Update [Tue 30th July, 2024 09:35 BST]: A free demo for Detective Instinct has just been released on Steam, its developer has announced.
The demo covers the first chapter of the game and has been released as part of Steam's PixElated festival.
You can download the demo here. We also recommend checking out our interview with the developers from earlier this year, to find out more about the project.
Original Article [Thu 21st Dec, 2023 14:00 GMT]: If you're a fan of murder mysteries or Japanese adventure games like Famicom Detective Club or Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, then you'll no doubt be excited to hear about Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved.
Announced a few weeks ago for PC, it is a brand-new detective adventure game/visual novel from the first-time developer Armonica and appears to be directly influenced by classic Japanese mystery adventure games, including both of the titles we mentioned above, as well as Hotel Dusk: Room 215.
Players will interrogate witnesses, investigate their surroundings, and piece together clues, with the ultimate goal being to solve the case of a missing person. As shown in the screenshots and trailer, the game's art style uses a combination of pre-rendered 3D backgrounds and expressive 2D-pixel art. It is also set to include an original soundtrack featuring various styles of music from jazz and orchestral.
Here are some more details about the game's plot:
"Following the grisly murder of a man in an unassuming hotel, a woman vanishes without a trace while traveling on a cross-country train. The catch? Nobody on board remembers her ever existing in the first place - nobody, except for you.
Can you solve the mystery of the missing woman before the end of your trip abroad?"
You can watch the trailer for the game below (courtesy of Gematsu). It is expected to launch sometime next year in 2024. Be sure to wishlist it now and follow the devs on Twitter to keep up to date with when it is available.