The Detail

63%
Game Brain Score Based on 654 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
The Detail Game Cover
The Detail is a solid first effort, but has some audio problems that could hurt it in the long run. Worth a buy, but hesitation is understandable.
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"The Detail is a crime noir adventure game focused on a detective's brutal gangland murder investigation and a reformed criminal's efforts to protect his family. With branching narratives, interactive comics, and professional audio, players face tough choices and deal with the consequences in this mature, emotional experience. Multiple playable characters and a branching storyline based on player choices are featured in the first episode, 'Where the Dead Lie'."

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

63%
Audience ScoreBased on 654 reviews
story216 positive mentions
stability32 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique comic book art style that enhances the storytelling experience.
  • The narrative is engaging, with choices that impact the story and character development.
  • The atmosphere is dark and gritty, reminiscent of classic noir films and detective stories.
  • The game is very short, with some players completing it in under two hours, leading to a feeling of being incomplete.
  • There is a lack of voice acting, which detracts from the immersion and overall experience.
  • Technical issues, such as bugs and glitches, can disrupt gameplay and frustrate players.
  • story654 mentions

    The story of the game is a crime noir narrative that features multiple characters and choices, but it is often criticized for being clichéd, predictable, and lacking depth. While some players appreciate the engaging art style and the potential for character-driven storytelling, many feel that the execution is rushed, especially in the final episode, leaving numerous plot threads unresolved. Overall, the game is seen as more of an interactive story than a traditional game, with limited impact from player choices on the overall narrative.

    • “An engaging story involving the darker side of the police.”
    • “Excellent story especially seeing it through all the character's eyes and a really clever twist in the end.”
    • “The story is well-told, with logical plot twists, and remains plausible right until the end of episode 3.”
    • “The story felt rushed, especially in the last episode.”
    • “Your choices have absolutely no impact on the story and they do not matter at all, so thanks for nothing!”
    • “The so-called story is so bland that it is hard to take.”
  • graphics182 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique comic book art style that many players find visually appealing, particularly for its noir aesthetic. While some praise the artwork as breathtaking and fitting for the genre, others criticize certain character designs and environmental details as lacking polish. Overall, the visuals are a mixed bag, with strong artistic elements overshadowed by some technical shortcomings, making it feel more like an interactive graphic novel than a traditional game.

    • “The art style is what attracted me to buy the game in the first place, and it complements the story rather nicely.”
    • “In the end, however, I was glad to see this story on my screen, with the breathtaking visuals.”
    • “Very well done - the art style is absolutely fantastic (a Frank Miller noir, heavy contrasting black/white atmosphere for cutscenes and vivid colors for gameplay) and surprisingly becomes suspenseful at times.”
    • “Unlike other people, I'm not giving it a pass on visuals nor on sound; this was simply not good on any level.”
    • “Although the graphics are relatively polished for a story game, the rather hideous character models and uninspired environment really let it down - how are things this unpleasant to look at outside of the 90's?”
    • “If they had invested the money and time in more graphical assets, refining the environments and storyline, I'd understand, but I find the graphics pretty unappealing.”
  • music110 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its atmospheric and mood-setting qualities that complement the story, while others find it repetitive, dull, or overly dramatic. Many reviewers note the absence of voice acting and sound effects, which contributes to a sense of monotony in the audio experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is seen as fitting for the game's tone, it often lacks variety and can become tiresome over time.

    • “The soundtrack just melts together with the story and really sets the tone.”
    • “Beautiful drawings, inspired storytelling, great conversations, music fits like a glove, what more is there to say???”
    • “The music is grand and dramatic, although sometimes it overstays its welcome and lingers a bit.”
    • “The music left a lot to be desired, and given that there's no voice acting or sound effects to change the vibe, the soundtrack stood out as repetitive and irritating.”
    • “There is basically no sound except for really bad background music that gets annoying after a while and made me turn off the sound completely.”
    • “Music is heavy-handed - yes, we get it's supposed to be a representation of our burnout protagonist, but it wears quickly and it never seems to stop.”
  • gameplay109 mentions

    The gameplay is primarily a linear, point-and-click experience that lacks depth and engagement, often reducing player interaction to simple clicking with minimal exploration or puzzle-solving. While some players appreciate the narrative-driven choices reminiscent of visual novels, many criticize the gameplay for being sparse, repetitive, and unchallenging, leading to a lack of overall enjoyment. The art style and story elements receive praise, but the gameplay mechanics are generally viewed as basic and unsatisfying.

    • “If you like noir mystery visual novels with simple gameplay and complicated plots, this might be for you.”
    • “The story-driven gameplay includes multiple choices that persist through the episodes and multiple solutions to some puzzles.”
    • “Overall an amazing game, made by a small team, good story, good mechanics, and beautiful art style.”
    • “Gameplay-wise, this is a very linear game.”
    • “Dialogues are really boring, the game is linear to the point where they put big yellow circles around every piece of evidence you need to find, so there's not much exploration or gameplay, just click on things and progress through the story. I couldn't bear to finish it, sorry.”
    • “There is no gameplay but making choices, and no matter what you do, you always end up at the same places in the same order.”
  • atmosphere42 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is predominantly described as dark and noirish, effectively complementing its NYC setting and appealing to fans of true crime and film noir. While some reviewers appreciate the visual style and atmospheric music, others feel it lacks originality compared to classic noir games, suggesting that it sometimes falls short in fully realizing its potential. Overall, the atmosphere is a strong point for many players, enhancing the storytelling and character development despite some criticisms.

    • “A convincing story in a fitting atmosphere; this is a game to try out for hard-boiled, true crime, and film noir fans.”
    • “The game has a great way of setting the atmosphere, with the great soundtrack, good character work, and the choices you have to make sometimes.”
    • “Very well done - the art style is absolutely fantastic (a Frank Miller noir, heavy contrasting black/white atmosphere for cutscenes and vivid colors for gameplay) and surprisingly becomes suspenseful at times.”
    • “There is no atmosphere.”
    • “Basically, the comic book and noir style has been done better in older games, so this really should look gorgeous by comparison. When you compare this to, say, the 20-year-old classic noir Blade Runner game, you'll see why I'm complaining; there is very little imagination going on here and so much more could have been done to fill out the world atmosphere.”
    • “Controls are point-and-click, and while there are puzzles, the main focus is definitely on atmosphere and story.”
  • replayability38 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the multiple paths and choices that can lead to different outcomes, while others criticize the lack of significant narrative changes and the linearity of the story. Although it offers some replay value for achievements and different gameplay approaches, many reviewers note that the short playtime and minimal impact of choices diminish its overall replayability. Overall, it may appeal to those who enjoy exploring various decision outcomes, but it may not satisfy players seeking substantial differences in subsequent playthroughs.

    • “I think that really gives the game replay value, just to see how things could be done differently.”
    • “It does have a good replayability factor, as your choices affect the outcome throughout the game.”
    • “Great replay value - choose a different response or action and see how things pan out.”
    • “There is absolutely no replay value, as even the first playthrough lacks anything really exciting.”
    • “There is no replay value here - the first episode tends to have more impactful choices but it really doesn't change the narrative to any significant degree and far too much happens off screen.”
    • “On top of that, the game lasts less than 2 hours and there is almost no replay value, as the different 'choices' you have lead to almost the same outcome (sometimes minor local changes, but nothing changing the story as a whole), making the game extremely linear.”
  • stability32 mentions

    The game is widely criticized for its lack of stability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues, particularly in the third episode. Players have experienced frequent restarts, lost progress, and various minor to moderate technical problems, leading to a general consensus that the game feels unpolished and amateurish. While some users noted that the issues were not game-breaking, the overall sentiment suggests that the game's stability significantly detracts from the experience.

    • “This game is soooooo buggy, it has so many different issues with it I find it hard to recommend even though I want to be able to.”
    • “It's very rough around the edges: the illustration (especially of people's faces) is amateurish, there are some irritating glitches & bugs, the plot is very so-so (and with parts that don't make sense), and it's really short (30 minutes at most for a single playthrough).”
    • “The final product lacks polish and screams amateur (especially with all its bugs and glitches), but I'm still willing to give the next few episodes a try if they are low enough in price.”
  • character development10 mentions

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the focus on narrative and the distinct character designs, others criticize the rushed pacing and lack of depth due to an overwhelming number of characters and timelines. This has led to a diminished emotional investment in the characters, particularly in the poorly received third season, which many felt derailed the development entirely. Overall, the execution of character arcs appears inconsistent, leaving players divided on their effectiveness.

    • “On the plus side, the detail focuses on character development and narrative which makes the game compelling.”
    • “The artwork is high quality, every character design is distinguishable one from another.”
    • “And then the third season was a short mess that quickly derailed all character development, resolved some plot lines hastily and left others hanging, ended after seemingly less than 30 minutes of game time and ultimately pushed me to giving this game a thumbs down.”
    • “There are so many timelines and characters that no character development is spent on one, therefore your care factor for them is zero.”
    • “The third season was a short mess that quickly derailed all character development, resolved some plot lines hastily and left others hanging.”
  • humor8 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by strong, witty dialogue, particularly in its crime noir style, which adds levity to serious moments. While some players found the comedic elements entertaining, especially during dull plot points, others felt that the humor struggled to compensate for frustrating gameplay mechanics like backtracking. Overall, the humor is appreciated but may not fully align with the game's serious tone.

    • “In some ways, this is almost a good thing, because doing funny voices for the characters back and forth with my husband kept me entertained through some of the duller parts of the plot.”
    • “The dialogue is quite strong and funny in its crime noir style, and I enjoyed the theme music as well - sets the mood right.”
    • “The endless backtracking and fidgeting really only works in comedy point-and-click games with humorous exchanges rather than in serious-toned games where you just become frustrated if you can't progress.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and slow-paced, detracting from the overall experience. While some appreciate the lack of tedious puzzles in the click-and-point adventure format, the grinding still remains a significant drawback.

    • “It made the game so bloody tedious and so slow-paced.”
    • “+ click and point adventure without tedious puzzles”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Reviews indicate that the game lacks emotional depth, with events occurring that fail to resonate or evoke any significant feelings in players.

  • optimization2 mentions

    The game suffers from various optimization issues, including bugs like unresponsive UI elements, random lag, and incorrect character portraits. However, these problems are generally not game-breaking.

    • “This game can be rather buggy at times; boxes not clicking properly, random lag, wrong portraits displaying, and general optimization issues, but nothing game-breaking.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

76% average critic score

Buy The Detail

Play time

7hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
6-9hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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