Chicken Police

So... this is an entry in the niche of noir adventures starring anthropomorphic animals (the only other one I can think of is Blacksad). And I have to say it's very well done. Graphics, story and music are fine at least. Music I'd say is even up there with the very best. I was really on the fence giving this a solid 5/5 but let it sit at a 4/5 in the end. Why? Simply because the gameplay is not really top notch. The questioning and investigation minigames are a good excuse to bring some interactivity to a creation that would otherwise be "just" a visual novel. Puzzles are few and far between. So, if you're a die hard point and click puzzle cracker, this is probably not what you're looking for. If a great production and story is enough to carry you through a game, then by any means go for it. It's really worth your time. Oh and if you can't decide whether you should play this or Blacksad, my advice would be to play Chicken Police. Blacksad has a great story and setting too, but I found it way more painful to play because of technical and gameplay issues (but the Blacksad comics are really great in case you need more fable style film noir after this)

Every now and then a game comes along which just cements itself as an instant adventure game classic, Chicken Police is such a game. If you like unique games with a superb atmosphere and art style my recommendation couldn't be any higher. I can't believe that this is studios first game, can't wait to see what they do next. If there are any criticisms I can make it's that the game is one the easy side, you're very unlikely to encounter any showstoppers unless you miss anything. This is more of a "come along for the ride" kind of game. And nothing wrong with that honestly.

A great tribute to noir detective stories. It doesn’t introduce much to genre heavy relying on well known tropes and clichés in writing, but a tribute is a tribute, and devs knew perfectly well how to do it right. The story revolves about the dangerous pair Natasha Catzenko and well known gangster Wesller. It’s quite obvious that archetype of Natasha is Anastasia Nikolaevna, or rather legends about her miraculous survival. On the trail of the case is explosive duo Sonny “I’m too old for this sh*t” Featherland and younger partner Marty “Riggs” MacChicken, both learning to accept each their complicated history. The third hero… is the city itself, a true cultural melting pot, a vulgar and full racism place. The fact all characters are presented by animals… makes it far easier to swallow it’s true face. The pacing of the story is good, only at one point you feel that maybe devs revealed a bit too much, which is even more annoying that shortly after while solving case you can pick the “right” answer which is branded incorrect only because you solved a puzzle a bit too fast. One and the serious drawback, is that game sometimes allow you to push forward the story when you still have something else to do, and without any warning. It’s even worse because you can’t make several save files returning to a spot you were made to skip. It made me “insanely” furious. The music itself… is ok. Nothing great, nothing bad, it just blends well into story, but you probably won’t remember any particular songs. Everything’s gray in this world. Only two things have colour. Love and Hate.

A great experience - great world, great music, the voice acting in particular is stellar. Some jank and some tedium with some of the click-clicking. A linear experience - plot had some good twists and turns but I would have loved to see an even deeper and more convoluted plot for this well-realized world. Can't wait to see more from this team!

I've just finished this amazing game/VN and my answer would be "no". Each location, each poster, the story, the characters, the dialogues, the soundtrack and of course the rain ... if you are even remotely a fan of the film noir genre you won't be disappointed. Of course this still is a VN at heart but unlike the usual VN it does not feel this way. It offers a few mini games and puzzles, gives you the opportunity to chose which hotspots you want to click on first or which dialogue you want to hear next ... last but not least there are the interrogation and conclusion scenes and the very few action scenes in which you have to shoot (don't worry - you can always retry if you fail). Then there is the fact that depending on the dialogues you chose you might unlock additional codex entrys (background of the universe the game plays in) and you can also collect some collectibles more or less hidden inside the scenes. However, even if this would just be the usual VN it would still be great because of the unusual artwork, the great characters and most of all the voice over they must have stripped right out of some noir movie since it is so spot on. Along with the atmosphere the mystery itself also unfolds nicely and the solution might surprise some. If the devs should decide to do a sequel I will definitely buy it on release. Highly recommended for every fan of the genre.