He may be only a duck but Eugene McQuacklin is the star of the best noir detective thriller since L.A. Noire.
While plenty of games require detective work, from Ace Attorney to the rather more abstruse delights of Return Of The Obra Dinn, the overwhelming majority of those doing the detecting are human. But despite what the name and age rating may suggest, this is not some twee children’s game but a thoroughly entertaining puzzle adventure for all ages.
Its hero, Eugene McQuacklin, is a down at heel private eye. Recently divorced and with final demands piling up on his doormat, he may have his bread habit temporarily in check, but he’s got plenty of other problems. ‘Ana, I’m a different duck now. I haven’t touched a slice of bread in weeks,’ he shouts at his estranged wife’s voicemail, his desperation amusingly evident.
Presented in cute isometric 3D, you navigate Eugene around each scene in search of clues and useful interactions. Waddling about its charmingly-drawn rooms, the Duck Detective is a 2D paper cutout exploring the 3D scenery around him, knocking over waste bins and scattering props and knick-knacks as he goes about his business. Which after Paper Trail and Paper Mario somehow makes this the third such game this month, to involve paper-themed visual gimmicks.
A dot over certain items means there’s a point of interest, which can be a person to interrogate, a useful object, or something to look at more closely with your magnifying glass. Hovering its magnifying power over items lets you see a little more detail in the illustration, and you can also uncover specific clues, which are automatically added to Eugene’s notebook in the form of keywords.
When chatting to suspects, and the fellow animals you meet, their comments generate more keywords for your notebook, which need to be collated into coherent theories to further your investigation. You do that by completing statements, with each blank space pre-populated with a list of all the keywords you’ve discovered so far.
Get all the words in the correct gaps and Eugene gives the statement his stamp of approval, letting you continue with the case safe in the knowledge that this set of assumptions is accurate – so you can use it as a foundation for further enquiries.
After completing what amounts to a training level in McQuacklin’s office, you’re ready to take on the game’s single case, that of The Secret Salami. It turns out that the BearBus company has a lunch thief in its midst, and you’ve been hired to crack the case.
It’s important to note that despite the adorable illustration style and the fundamentally insane nature of your avian crime busting, Duck Detective is played completely straight. From its noir-ish script and smoky jazz soundtrack to the urgent and emotional voice acting for both Eugene and his various suspects, every aspect of the case is infused with humour but played as though it’s deadly serious.
Your first task is to gain admission to the BearBus HQ, because even though you’ve been hired to help, you’re not at all sure who called you. Discovering the identity of your sponsor then becomes your first job, after talking your way into the back office.
There you’ll find the company’s staff, some of whom are conscientious, others who are anything but, and as you make enquiries you also need to start identifying who’s who, and trying to discern what their motivations might be – adding detail to your notebook as you progress.
As well as the cast, there’s also a map that gives you a convenient hint about where you might have missed something, preventing too much unedifying extra wandering. It’s just as well, because despite its gently humorous subject matter, and not at all serious criminal activity, it turns out that Duck Detective is actually fairly challenging.
While you can simply keep guessing random keywords until you finally get a set of matches, if you want to play properly, successfully completing Eugene’s detective work without brute forcing solutions, you’ll need to pay careful attention during conversations, noting people’s names, jobs, and possible motives as they talk to you, ready to combine them with the additional keywords unlocked as you examine the office and the kitchen.
You’ll be able to see everything, unpicking the mystery of The Secret Salami and Sophie the giraffe receptionist’s forgotten birthday, in under three hours. It’s a perfect little bite-sized piece of silliness that would translate perfectly to a mobile game.
It’s more taxing than it looks, but given the amount of gentle direction you get, there’s really no chance you’ll miss anything; its warmth, cosiness, and noir duck detection making for a lovely little tea break from real life.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami review summary
In Short: A charming, polished, and warmly humorous detective game whose cute 3D dioramas and delightful graphical touches are a pleasure to interact with.
Pros: Superb voice acting and adorable sense of humour. Pleasantly challenging detective work.
Cons: Very short and not much scope to inject your own creativity into the police work.
Score: 8/10
Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £8.99
Publisher: Happy Broccoli Games
Developer: Happy Broccoli Games
Release Date: 23rd May 2024
Age Rating: 3
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