If the setting (cyberpunk Singapore) appeals to you, or if you're a sucker for detective games, play it. Even fpr all of its faults, Chinatown Detective Agency manages to immerse you in this time and place, and for the majority of its runtime it really feels like you're a detective, thanks to its light sim / management elements, stunning pixel art, and real-world deductions.
Having said all of that, this isn't a polished game at all. Even 6 months after release, it regularly has basic issues that can impact gameplay. They're workable, for sure, and maybe in the future they'll be patched, but some of these issues speak of a general lack of time and resources to edit and polish the final experience. These range from super obtuse puzzles that even the hint system gets wrong, to annoying audio bugs, where most voice-acted lines won't play -- even the ones that are clues for a puzzle!
I also wish there was an in-game browser, with cyberpunk interface and music while I look for the solutions. I also wish everything was voice-acted, or nothing at all, and that the written lines matched what the actors said. I wish the managing elements were a bit more intense and that you could play all client cases in one run (or at least that it had a "point of no return" save to jump to after beating the game). I wish the soundtrack had more tracks and that the ending wasn't bugged so I could get the perfect resolution. Oh well...
Overall, a short and sweet experience that could be easier to recommend in a more polished state. I hope the devs have the opportunity to improve the game or at least apply these learnings to their next project, because the potential is there.
Having said all of that, this isn't a polished game at all. Even 6 months after release, it regularly has basic issues that can impact gameplay. They're workable, for sure, and maybe in the future they'll be patched, but some of these issues speak of a general lack of time and resources to edit and polish the final experience. These range from super obtuse puzzles that even the hint system gets wrong, to annoying audio bugs, where most voice-acted lines won't play -- even the ones that are clues for a puzzle!
I also wish there was an in-game browser, with cyberpunk interface and music while I look for the solutions. I also wish everything was voice-acted, or nothing at all, and that the written lines matched what the actors said. I wish the managing elements were a bit more intense and that you could play all client cases in one run (or at least that it had a "point of no return" save to jump to after beating the game). I wish the soundtrack had more tracks and that the ending wasn't bugged so I could get the perfect resolution. Oh well...
Overall, a short and sweet experience that could be easier to recommend in a more polished state. I hope the devs have the opportunity to improve the game or at least apply these learnings to their next project, because the potential is there.