Detective Dotson
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Detective Dotson
It's a reminder that India isn't just Bollywood and mythology. It's crowded streets, people from all walks of life, and knowing everything about your neighbour who you have nothing in common with.
Too often, video games are set in Western worlds, and protagonists aren't culturally diverse. We need more games like Detective Dotson that explore different cultures and provide different worlds for gamers to explore, which may also help them gain a deeper understanding of what other cultures look and sound like. Detective Dotson is a super charming puzzle adventure that highlights the vibrancy of India via its interconnected characters, its use of colour and its charming retro pixel art style. Though I did come across a number of bugs and found it hard to piece together some evidence due to how the case logs are managed, I really enjoyed exploring, chatting and learning more about the delightful folk who inhabit Dotson's wholesome world.
Detective Dotson would be a neat pixel-art screensaver that depicts the vibrantly coloured, densely populated world that is India. As an actual interactive experience? It’s a boring fetch quest and mini-game heavy kind of mess hiding behind a pretty face.
While it was lovely to be able to see a world bursting with color and full of culture, it didn’t feel fitting to the overall theme of Detective Dotson, and instead felt like it was a bit all over the place.
Detective Dotson is a glorified fetch quest wearing the hat of a detective game—but it’s also more than that. It’s a vibrant slice of modern Indian life stitched together with humour, heart, and post-it notes. It’s a little bit janky, a lot wholesome, and totally endearing.
Detective Dotson is an excellent debut for Masala Games, proving that Indian stories rooted in the everyday can be just as compelling as those based on myth or fantasy. With its heartfelt writing, clever cases, detailed art, and a catchy soundtrack, the game builds a fun world filled with character and charm. While the game’s short length leaves you wanting more, its strengths far outweigh the rough edges. It is a confident and refreshing take on what an Indian game can look and feel like, and hopefully a sign of more to come from this space.
Detective Dotson is a small game with great potential. If you are interested in Indian culture, like detective games, and like coziness, you should definitely try it when it comes out in a few days.
