The Darkside Detective Reviews
In conclusion, if you’re into point and click adventure games like Thimbleweed Park, TV shows like Twin Peaks or Stranger Things, film noir and slightly whacky humour, then there’s no doubt in my mind that The Darkside Detective is perfect for you. With its mini episodic style structure, it’s a good fit for the Switch and the excellent soundtrack from Ben Prunty make it an easy recommendation. Whether it’s as funny as other games it’s trying to emulate, I’m not so sure, and maybe the gameplay is a little too simple, but it’s still enjoyable and nothing falls flat.
What it comes down to for a game like this is whether you’re a fan of the genre and what your expectations are for the length of the experience. I’d say that Darkside Detective isn’t the best adventure game on the system but it holds up well in the middle of the pack. The greater the breadth of your pop culture appreciation the more likely I’d say the jokes and references are to connect for you, and in general the game is riding on that understanding. It’s a worthwhile romp for genre fans who’d like a chance to enjoy 5 chapters with a reasonable length, have a few laughs, and not being quite as frustrated as with other games in the genre on the Switch.
The Darkside Detective is a short but worthy addition to your adventure game library, with endearing characters and references, wrapped up in an appealing art style and score.
The Darkside Detective is one of the games which made me actually laugh while playing it. The distinct sense of humour may not address to everyone, but if you like Twin Peaks, bizarre supernatural stories and pixelated art design, give The Darkside Detective a chance. The game offers more than meets the eye and a good laugh, which we all need.
The Darkside Detective was a brilliant surprise and a fantastic point and click adventure title. I loved the entertaining cases in this fantastical world with an eccentric cast of supporting characters. The whole package came together brilliantly with some vividly use of 2D pixel art and a great soundtrack.
A highly recommended game if you grew up with point-and-click adventures of yesteryear and whilst it won’t be for everyone, even if you’ve never experienced one of those types of games before you can do a lot worse than choosing this one as your first. The Darkside Detective was yet another surprising indie title on the Switch in terms of quality. A really funny and quirky adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed playing from start to finish, it just doesn’t last anywhere near as long as I wanted it to. So my advice would be to treasure it and hope this isn’t the last we see of The Darkside Detective as a series, as there is so much potential in any future sequels.
I don't think you even have to be a fan of the genre to really get to grips with The Darkside Detective. It does more or less everything very well, but it's definitely aimed at a niche audiences in terms of references and in-jokes. There could be an argument too that it doesn't quite hit the dizzy heights of Thimbleweed Park, but there's certainly nothing else on the system currently that is any closer to reaching that goal.