Nick Bounty: The Dame with the Blue Chewed Shoe.
- March 31, 2020
- Pinhead Games
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Nick Bounty: The Dame with the Blue Chewed Shoe" is a comedic noir-style adventure game where players take on the role of detective Nick Bounty, solving a real murder case. The game features 3D environments, an innovative evidence gathering and analyzing system, and a star-studded voice cast. Players can choose one of three sidekicks to customize their experience. This game is inspired by classic film noir detective movies and adventure games from Lucas Arts and Telltale Games.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features great humor and witty dialogue, making it an enjoyable experience.
- The voice acting is top-notch, with recognizable talent that adds charm to the characters.
- The graphics have improved significantly from previous titles, showcasing more detail and a noir aesthetic.
- The controls are clunky and frustrating, with poor pathfinding and collision detection that often leads to characters getting stuck.
- The game suffers from technical issues such as lag, glitches, and a lack of polish, which can detract from the overall experience.
- Gameplay can feel simplistic, as the game often draws conclusions for the player, limiting the sense of actual detective work.
- humor40 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, characterized by clever and laugh-out-loud dialogue, absurd scenarios, and a campy tone that evokes classic point-and-click adventures. Players appreciate the blend of genuine wit and silliness, with many noting the strong voice acting and engaging story that enhance the comedic experience. Overall, the game is recommended for those who enjoy a humorous take on detective noir themes, despite some minor criticisms regarding controls.
“It made me laugh out loud, and by the finale, it was so weird and crazy, I thought I'd accidentally stumbled into an alternate universe where the laws of sanity no longer apply.”
“The dialogue is laugh-out-loud hilarious in parts, the voice acting is brilliant, and the three sidekicks are great fun.”
“The humor and music nail everything that was great about old Sam and Max Telltale games, occasionally but never too often breaking the fourth wall, and demonstrating enough competence out of Nick himself to keep the story moving.”
- story28 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by its humorous and engaging plot, featuring comical characters and clever writing that often includes puns and fourth-wall breaks. Players appreciate the lighthearted, silly nature of the narrative, which is complemented by enjoyable graphics and a well-paced progression. While some elements, like the sidekick, may not significantly enhance the experience, the overall consensus is that the story provides a fun and entertaining detective adventure worth exploring, especially for fans of the genre.
“Engaging story with a nice twist.”
“The humor and music nails everything that was great about old Sam and Max Telltale games, occasionally but never too often breaking the fourth wall, and demonstrating enough competence out of Nick himself to keep the story moving.”
“The writing is great, the story is fun, there's lots to do.”
“The whole story is silly in general.”
“It's not a big deal anyway, since it's a heavily story-and-dialogue based game.”
“Whether or not the fun characters, humor, and storyline are worth the trouble is up to you, I guess.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for being less demanding and overly simplistic, as players collect and analyze evidence without engaging in actual detective work, with the game drawing conclusions automatically. Additionally, changes to mechanics from previous entries have resulted in clunky controls and poor pathfinding, which may frustrate some players. Despite these issues, those willing to overlook the gameplay shortcomings may still find enjoyment in the experience.
“In a weird way, it fulfilled my want for an LA Noire style game, despite being very different in tone and gameplay.”
“Gameplay could've been more demanding; it's a little disappointing that you collect so much evidence and analyze it, but the game draws all conclusions for you automatically, so you do not do any actual detective work.”
“What drove me nuts is that the game mechanics have been changed from previous entries.”
“Gameplay could've been more demanding, because it is a little disappointing you collect so much evidence and analyze it, but the game draws all conclusions for you automatically, so you do not do any actual detective work.”
“What drove me nuts is the game mechanics have been changed from previous entries.”
“This makes for clunky mechanics and the pathfinder is terrible.”
- replayability12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability primarily through the choice of three different sidekicks, each leading to unique scenarios and dialogue. Players can experience varied outcomes and comedic interactions based on their partner selection, enhancing the overall charm and engagement of the game.
“Being able to choose a different sidekick for the case provides excellent replay value.”
“You get all the charm of a comedic noir game, plus a surprising amount of replayability mainly coming from Nick's potential decisions to hire one of three partners for the case.”
“It has replay value thanks to the ability to choose from three different sidekicks, and the characters are comically brilliant.”
“And has replay value as three different scenarios depending on who you chose as a sidekick.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics in this title show noticeable improvements over its predecessor, featuring enhanced detail, subtle particle effects, and a cool noir aesthetic. While some players appreciate the blend of old-school graphics with a humorous and engaging story, others find the overall visual presentation underwhelming for a modern release, noting clumsy controls as a drawback.
“Graphics seem a step up from the previous title, with more detail in scenes this time around and some subtle particle effects and lighting.”
“Graphics are cool noir, and the plot (beautifully silly as it is) moves along at a nice pace.”
“It was great humor, an enjoyable story plot, good graphics, and just all around silly fun.”
“The control feels a bit clumsy and the graphics are not really impressive considering the year this came out.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marked by significant path-finding issues, with characters often struggling to find the correct angle for interactions, leading to frustrating spins around hotspots. Additionally, players report occasional crashes, glitches, and lag, although some find these issues manageable and not overly frustrating overall.
“The speed is fine, but the path-finding is pretty buggy - upon clicking a hotspot, it is very common to see the character spin around it at least once to find the one 'correct' angle to interact with it.”
“But the path-finding is terrible, the lip-syncing is off, there's crashing and glitches, and it lags occasionally.”
“The game is a bit rough around the edges, but aside from a few amusing visual glitches and pathing bugs, I finished the game with zero frustration.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to poor controls, particularly criticizing the cumbersome controller implementation that requires using a thumb-stick to move a mouse pointer, making the experience tedious.
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game effectively captures the charm of the classic Sam and Max Telltale games, complementing the humor and storytelling while occasionally breaking the fourth wall. Overall, it enhances the experience without overwhelming the narrative.
“The humor and music capture everything that was great about the old Sam and Max Telltale games, occasionally but never too often breaking the fourth wall, and demonstrating enough competence from Nick himself to keep the story moving.”
