One game that’s sure to catch the eye of many Xbox Game Pass subscribers is the curiously named Chinatown Detective Agency. Beyond the fact that the game has made its debut on the service this week as a day one launch title, there’s several design and mechanical reasons why players should keep it on their radar as well. That’s especially true if they also happen to be fans of old-school adventure games or cyberpunk fiction.
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What is Chinatown Detective Agency
Developed by the small indie studio General Interactive Co, Chinatown Detective Agency is ostensibly a tribute to an iconic part of the gaming industry’s past. That’s because at its core, the day one Xbox Game Pass addition is an immersive point-and-click adventure game. What’s exciting about that from a simple mechanical point of view is, during an era dominated by AAA titles focused on 3D photo-realism, that type of gaming experience has become an increasingly rare and precious phenomenon.
Chinatown Detective Agency is more than just a throwback to the past though, set primarily against the backdrop of a near-future incarnation of Singapore, the game also looks simultaneously to humanity’s future. Taking place during the late 2030s, General Interactive Co’s game subsequently blends together themes from the cyberpunk literary and media genre. Any player who’s followed CD Projekt RED’s own stab at that heady set of tropes and ideas will likely recognize some of the neon-lit themes that are present throughout the experience.
As a former police officer named Amira Darma, players will find themselves thrust into Singapore’s Chinatown as they embark on a new career as a private investigator. Over the course of several interconnected globe-trotting cases, the player and protagonist will learn more about the vibrant future while uncovering a web of conspiracies. From a narrative perspective, what Chinatown Detective Agency serves up will likely captivate and surprise Xbox Game Pass subscribers in equal measure.
Chinatown Detective Agency’s Reception
Even though Chinatown Detective Agency has launched this week as a day one title on Xbox Game Pass, the indie title has already amassed some sizable acclaim. That’s partly because an alpha-level demo has been available for the game since early 2020, around the time that its Kickstarter campaign was also launched. The fact that the game was fully funded in the space of nearly a month after that point is a positive indicator of the quality that players can expect.
It’s little surprise considering the design and narrative cues it takes from the classic Carmen Sandiego titles, but Chinatown Detective Agency has also been met with praise by some critics as well. As it stands right now, the point-and-click sci-fi adventure is sitting at a fairly respectable 70 metascore over on Metacritic. Beyond its gorgeous pixel-art backdrops and general aesthetic, the attention to detail that General Interactive Co has poured into its recreation of Singapore has also been met with particular well-earned admiration.
The fact that Chinatown Detective Agency features a cast of Singaporean and Malaysian voice actors shouldn’t be overlooked as an important and well-overdo development in gaming representation either. While divisive puzzles and simple combat scenarios are admittedly a part of the equation, those likely won’t be enough to put off players who are interested in the genre or cyberpunk fiction. So much so that it’s easy to imagine General Interactive Co’s debut point-and-click adventure earning itself a solid fan-base thanks to Xbox Game Pass.
Chinatown Detective Agency is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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