PC Gamer - UK (2022-06)

In 2037 , the country has gone
through the unthinkable process of
deregulation, there’s anti-government
graffiti on the train, droids are a
routine sight, and there’s only one
human librarian left in the country.
You play as Amira Darma, an ex-cop
starting out as a private
investigator. As she
takes on cases and
meets clients, Amira
gets to travel the world
while pulling at the
threads of a much
bigger mystery.
On the most basic
level, it is really cool to
explore your home city in pixels. This
is something that the global North
will never understand, and in this
regard CDA evokes a very special
kind of joy. In Western pop culture,
Singapore’s claims to fame are
relatively recent, namely the last

season of HBO’s Westworld and

Crazy Rich Asians, which was a film

for Americans. I cannot understate

how important it is that CDA features

Singaporean voice acting, punctuated

with snippets of Singlish and Malay.

Overall, General Interactive Co

pulls off a surface

narrative that works for

a general audience

unfamiliar with

Singaporean in-jokes,

as well as more

nuanced storytelling

that taps into

hyperlocal knowledge:

Singaporean

megachurch culture, class politics,

and our precarious water supply.

Most cases take you to different cities

• Amira uses a travel program called
  HORUS to plan flights. Eventually
  she must choose a main client – I
  went with Tiger Lily, who runs a

“health club” in the red-light district

of Geylang. Her case involves a local

megachurch and the dysfunctional

family behind it.

The puzzles are probably the most

divisive part of the game. CDA’s main

thing is Googling clues yourself –

there’s a UI button to tab you out into

a browser. Even as someone who

loves ciphers, a couple of puzzles

were overly tiresome. There’s a fine

line between giving the player a sense

of satisfaction while still pushing

them to break a little sweat, and here

CDA wavers. Thankfully the game

offers help, so it’s really up to how

much of a masochist you are.

COLD CASE

Small inconsistencies made for an

occasionally frustrating playthrough.

The initial part of the game auto-

saves after each case. You’re supposed

to be able to save at your own

discretion after you’ve chosen a main

client, but this feature only worked

for a short time. HORUS was a

wasted opportunity to deepen

in-game money management, as

every flight costs a flat $550. Single

arbitrary weeks pass between cases

• I’m not sure why Amira would wait

A

s a lover of sci-fi and a Singaporean, playing Chinatown
Detective Agency was a rare experience. Not long after
entering this near-future version of my home country, it
became clear that this game has two layers, aimed at two
audiences: one is a point-and-click adventure for folks who
grew up with Broderbund’s Carmen Sandiego series which took them all
over the world. The other is a game made especially for Singaporeans.

FORGET IT, JAKE

Get ready to Google your own clues in CHINATOWN DETECTIVE AGENCY

By Alexis Ong

Inconsistencies

made for an

occasionally

frustrating

playthrough

ABOVE: (^) A bird’s eye view of New Delhi at night.
RIGHT: In the future, the law is on vacation.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

A point-and-click

adventure set in

Singapore.

EXPECT TO PAY

£19.50

DEVELOPER

General InteractiveCo

PUBLISHER

HumbleGames/

WhisperGames

REVIEWED ON

Intel i7 11800H, RTX

3050 Ti, 16GB RAM

MULTIPLAYER

No

LINK

generalinteractive.co

Chinatown Detective Agency

REVIEW

68