Point & Click, a genre that was completely forgotten in the late 1990s, only survived for many years thanks to some die-hard studios. Lovers of the genre can therefore bless Kickstarter which made possible the return of some old glories with titles like ThimbleWeed Park of Ron Gilbert, Held-U ofCorey and Lori Ann Cole or Broken age of Tim Schafer. Ported by this new LAN for the genre, the little Irish studio Creepy door (In a relationship with Akupara games) delivered us The darkside detective, a more than supportive tribute to style Lucas Arts. The game was worn by people who are not legends of the genre, but great enthusiasts nonetheless. It had enough success to start a game Kickstarter for its continuation: The Darkside Detective 2: A fumble in the dark. As you can imagine, as you read these lines, if we test the game today, it will be because crowdfunding was a success.
If dooley goes, anything goes
in the The Darkside Detective 2: A fumble in the dark (which might have been abbreviated as TDD2AFITD, but we’ll just call it Darkside Detective 2 because it’s still easier) the player (aka you – if you actually buy or hack the game; no, please don’t) is leading a detective. But not just any detective from the special dark brigade. That special brigade is just you and Officer Dooley. was formed before the tragic disappearance of Dooley on the other side of the world and the dismantling of the brigade. What would Mulder be without his Scully? Nothing more, and for this Francis McQueen (yes the detective in question) will move heaven, earth and above all beyond to find him. This is where the story of this second work begins. Rest assured, if you haven’t played the first game (a shame !!!), the most important things will be told in a short summary sequence at the beginning of the adventure. We can therefore go straight to this immediate but autonomous suite without fear. Well, a few winks in season one can be seen here and there in the game, but nothing to prevent understanding. You will have noticed the use of the term “season”. Indeed, like the games of Treasonous
Towards infinity and beyond
Darkside Detective 2 therefore consists of 6 independent stories (at least one of which will follow later). The first, as we’ve seen, is looking for his lifelong buddy by walking all over town building a machine to communicate with him. The following investigations take us alternately to a retirement home, an Irish castle, a fairground, a wrestling festival and finally a meeting of former students. Obviously, McQueen and Dooley are nuts and nothing ever goes as planned. Prepare your loupes, it’s time to examine. The game is therefore a point & click in its purest tradition LucasArts, but with a simple and pure interface. Basically, you can interact with different attention points (characters, scene areas …) by moving the cursor over them with the left or right stick (or both at the same time to go faster) and pressing the A or B keys. The inventory is an object bar at the top left of the screen. You can simply “click” on them to watch, or drag them to a specific point to use, or to another object to combine them. Sober but efficient. This simple interface is not necessarily indicative of the ease of puzzles, as some clearly have it difficult. Without going as far as the twisted delusions of a ThimbleWeed Park
What’s new at Scooby?
heritage LucasArts can also be felt in the tone of the game, determined humorous and more than once to break the fourth wall. Make sure to use the Zygomatics multiple times. The game is also full of more or less obvious references. Completely translated into French with special care, the writing of the game (unlike the test you are reading now) is just superb. The location is impeccable and even adapts some valves to our own culture. Graphically, the game adopts a Pixlis style reminiscent of games like loom
My opinion me
In the end what to say about The Darkside Detective 2: A fumble in the darkexcept that he knows how to shake the sensitive chord of the old point and click lovers of the era LucasArtswhile offering a more accessible door for newcomers? The game may not be perfect, but it fulfills its role perfectly. As proof: we want more. Stark the sequel to the adventures of Francis McQueen and Dooley.
Who is it addressed to? Darkside Detective 2: A fumble in the dark ?
– For those who liked the first one and want to discover the rest
– For point and click enthusiasts LucasArts
– For pixel lovers
Who is not for Darkside Detective 2: A fumble in the dark?
– For those who want to be the first to do the first (it’s commendable)
– For those who don’t like humor (don’t glop)
– For those who are afraid of pixel monsters
Johann Barnaud alias Kelanflyter