Duck Detective: The Secret Salami – A Quacking Detective Noir Investigation

“Some people talk nonstop, but say nothing. Ducks speak only one word, quack, and communicate everything.” – Jarod Kintz

Overview

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a delightful mystery game in which players take on the role of the titular duck, Eugene McQuacklin, and take on an office-based investigation!

Gameplay

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami see players inspecting the environment and interrogating NPCs in order to find clues and make deducktions about the case. Everything is logged in Eugene’s notebook, including character info, clues, an inventory, and a map making it easy to refer back and view different aspects of the case together. Making deducktions involves using the clues that have been found to fill in the blanks on various statements within the notebook. There is also a hint (ponderings) mechanic available if players get stuck.

The case goes off on an array of tangents, meaning what first appears as a simple case gets much more complicated and involved. There are several small mysteries to solve, all entangled in the original, overarching case. This makes the gameplay infinitely more satisfying and engaging and provides a lot of fun.

Narrative

The narrative follows the Duck Detective as he is called to a bus company office to investigate the mystery of the lunch thief and work out who has been stealing the salami. In need of cash after overspending on his bread problem Eugene gladly takes on the case.

The dialogue has a comedic feel to it whilst maintaining a deliberately cliché detective noir feel that suits the tone of the game and its styling. The different characters are all very unique, have their own personalities and backstories and add to the overall story and level of immersion. The various twists, turns, and tangents keep the player on their toes and help create an original and intriguing narrative that fits comfortably within the story’s genre.

Styling

Duck Detective: the Secret Salami utilises a 2.5D colourful, cartoon-like art style with moody lighting. The protagonist and NPCs are all depicted in 2D as paper cut-outs and move accordingly. This is a fun touch and gives the game a cute and uniquely stylised aesthetic. Besides the interactable objects within the environment, there are others that will react to the player, such as desk chairs that spin when they are passed, or bins that can be knocked over. This is a solid, immersive addition that brings the office setting to life.

The soundtrack is typical of the detective noir genre, featuring jazzy piano and brass music that really sets each scene. The voice acting is great, with a range of convincing voices, Eugene, in particular, has a gruff, yet smooth voice that feels right at home in this setting.

Summary

Overall, Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a brilliant little puzzle game, It is fairly short, and will only take around 3 hours to complete but is offered at a reasonable price for the amount of entertainment provided. The game boasts a curious and amusing narrative, interesting characters, engaging gameplay and a wonderfully fitting detective noir aesthetic. I had a lot of fun completing this lunch-based investigation and highly recommend this game to fans of casual puzzle games and shorter, standalone experiences.

Looking for more great detective games? Check out these reviews:
Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island – Short, Silly, and Spooky! – The Darkside Detective – 9 Point-and-Click Mysteries with a Spooky Twist! – Karisvale – Free Top-Down Detective Game with a Dark Twist! – Murder is Game Over – A Villainous Point-and-Click Whodunnit!

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