The Detail

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'."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 325 reviews

story108 positive mentions

stability16 negative mentions

The game features a unique comic book art style that enhances the storytelling experience.
The narrative is engaging, with well-developed characters and a gritty crime noir atmosphere.
Choices made throughout the game have meaningful consequences, adding replayability.

The game is very short, with the first episode taking only about 1-2 hours to complete.
There is a lack of voice acting, which detracts from the overall immersion.
The story feels incomplete and rushed, especially in the final episode, leaving many plot threads unresolved.

story
327 mentions
33 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The story of the game is a mixed bag, featuring a noir-inspired narrative filled with classic crime tropes, such as corruption and moral dilemmas, which some players found engaging while others deemed it clichéd and predictable. Many reviews highlight the game's strong character development and the impact of player choices on the storyline, although some noted that these choices often lead to minimal changes in the overall plot. The episodic format, while initially promising, suffers from a rushed conclusion in the final episode, leaving several plot threads unresolved and diminishing the overall experience.
- “An engaging story involving the darker side of the police.”
- “Excellent story, especially seeing it through all the characters' 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 is unfinished.”
- “The game unfortunately is cut short, seemingly because of economical difficulties for the developer, so the third and last episode is a little bit rushed, where a lot of story is squeezed into a narrower timeframe.”
- “Your choices don't matter (this is no Walking Dead or Wolf Among Us), the game will push you towards the same plot regardless of what you do or say.”
graphics
91 mentions
45 % positive mentions
52 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique comic book art style that many players find appealing, particularly for its noir aesthetic and vibrant color schemes. 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 significant draw for the game, though opinions vary on their execution and impact on the overall experience.
- “The art style is what attracted me to buy the game in the first place, and it complements the story rather nicely.”
- “The artwork is brilliant; it's like reading an interactive comic - with some gritty black and white shorts and some mini-games (while fighting, lock picking, etc.).”
- “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.”
- “I bought this game based on the artwork, but I quickly realized that it is more a virtual comic book than a game.”
- “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?”
music
55 mentions
38 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its atmospheric qualities and ability to set the tone for 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 complements the narrative for some, it leaves others wanting more variety and engagement.
- “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.”
- “The music is heavy-handed - yes, we get it's supposed to be a representation of our burnout protagonist, but it wears quickly and never seems to stop.”
gameplay
54 mentions
9 % positive mentions
83 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily linear and simplistic, resembling a point-and-click visual novel with minimal puzzle-solving and exploration, which some players found unengaging. While the narrative-driven mechanics and dialogue choices offer some depth, many reviews highlight a lack of meaningful gameplay and a reliance on clicking to progress the story. Overall, the experience is described as more of an interactive novel than a traditional game, with a short playtime and limited replay value.
- “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.”
- “Gritty gameplay and artwork, slick and sleek point and click detective story - well worth its cost.”
- “Gameplay-wise, this is a very linear game.”
- “Dialogues are really boring, the game is linear to the point where they put a big yellow circle 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.”
atmosphere
21 mentions
57 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
14 % negative 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 and depth compared to classic noir games. Overall, the atmosphere is a strong point for many players, enhancing the storytelling and character development, despite some criticisms regarding execution and creativity.
- “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, the 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.”
replayability
19 mentions
32 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
16 % negative 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 there are achievements tied to different choices, many feel that the overall experience is too short and repetitive, limiting its long-term replay value. Overall, it offers some replayability for those interested in exploring various decisions, but it may not satisfy players seeking a deeply varied experience.
- “I think that really gives the game replay value, just to see how things could be done differently.”
- “The story can change, so it has replayability.”
- “It does have a good replayability factor, as your choices affect the outcome throughout the game.”
- “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.”
stability
16 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues, particularly in the third episode. While some players noted minor glitches that didn't significantly impact gameplay, many experienced frustrating crashes and lost progress, leading to a general consensus that the game lacks polish and stability. Overall, the game's technical shortcomings detract from the experience, making it difficult for reviewers to recommend despite its intriguing themes and story.
- “Kinda buggy, had to restart a few times and lost quite some progress.”
- “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 buggy as heck though, especially if you try to use the auto-dialogue feature or when you're doing replays.”
character development
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the focus on narrative and distinct character designs, others criticize the rushed and inconsistent development, particularly in the third season, which left many plot lines unresolved. The overwhelming number of timelines and characters further detracts from meaningful engagement, leading to a lack of emotional investment in the characters.
- “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.”
humor
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by strong, witty dialogue, particularly in its crime noir style, which adds entertainment value even during slower plot moments. While some players found the comedic elements engaging, others felt that the humor struggled to balance with the game's serious tone, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. Overall, the humor is appreciated for its cleverness but may not resonate with everyone due to the game's pacing and 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.”
- “Story: I personally like the story and the branching and the dialogues (some are pretty funny in serious moments), but I don't find the story very unique.”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and slow-paced, detracting from the overall experience. However, some appreciate the absence of tedious puzzles in the click-and-point adventure format.
- “It made the game so bloody tedious and so slow-paced.”
- “+ click and point adventure without tedious puzzles”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviewers noted that while events occurred in the game, they lacked emotional impact, leaving players feeling disconnected from the narrative and characters.
optimization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game experiences various optimization issues, including bugs like unresponsive 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.”