Title: The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon (demo)
Developer: Spooky Doorway
Publisher: Akupara Games
Release Date: TBD
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Reviewed On: Steam Deck

[Author’s Note: A review code was provided in advance to play and review this demo. Thank you Spooky Doorway and Akupara Games]

Synopsis

The Darkside Detective is a point-and-click mystery series in a nostalgic pixel art style, developed by indie studio, Spooky Doorway, based in Ireland. There are currently two installments: The Darkside Detective, and The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark. The series follows Detective McQueen and his partner, Officer Dooley, who are charged with solving mysteries behind the supernatural in Twin Lakes. The marriage between mystery and the supernatural pair well, and when you toss in a heaping of humor to show it doesn’t take itself too seriously results in a series of shenanigans.

The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon is the next installment in this detective series. The darling pair have six more cases to solve in Twin Lakes!

Analysis

I played a 30-minute demo of The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon, and I got to puzzle my way through case file: “Honey, I Shrunk the Detective”. It was a great call back to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and the hijinks started immediately. After Detective McQueen and Officer Dooley shrink to the size if an eraser, they are tasked, well, to get back to normal! There were two main areas to search for clues, and Officer Dooley’s side remarks kept me entertained as I clicked around. The game broke the 4th wall a little by mentioning the task of clicking and combining everything until you brute force your way to a solution, which I chuckled at.

The puzzles were relatively straight-forward, and yet, not too easy to solve right away, striking a satisfying balance. I enjoyed clicking around, not just to locate the correct object, but also to get the entertaining descriptions. The dialogue between characters were also amusing, and I felt proud of myself when I finally figured out what I needed to do to get back onto Detective McQueen’s desk (only to learn there was more to solve!).

Another notable aspect of this demo was the pixel art. The Darkside Detective series leverages nostalgic, and yet detailed, pixel art that honestly goes well with the game. The colors were bright and the sprites were well done. Throw in some sleuthing background music, and I was engrossed.

The demo itself was brief and simple, yet demos that show restraint are, at times, the best ones. It gave me a taste of what to expect without giving away the entire farm (is that the right saying?). The art-style and quippy writing definitely gives this point-and-click some extra spice to a genre that some may find a little bland if not done right.

Final Score

The demo of The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon was brief yet enjoyable. I understood the objective right away but had to spend a decent amount of time to solve. The answers weren’t immediately apparent, which is good. The devs strike a great balance with puzzle difficulty in this demo, but it’s really the funny writing and art style that will pull me in to play the full game whenever it releases. Of course, only time will tell if the full game maintains this balance. I personally haven’t tried a Darkside Detective game yet, but this demo was fun, and I am interested to play more. There is NO reason to skip out on trying this demo! Give Detective McQueen and Officer Dooley some love!

Check out the trailer below:

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Featured Image Source: Spooky Doorway via Steam