Developer: Masala Games
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Steam Deck
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Masala Games
Detective Dotson is a cosy detective game. This game was developed and published by Masala Games. Detective Dotson is a unique take on a charming mystery-solving game. The game is also supported on the Steam Deck.
Detective Dotson is a single-player game where you play as Dotson, who has recently lost his father, who was a police officer. To uncover the truth behind Dotson’s father’s death, he starts by solving cases in his town, which he later finds are all connected to a bigger picture. In Detective Dotson, you get to buy and sell items, collect testimony from characters, disguise yourself and build a case on an evidence board.
The controls for Detective Dotson are extremely simple to get used to, and no mechanics are extraordinary. As you begin the game, you are shown a quick tutorial on the important keybinds and an overview of how to progress through the game. As you play, your sister acts like a guide to help you in areas that may be new to you. As the game is beautifully crafted with several bits of details, players might find important things hard, but the game does a great job at highlighting items/people that you can interact with. I quite liked the option of being able to customize Detective Dotson to your liking, and the options to choose from were quite a lot.
The visuals for Detective Dotson truly capture the aesthetic of modern-day India, with posters in the native language detailing traditional clothing such as sarees and police uniforms. Even the characteristic features that have been designed for each person you interact with are so well-detailed. I love how the names are unique to Indian culture, ranging from Gupta Ji to Simran to Ramesh. The art style is a beautiful and seamless blend between 2D and 3D graphics where certain buildings stand out in 3D elements, and the characters have a 2D pixel-like body. The developers for Detective Dotson did a wonderful job at capturing the essence that comes from the world the game is set in. You will see all sorts of details, from even religious aspects, that work nicely in creating a realistic Indian setting. There were several aspects of the animations that I adored, for instance, the dancing or even the little headshake Detective Dotson would do after talking with the characters. There were even some words in Hindi that were added here and there in the game, like nacho (dance), which was fun to look out for. The game itself is bright and lively, capturing realism through several elements that work well together. There was a slight issue with some of the animations that did not work smoothly and would seem a bit clunky, but it may be due to the review build I was playing on. Besides that, the addition of voice-over cutscenes after solving each case was a wonderful touch to the game.
In terms of the soundtrack, I thought that it was perfect with how the game played out. Of course, the developers are trying to recreate an India-inspired world, and the music does not fall short of that. The game will consist of certain areas that have a funk synth beat mixed in with sounds of traditional instrumental sounds. Other areas will have more mellow sounds, and others will be blasting bhangra music (near the wedding), which really livens up the game. I like how the music varies from area to area with the addition of sound effects from dogs barking to police sirens or people chattering. Detective Dotson does a wonderful job of creating a calm environment with stunning art.
Detective Dotson is a mystery adventure game that really stands by on its cosy factor that I thoroughly enjoyed. The premise of the game is for you to talk with people and gather testimonies in order to collect evidence and solve the case by connecting the dots together. The game works on a basis where you will be able to collect testimonies by giving the items certain characters require, and this is where money will be your best friend.
Money in this game is used to buy items from specific stalls or even sell your items to people who are looking to buy. The game introduces an interesting mechanic, which involves bargaining with shopkeepers (this keeps true to the Indian culture) to decrease the price at which they sell you an item. As much as I loved this mechanic of the game because you could save a good amount of money from an item, I felt as if every time, there was no fallback from it. You were given three tries to successfully come up with a deal suited for you, and each of those three times. I found myself decreasing the value to which they always met at a middle ground. The price at which the shopkeepers settled was no issue, but I just wished there was more of an actual bargain than just a significant decrease each time.
Plus, earning money in this game felt like no issue at all. I believe this is entitled in terms of a cosy game because you do not need to worry much about expenses but rather just collect evidence and build your board. Earning money was done by playing mini-games that were so much fun, and there was a nice variety to choose from the more you unlocked the game. These games would include finding hidden objects, ‘playing cricket’, smashing the matkhi (pot) and more. My favourite mini-game that earned me the most money was the hidden game from Dadi. You can adjust the number of items to increase the value of the coins you win, and the difficulty for them is not bad at all. Again, I think the money was a bit too giving, but I loved the mini-games incorporated.
When it comes to solving a case, there is not much players need to worry about in terms of getting stuck. You can easily earn hints to help you build your evidence board, and you can get plenty of them, but I would say the game is not extremely difficult to get. In the evidence board, you can easily look through the log, which will highlight important dialogues that can help you piece together the post-it notes and suspects. I found that the dialogue in the game was nice and short, with nothing too on the nose. You would get interactions from characters to be quick and precise so you can easily come up with an overall idea of who did what.
When it came to how far I got in the game, there were a total of four cases that needed to be solved. After solving one, you would open up a new location for you to explore. My favourite location would have to be the recreation of a Bollywood set where even the director and superstar seemed like real people. With the little case, you’re solving a bigger picture, and it was so much fun to be able to explore different rooms, talk to different people to get various items, and then bring it to others just to learn more about them. The narrative that unfolded with each character’s involvement was well written, making it so that everything was connected in a way that made sense. I found Detective Dotson to be a really fun game.
As I was playing this game prior to the release, I did run into some bugs that required me to restart my game every now and then. For instance, when going into Jimmy’s cafe and going back into the hotel, the preview of the cafe is within the hotel, which completely bugs the game. I believe with polishes close to the release date, the game will work smoothly.
I highly recommend Detective Dotson as you get to take on a mystery adventure without having to stress over missing out on details and not being able to complete the case. Detective Dotson allows players to take on a cosy and calm experience whilst still taking on the role of a reluctant detective. The world is set in a beautiful modern-day Indian setting with visuals and animations that capture authenticity and culture. The game features a seamless blend of lovely pixel art with 3D elements to create an enjoyable experience. If you want to take on the adventure of solving the case of Dotson’s father’s death, then be sure to check out Detective Dotson!
Overall: 9/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
