I reviewed the original Darkside Detective back in 2017 (https://www.gamesfreezer.co.uk/2017/10/review-darkside-detective-welcome-to.html) and found it a really fun and funny experience.
This sequel continues in very much the same vein, if you were a fan of the original, this is a smooth and high-quality continuation but the way in which the story begins and progresses, you’d need to be aware of the events of the first game to really understand what’s going on and get full enjoyment out of the experience.
The same chunky, colourful pixel artwork is on display here as well as a soundtrack that fits in seamlessly, bouncing along in the background without seeming overbearing or grating. This is quite impressive as the audio loops seem quite short but are pitched at just the right mood, I actually had one tune on for two hours straight as my young son needed calming down so the music repeated in the background, even after that length of time, I still found it catchy. Good.
Split between a plethora of inventory-based puzzles and the occasional pop-up puzzle, the game isn’t difficult but can be occasionally tricky, perhaps requiring a quick glance at a walkthrough.
The dialogue is also consistently amusing – Dooley is easily one of my favourite dopey videogame characters – but can sometimes outstay its welcome, especially if you inadvertently click on a character by accident and have to get through a load of dialogue boxes, the fact that most dialogue isn’t decision-tree based means that there can be understandable repetition in these areas.
I was also a fan of how you can use the touch-screen controls on the Switch as well as controlling the cursor with the left thumbstick. The humour in this game also struck me as slightly more self-referential than the original, riffing off prior events and in-world lore, which I actually preferred.
"Right, I’m off to the Darkside."
When playing a game where you can make money online, such as āļŠāļĨ็āļāļ it helps to have a consistent connection.
ReplyDelete