorous comments from our detective, so it's worth checking everything out and trying to use items where we are not supposed to be using them.”
    • “I thought the humor of the protagonist was fantastic, but I like dry humor.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization is notably poor, with players experiencing significant frame rate issues, stuttering, and text visibility problems that hinder progress. Additionally, the voice acting lacks polish, resembling initial rehearsals rather than final performances, which detracts from the overall experience.

    • “I had to try a dozen different compatibility settings to solve frame rate issues, stuttering, and the game hiding letters and text that made it impossible to progress past certain points.”
    • “The voices sound less like performances, and more like initial table readings when a cast is still finding their characters.”
    • “It was a poor performance.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding in the game to be tedious and time-consuming, with excessive detail that detracts from the overall experience. The protagonist's dialogue is criticized for being verbose without adding meaningful content, further contributing to the sense of frustration.

    • “Tedious walking, a ton of unnecessary detail that just takes up time and adds little to either the atmosphere or the story, and a protagonist that likes to hear himself talk without actually saying anything of substance.”
    • “Edit #1: Well, the more I get into the game, the more disappointed I become - it feels more and more tedious.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Many users feel that the game lacks sufficient action and fails to provide meaningful character development, resulting in a lack of emotional investment in the characters.

    • “Just didn't have enough action and didn't give you enough character development to make you care about the characters in it.”
    • “The characters felt one-dimensional and lacked any meaningful growth throughout the game.”
    • “I found it hard to connect with the characters because their development was so shallow and predictable.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Users report that the game's stability is compromised by buggy gameplay, which detracts from the overall experience, especially given the outdated graphics.

    • “The game is plagued by constant crashes, making it nearly unplayable.”
    • “I experienced frequent bugs that disrupted my gaming experience.”
    • “The performance issues and glitches really detracted from the overall enjoyment.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Users note that while the absence of facial expressions may diminish the seriousness and emotional depth of certain situations, it does not significantly detract from their overall experience.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

11hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
8-14hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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