The Detail is a very interesting noir crime adventure game from Rival Games, first made available in October 2014. Much like Blues and Bullets, this one is an episodic game, and the final of the three episodes having hit Steam on April 27. The developers call the three episodes together a season, but whether that means another season of episodes will be made in the future or not, I can’t say. My understanding is that five episodes were originally planned, but for some reason, it got paired down into three. Take from that what you will.

At any rate, this game has a very interesting style to it. It’s basically like an interactive graphic novel, with action powered by Quick Time Events and choices that drive the direction of the scene cropping up. When the game isn’t a linear scene of events, it uses a third-person point-and-click style, with the player driving the character’s actions, letting them interact with items, speak with NPCs, research things, look for clues, and other things to help solve crimes and interact with the living world of the story. The musical score is pretty great and the characters are well-done and quite memorable, though part of me wishes the story was voice-acted.

The first episode, entitled “Where the Dead Lie,” introduces us to a wide cast and sets the stage for a major investigation that seems to have a lot more to it than the simple murder it appears to be on the surface.

Sometime, I’ll take a peek at Episode 2 and offer a preview video of it too, but for now, I hope you enjoy this one. If you like it, check it out on Steam and pick up a Season Pass!