Private Detective Punch Drunk

On paper, a noir-styled beat ’em up with sharp dialogue sounds like an interesting spin on the genre. In practice? *Private Detective Punch Drunk* is one of those games where the idea is better than the execution, and it shows with every second of playtime. [h2] GOOD [/h2] [list] [*][b] Noir Theme is a Solid Concept [/b] A pulp-inspired detective beat ’em up is a great hook. In another developer’s hands, this could’ve been stylish, atmospheric, and memorable. Sadly, here it’s wasted potential. [*][b] Effort in Dialogue [/b] The only aspect that feels like it had real attention put into it is the dialogue. It’s clear some work went into giving the game a “voice,” and while it doesn’t redeem the rest, it deserves credit. [/list] [h2] BAD [/h2] [list] [*][b] Awful Optimization & Gameplay [/b] The game is poorly optimized to the point of being a chore to play. Enemy design has no creativity, combat is bone-dry, and every encounter feels like you’ve seen it a dozen times before. “Boring” and “sloppy” are the best words to describe it. [*][b] Shallow Development [/b] The noir aesthetic and dialogue can’t hide the fact that this is hardly a finished product. …

Better Dialogue than gameplay. Concept is good but needs some work. Unclear goals, constantly spawning enemies, poor hit detection and slow, odd movement drag down what is clearly a labor of love(full disclosure, one of the developers is an old friend and I probably wouldn't have bought the game otherwise). If gameplay were the only factor I'd stop just short of recommending it, but the dialogue is hilarious and filled with references to classic film noir and videogaming. Pick it up and sale and kill and afternoon with a few good laughs