Voodoo Detective

Short Sleeve Studio just released their debut game, Voodoo Detective. It’s a classicly-designed 2D point and click adventure game available now on PC and mobile that puts players in the trenchcoat and fedora of Voodoo Detective as he tries to help a young lady remember who she is. With a heavy emphasis on voodoo themes and mystery, Voodoo Detective offers players an intriguing caper to solve that becomes much more sinister than it first appears.

As a lifelong fan of the genre, new point-and-click adventure games are quick to get my attention. And though there have been as many flops as there have been good and great ones over the years, Voodoo Detective lands on the good side of that equation. It’s fairly short — figure about four to five hours to clear this one — but I found it charming and fun to play through. A big part of what sets this game off from the first impressions and all throughout is the outstanding presentation quality. The artwork — backgrounds, animations, and the UI — are hand-drawn and gorgeous. The color palette used in this game is perhaps unlike any adventure game I have played before, and it’s used wisely and is not overdone. Colors pop all over the island of New Ginen, whether you’re inside a corporate souvenir shop or Fontule’s mansion. Details inside and out are really pretty and bring a lot of robustness and appeal to the experience. The UI is crisp and easy to navigate, though as a really minor gripe I would say the colors used in the pause and start menus could have used some more contrast. That said, the in-game inventory screen, Grammy’s recipe book, and the dialogue options are very cleanly presented.

Likewise, the audio package is excellent. Voice talents from games including Fallout, Diablo, Mass Effect, Star Trek, and other big franchises are leveraged here to great effect. Voodoo Detective’s voice is instantly recognizable and spot-on for what you would expect given the setting and character that he is. Many other NPCs are fully voiced as well and offer similarly exceptional performances. Musically, the score was composed by Peter McConnell, who has previously done work with Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, and Monkey Island. Voodoo Detective draws inspiration from Monkey Island, and I’m glad they did — it’s one of the great gaming franchises of all time, and there’s a lot of great design and ideas to pull from it. Anyway, the light jazz tunes of Voodoo Detective and how it compliments the game’s setting and pace is sublime; just very nicely done.

Set in 1934, Voodoo Detective has similar vibes to Grim Fandango and A Golden Wake, both great games. Like those, you will meet a variety of characters and pick up lots of different items as you go about solving the mystery of Mary Fontule. Early in the adventure you obtain a special book from your brother, and within it are notes and recipes for certain voodoo concoctions (as well as a glossary on voodoo). This book acts as a guide to help gently steer you in the right direction in terms of what kinds of items you’re looking for and how to go about using them. Additionally, Voodoo Detective himself will also chime in with a statement about what he should probably focus on next to help players keep going in the right direction. It’s well-known that being stumped on a puzzle in a point-and-click can be a really tedious experience as you try to brute-force your way through combining “everything with everything” and backtracking, but Voodoo Detective does a pretty great job of avoiding these pitfalls while also not being too easy. I would also add that I appreciated the design decision that allows players to “speed-walk” around rooms and through dialog simply by double-clicking, which is helpful when you’re retracing steps.

I hope we see more of Voodoo Detective in the future. I think his character is fresh, well-drawn, and very well voice-acted, too, though a “real” name besides Voodoo Detective is maybe something the developers should explore further. The sights and sounds of the game are excellent, and the puzzles and overall point-and-clickness of the game is nicely done. Short Sleeve have done a fine job with this game, and being that it’s priced at just $15, I’m happy to recommend it to any fan of adventure games.
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