Chinatown Detective Agency Reviews

Chinatown Detective Agency is ranked in the 44th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
D+
Jan 29, 2023

I played CDA so you didn’t have to. Well, actually, I played CDA because I thought it would be great but it turned out to be one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever played. I have no interest in booting up a second and third playthrough to trudge through the mire of the other storylines and don’t recommend you trudge through even one of them. Play something else.

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8 / 10.0
May 23, 2022

Granting players a peek into futuristic Singapore and putting their research skills to the test, Chinatown Detective Agency stands out for its story and visuals, but less so for the detective work.

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May 5, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is made in the image of classic adventure games and never aspires beyond that. Meeting it on its own terms, it’s an adequate cybernoir mystery with a compelling lead and colorful scenery. If you’re not into that already, this game probably won’t tickle your fancy very much.

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7 / 10
Apr 26, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency has unique and interesting gameplay which is hampered by bizarre design choices and numerous bugs. Updates are coming though, which should hopefully realise the game's potential.

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5.5 / 10.0
Apr 25, 2022

Jumping online to play something, fair enough, that’s everyone’s responsibility. But Chinatown Detective Agency is asking players to commit, unfailingly, with the penalty of wasting your own time. That’s a stopper for me, and I think that it should be for anyone else who has a life outside of their computer.

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6.5 / 10.0
Apr 23, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency’s main draw, the real-world investigation, is a great idea that worked very well for the most part. It will be interesting to see if it can survive the internet’s aggressive SEO algorithm, but I still think it’ll be a fun time for any mystery game fan. Unfortunately, multiple bugs and glitches that should have been caught before launch ruined a lot of my experience, along with a truly annoying inability to save mid-mission. The good news is, the developers have already been very active in fixing many issues with the game, so the grievances I have with the game may very well be temporary.

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8.5 / 10.0
Apr 22, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is a high-quality game in the Adventure/RPG genre, and it's unlikely that we'll see a better game in this genre for a long time, especially on consoles.

Review in Persian | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Apr 19, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is an investigation game with an atypical proposal, which seeks to encourage the player to research on their own in the real world. Despite this, it is a very limited experience and one that deserved more polishing to really become a good example of the genre.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is an interesting proposal that has a beautiful pixel art section, although it could go even further if it had set its mind to it.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

58%
Apr 17, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency does some things right, but where it fails, it falls hard.

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Apr 16, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency could be rewarding for the average pantomath and the story is intriguing stuff but if you don't enjoy doing your own research in order to progress in a video game then you'll likely find it to be more of an annoyance than a fun adventure.

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No Recommendation / Blank
Apr 15, 2022

Those small - or big, depending upon your personal view - irritations aside, there's a lot to enjoy about Chinatown Detective Agency, and the story's just about worth the ride. Personally, I'm a little tired of the penchant for retro pixel art, but if you can make your peace with the other lightweight or frustrating mechanics, Chinatown Detective Agency introduces you to a memorable cast and takes you to some striking places. What a crime it is, then, that such a promising premise doesn't quite do enough with them.

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62 / 100
Apr 15, 2022

While the plot and characters are entertaining and engaging, there is nothing else in Chinatown Detective Agency that seems quite as captivating. Amira Darma's exploits and relatability carry the story to its conclusion, but the way is obstructed needlessly by deleted or bugged voiceovers, confusing puzzle solutions, and an unnecessary money system.

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85 / 100
Apr 14, 2022

But it’s that homework element that will make or break the game for you. If you have a truly open mind, and you want to look up the source of some weird quote, you will learn a lot, experience a well-realized world, and put away some fictional bad guys. You’ll get to see moody lighting, hear some catchy bleeps, and have the satisfaction of a mystery well solved. This is a genre without a lot of greats, and Chinatown Detective Agency comes pretty close.

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Apr 13, 2022

Nonetheless, it’s impossible not to be charmed by Chinatown Detective Agency. Mei Ting, in particular, is exuberant and spirited (she particularly enjoys the promise of cash), and the motley crew of characters who accompany you in your detective work is far from atypical, as you work together to unravel conspiracies and convoluted schemes. The treacherous plot at the heart of the game, too, will probably take repeated playthroughs to uncover, given the several routes and choices you can pick throughout the game. For all of Chinatown Detective Agency’s imperfections, this is still a case I’d gladly take on, over and over again. Of course, with a web browser and notebook in hand.

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9 / 10.0
Apr 13, 2022

It is a game that is completely unafraid of letting you make mistakes and wasting your time and money, and this ties flawlessly into its well thought out setting and very memorable characters who will regard Amira with the results of your effort. The pixel art that makes up environments is gorgeous and expressive, with the nighttime streets of Singapore being my personal favorite to just spend time looking at. While it is disappointing how common the minor UI and audio bugs are, this is nothing that can't be fixed with a few patches and does not take away from what is a mystery-solving experience that fans of this genre absolutely should not miss.

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55%
Apr 12, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is a disappointing miss, that, with just a little more time in the oven, could so easily have been a compelling hit.

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6.4 / 10.0
Apr 7, 2022

Having had our share of classically-styled adventures on the Switch that have veered more in the direction of classic LucasArts games with their sense of humor, it's always nice to hit one that takes things a bit more seriously...

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Unscored
Apr 7, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency is a stylish cyberpunk detective game with a wonderful cast, and it has a cool real-world aspect to puzzle solving. But it does feel a bit like doing homework sometimes.

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Apr 7, 2022

Chinatown Detective Agency does some interesting and noteworthy things with its take on the point-and-click adventure game, between its reliance on external tools and your own deductive research ability, some solid story and character work, and a strong commitment to encapsulating a country and culture that is unique to video games by default.

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