Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
Website: http://darksidedetective.com/
Price: $12.99 USD at time of writing
Blurb: “Cursed enough that it’s a nuisance. Cursed enough that somebody has to deal with it? That’s where The Darkside Detective comes in. Whenever you hear a bump in the night, feel a tingle up your spine, or smell something fishy, Detective Francis McQueen isn’t far behind. No, he doesn’t smell of fish - it’s a phrase, come on… Picking up after the events of The Darkside Detective, McQueen has to save his usually-present (in body, if not mind) sidekick Officer Dooley from the Darkside, so the two can get back to what they do best - investigating the city’s many strange, often paranormal, always paradoxical goings-on. Join them in this frighteningly funny point-and-click adventure as they investigate six more standalone cases bringing them to a carnival, the local retirement home, an amateur wrestling circuit, and even as far away as Ireland, as they do what they can to keep the Darkside at bay.“
The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark is a sequel to the 2017 game Darkside Detective, a retro-styled (read ugly low-res pixelated) humorous game. The only thing that has changed, is that the puzzles have become a bit harder.
End of review. If it were that easy! However, for me, that was one of the things that made the first game better, the pace at which the game progressed, unlike other point-and-click games. The pace of the game fits better with the light-hearted mood it tried to portray on a sometimes serious subject. This one is a more traditional “Monkey Island with all the puzzles” type game. Yep, it took me a while to finish it, unlike the first game that was done in five hours. There is more emphasis on the strangeness of the Irish, Castle Dooley included. Here, I thought it was the Scots who were strange.
Prepare to get stuck often. Though I love using my noggin and the odd obscure puzzle, you still want the game to be fun. The other plus is that the game has a lot of story. I like games with story, but I can swear it has fewer cases than the first (I cannot remember). However, I would like to point out that you do not need to have played the previous game to enjoy this one, but you may miss some of the references during the game. I would also say that you don’t have to sit down and consume it all in one go, you can do what I did and play 20 minutes a day, sometimes with days in-between. The game is about twice as long as the previous one and even longer if you don’t cheat.
I recall paying monkey island 1 silent, reading all the dialogue, while my stiffy drive crunched away. When the second one came along, and was a talkie, my mind was blown. The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark, being a sequel, is still not a talkie. Though the writing is good, top-notch even (I can guarantee that you will be smiling at your monitor at some point in the game), it could have benefited from some cool voice acting.
My only criticism would be that it breaks the fourth wall a little too often. Yes, I know the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, but some things get old quickly. You know, like kicking the wall in Full Throttle, to find the secret entrance…
Let me circle back to the retro-styled graphics. For me, it did not do it. You see, these types of graphics work well on a CRT monitor, not so much on LCD. To achieve the same feel, you need to at least double the graphics quality. By that I mean, if this is considered 8-bit it needs to be 16-bit, or if it is 16-bit it needs to be 32-bit, and so forth. It feels lacking, and sometimes lacklustre. Don’t get me wrong, I love pixel art, but when I see this, I understand why some people hate it. An example would be coming up to castle Dooley in a storm, it looks like something I did when I was 6… In M$ paint… With bucket fill. The basic shape is there, but the colouring is monotone and though it is grey, it doesn’t pretend to be stone or come alive. The couple of dark grey marks speaks of “couldn’t be bothered” or maybe “damn deadline was yesterday”.
The music is atmospheric and does give off a silly spooky vibe: https://akuparagames.bandcamp.com/album/the-darkside-detective-a-fumble-in-the-dark-original-game-soundtrack - please give it a listen before you go buying the OST (hint – I wouldn’t). It is the type that sets the mood without being in your face. It does not speak to me, and feels about as faceless as the characters. That is another thing, some characters HAVE faces, so I am not sure why the inconsistency. For one, just a simple nose would have broken the flat faces, or should I say non-faces? Things like goblins have eyes, but the main characters do not… The freakiest thing in the whole game is the faceless clowns. If you have a ‘clown phobia’ (coulrophobia for the non-plebs), I suggest giving this game a wide berth.
Honestly, I would not spend the $25 USD (local worth of the game) on it. I say wait for 70% discount or buy it in a bundle. The only way I would consider it would be with higher resolution graphics and voice acting.
Why would I choose this game over so many others on steam? The short answer is, I would not. If you enjoyed the first one, wait for the sale to purchase this one.