Chinatown Detective Agency

Chinatown Detective Agency is a 2022 point-and-click adventure game developed by General Interactive Co. that was released on April 7, 2022 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. The game launched a Kickstarter campaign in March 2020, with a demo being released in September.[1] The game is set in a cyberpunk version of Singapore in 2037.

Chinatown Detective Agency
Developer(s)General Interactive Co.
Publisher(s)
Engine
Platform(s)
ReleaseApril 7, 2022
Genre(s)Adventure, point-and-click
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

The game's main character is a former Interpol officer named Amira Darma, who is beginning a new career as a private investigator based in Singapore's Chinatown district. Following a referral from her former boss, her first case is for a businessman trying to locate an accountant who has fled the country. Subsequently, she takes on a series of cases from a wealthy heir to return stamps from his philatelist father's collection to their originating countries. As she solves cases across the world, she begins to unravel a web of conspiracies back at home.[2]

Gameplay

The gameplay is heavily inspired by the Carmen Sandiego series. As in Carmen Sandiego games, players travel to various countries to accomplish various tasks and trail criminals. Similarly, the use of outside knowledge or reference resources is necessary to solve the game's puzzles, and factual trivia is occasionally presented by the characters. Gameplay also involves more traditional video game puzzles, such as code breaking.[3][4]

Development and release

General Interactive Co. was founded in 2016 in Singapore by Mark Fillon, though its team is now based around the world, including the United Kingdom and Brazil. The studio released its first game, Terroir, in 2017, and began development of Chinatown Detective Agency that year.[5]

A free alpha-level demo was released on Itch.io in March 2020.[6] A Kickstarter campaign for the game was successfully funded the following month, on April 28, 2020.[7] The game features voice acting, with Singaporean and Malaysian voice actors cast for all the Singaporean characters.[8] The original demo was succeeded by an extended prologue, subtitled Day One, on Steam and Itch.io in September 2020.[1][9] The full game was then released on April 7, 2022.

Reception

Chinatown Detective Agency received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10][11] Alice Bell, in a mostly positive review for Rock Paper Shotgun, praised the game for its "different take on tired cyberpunk settings" as well as its cast and use of puzzles.[18] Bell also criticized the game for frustrating moments, noting that puzzles could sometimes "feel like doing homework".[18]

In a mixed review for PC Gamer, Alexis Ong praised the game's depiction of a future Singapore while faulting it for inconsistencies, such as divergences in the quality of the writing at different points.[15] Ong, a Singaporean, wrote that it was "really fucking cool to explore [her] home city in pixels" and stressed the significance of the game including specific details drawn from life in the city, such as Singlish.[15]

References
  1. Chalk, Andy (October 2, 2020). "Chinatown Detective Agency gets a free 'Prologue' chapter on Steam". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  2. "Manage your own detective agency and unravel a global conspiracy in Chinatown Detective Agency, now on Kickstarter". Gamasutra. March 26, 2020. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  3. McDonald, Tim (March 26, 2020). "Chinatown Detective Agency preview – Carmen Cyberdiego". PC Invasion. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  4. Judith, Arana (April 28, 2020). "Chinatown Detective Agency Is Carmen Sandiego In The Future". WellPlayed. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  5. Tan, Trevor (March 3, 2020). "Burning the midnight oil for Chinatown Detective Agency game". The Straits Times. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  6. Fraser, Calum (March 31, 2020). "Chinatown Detective Agency – Alpha Demo". Alpha Beta Gamer. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  7. "Chinatown Detective Agency is funded on Kickstarter! Stretch goals revealed, including a Nintendo Switch release and more". Gamasutra. April 20, 2020. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  8. @genintco (March 1, 2021). "'All of our voice actors, at least for the Singaporean characters, are all local actors, just so that it's more authentic, just so that they can get the nuances of local Singlish right.' Creative Director of Chinatown Detective Agency @mrkfillon" (Tweet). Retrieved April 14, 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. "Chinatown Detective Agency: Day One". Itch.io. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  10. "Chinatown Detective Agency for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  11. "Chinatown Detective Agency for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  12. Ramée, Jordan (April 6, 2022). "Chinatown Detective Agency Review - Carmen Singapore". GameSpot. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  13. LeClair, Kyle (April 6, 2022). "Review: Chinatown Detective Agency". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  14. DeVader, Joe (April 13, 2022). "Chinatown Detective Agency (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  15. Ong, Alexis (April 6, 2022). "Chinatown Detective Agency review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  16. Richardson, Bob (April 17, 2022). "Chinatown Detective Agency". RPGFan. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  17. Kaser, Rachel (May 5, 2022). "Chinatown Detective Agency review: Carmen Sandiego meets cybernoir". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  18. Bell, Alice (April 7, 2022). "Chinatown Detective Agency review: stylish cyberpunk meets history homework". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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