Investigator and the Case of the Chekhov's Gun
Platform: Javascript
Times are tough for murderers these days with the Investigator prowling the streets solving crimes left and right, always with a handy sidekick. There is no case that has gone unsolved since Investigator the Alligator has come along, and with his sidekicks to help him, he's sure to always have an audience to appreciate his brilliance, and all his puns, too. In Investigator and the Case of the Chekhov's Gun, a point-and-click adventure mystery by The Sky & the Sea, you investigate a fishy suicide. Playing as Bad Luck Duck, the Investigator's faithful right-hand-man for this case, find the clues scattered about and help interrogate the people of interest. You can click on items when the mouse turns into a magnifying glass, and then clicking on each interrogation room will give you your questioning options. While that's about all there is to this simple game, the mystery is still puzzling and will keep you thinking up until the time when the pressure is on to condemn someone to the crime. With its short length, it's the perfect pick-me-up for your day during your break. If a murder most foul brightens your day, that is.
Investigator and the Case of the Chekhov's Gun has some really cute artwork, plus everyone is an adorable animal with a cheesy name. It would seem like a pretty safe games for kids, even with the small-ish puddle of blood coming from the dead body. But once you get in the game there is a lot more not-so-friendly content, hence the rating. Drugs are brought up, though the drug is catnip, and there are a lot of not-so-subtle hints about a female's barely legal occupation. So it's safe to say this is more of a game for the older adults even with the fun puns that are everywhere. But even without the iffy content, the mystery in this game is actually a mystery. It's a game where you have to put the pieces together and it isn't just handed to you. Nothing is obvious, and as far as I could tell there are no dead giveaways. However, this is a game you can't lose since you play as the sidekick and even if you're wrong, your Investigator will just give you a large toothy grin and politely correct your mistake before explaining who the real killer was. The Investigator and the Case of Chekhov's Gun is a light-hearted game with a little heavy content, but it's sure one that will keep you involved and smiling even around the deceased. So saddle up Bad Luck Duck because the game is afoot!
I'm always fond of a logical deduction game where I have to collect clues and put the pieces together for the answer...
But unfortunately this game fell short of it's own deductive reasoning as it's order of operations missed a vital step within the detective process.
the steps within the game are as follows:
Step 1: Collect Evidence
Step 2: Interrogate Suspects
Step 3: Accuse Suspect
The game's major flaw becomes apparent when we reach stage 3 of this game. We are to chose our murder suspect. I was rather taken aback at this point since it seamed WAY TOO EARLY for this process to come.
Call me a cynic, but we need more than just circumstantial evidence to convict someone of murder and we had even less than that in this game.
I enjoyed the ideas and themes the creator used, but should the creator continue with this genre of gaming, then I highly suggest fleshing out the detective process. It can be can be difficult to plot out a web of suspects, puzzles and evidence but there are a lot of great references games out there that do it well (the Detective Grimoire games for example.)
Investigator and the Case of the Chekhov's Gun has a great idea in what it wants to deliver, but needs to be more fleshed out with it's mechanic to be fully conceptualized.
I enjoyed this as a silly adventure full of puns. I was able to guess the culprit, however I wasn't completely sure. I would/will happily play more in this series.
Hey hey! Maker of the Investigator games here! I just wanted to say thank you so much for the thoughtful, well-written, and incredibly helpful and constructive comments.
As a quick note, and I hate to use this an excuse, because I agree with you and want my games to be better than they are - I make the Investigator games in under 3 days for Ludum Dare. I don't currently have anyone helping out, so I write all the content and do all the art myself. Hopefully that explains the suddenness and less-than-stellar pacing (which I totally agree with you on - I love mystery tales and I definitely need more buildup).
But anyway, thanks again for writing all this! You've kind of lit a fire under my butt to take my work a bit more seriously and not write them off as goofy little 5 minute games. I'll try to put a lot more thought into my planning and game design in the future!
Thanks so much for reviewing my silly game! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D
I enjoyed this as a quick game - I was able to pick the murderer (for slightly different reasons to the ones then given, but which made logical sense to me).
I did love the puns and the black humour, too - I would definitely enjoy this as a longer game to allow more time to flesh out the situation and the clues. (It would be nice to end up with the clues pointing to only one logical conclusion)
I've also just enjoyed playing the other two in the Investigator series - I'll look forward to more!
I really enjoyed this quick mystery game! I love the art, the cheesy puns, the music, and the characters! I look forward to playing more games by this designer. *Also, I totally guessed the culprit correctly!*
I had so much fun playing through this game (which then led me to play and enjoy the others in the series). Thank you so much for making it and I hope that this will make regular appearances on Jayisgames in the future as well :)
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