Detective Dotson – Murder, Mini-Games, Mystery, and Mediocrity

“The truth must be quite plain, if one could just clear away the litter.” – Agatha Christie

Overview

Detective Dotson is a new mystery adventure set in modern India starring an aspiring actor turned detective. There is also an hour-long film available on YouTube to watch in Hindi with English subtitles, which acts as a prologue to the game.

Narrative

Watching the prologue before playing the game is essential for any player who wants some context or story before being thrown blindly into the game. Detective Dotson begins abruptly without providing much (if any) backstory or introduction, simply stating that the protagonist’s goal is to solve their own father’s murder. The characters are varied but not overly developed, and meaningful dialogue is minimal.

Gameplay

Detective Dotrson provides a brief tutorial at the start of the game, explaining that he player must collect clues to place on an evidence board and connect to reveal the solution to the mystery. The evidence board contains four cases to solve, and each one is connected to the fourth, final, and primary case in some way. The controls are somewhat clunky, and players may encounter crashes, along with some bugs, such as the game menu appearing randomly and regularly.

The player is required to find the different clues for each case and connect them correctly on the evidence board in order to solve the mystery. This involves talking to NPCs and, more often than not, fetching items to give them in return for another item that a different NPC wants in exchange for an actual clue. The conversations are short, and there are no dialogue options or interrogation aspect, and as such, they can start to become a bit perfunctory.

Some items and clues can be bought, and players can choose to barter for better prices, whether buying or selling. Money can be won by completing mini-games with hidden object, cricket, and dancing/rhythm mechanics. Small amounts of money can also be earned by collecting litter and throwing it into rubbish bins, which will sometimes grant hints instead; these can then be used to place clues in the correct place on the evidence board.

The game takes place on a long side-scrolling map. Only a small section is available to start with, but more of the area becomes accessible as the first three cases are solved. By the time the player reaches the fourth case and tries to solve Dotson’s father’s murder, the map is quite sizeable. This adds visual interest and more areas to explore, but also results in a lot of running back and forth to collect different items and find clues.

Detective Dotson also features a character customisation screen that can be accessed at any time. There are a decent number of options available, and the protagonist’s appearance can be altered quite dramatically. There are also two disguises available within he game that grant specific abilities – making people dance and reading minds.

Styling

Detective Dotson features some fantastic pixel art, utilising a vibrant colour palette and a good amount of detail. The realistic and photographic elements in the background, and the combination of 2D characters in a 3D environment, add a touch of originality and make the art style really stand out. The sound effects help with immersion, but are mostly unnoteworthy, and whilst the music ranges from energetic to fairly calm, it remains upbeat throughout most of the game and can get a bit repetitive at times.

Summary

While there is some fun to be had when playing Detective Dotson, it does not feel like much of a detective or investigation game. The evidence board is the only mechanic that fits the genre, and unfortunately, the majority of the experience feels like a poorly designed ‘fetch-quest’ point-and-click-style game in which the player must spend a lot of time traversing the same areas of the map to obtain items. The visual aesthetics are a highlight of the game, and the short film is quite entertaining, providing much more in the way of narrative and storytelling than the game itself. Detective Dotson had a promising concept, but the execution is somewhat lacking, and the overall experience felt a bit repetitive and laborious, despite its short playtime of 2-3 hours.

I loved the look of this game and wanted to enjoy it; maybe that is why I expected more from the gameplay, but sadly, I found myself disappointed. If you’re after a good-looking casual experience that demands very little, you may enjoy this, but it is only barely a detective game, and as such, I cannot recommend it.

Looking for top-notch detective games? You may enjoy these reviews:
Karisvale – Free Top-Down Detective Game with a Dark Twist! – The Darkside Detective – 9 Point-and-Click Mysteries with a Spooky Twist! – Murder is Game Over – A Villainous Point-and-Click Whodunnit!

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