Detective Penguin

i like penguins

This game really has potential. I found this game to be so fun, but quite jank. There is also a horror type thing at the end with these really creepy fish things that I HATED. This game could really be fixed if they changed the fish things to something else and if they fixed glitches. The dev is currently working on a different game called "the greatest penguin heist of all time". I would recommend playing that until this game is changed.

An outstandingly enjoyable experience, with cute characters, charming dialouge and a riveting plot. Something I had an incredibly good time with and thouroughly recommend. It's hands down the best penguin themed detective game on the market.

Detective Penguin is everything I love about indie games: Deeply weird, utterly original, genuinely clever, and incredibly janky. Definitely be honest with yourself about your jank tolerance before buying (mine is, admittedly, absurdly high), but if you're not sure, maybe also broaden your horizons a bit, because there's a real diamond in this rough. There was a lot I loved about this game. I loved how the weird controls were diegetic and kept being plot-relevant. I love that it knew just when to take its characters and plot seriously and when to play fast and loose. I loved how well set up even the more bizarre twists are. I loved how huge the world felt. I loved how many NPCs who are there just to make the town feel alive. I loved, for reasons I can neither explain nor justify, slapping pizza ingredients around the kitchen in a desperate attempt to fill orders like it was some bizarroverse Lego Island. And I also really just liked Finley, the protagonist, who was both empathetic and sincere while also being willing to roll with the weirdness of the mess he'd found himself in. I also found figuring out how to fly the helicopter to be way more satisfying than it should have been. So obvious! My big complaint was definitely the board sequences, especially that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ warehouse. I think they could be fixed entirely by having notched in the floor you had to maneuver the board into, which would preserve the jankiness while also preventing one false move from forcing you to completely restart. I also have one small and one big story-based complaint. Small: [spoiler]I'm still not 100% clear on what the killer was trying to accomplish by killing the bodies of the people who'd been through the machine. My best guess was that he was under the impression it would make the version of them in the sim somehow more "real"? Or like release them into "heaven"?[/spoiler] Big: [spoiler] I don't understand why only Finley remembered his experience in the simulation.[/spoiler] This one feels like a pretty big deal, and I have a hunch it's one of those things that makes sense in the writer's head but they forgot to put explicitly in the game. I also would have loved to see some acknowledgement of that final choice I got to make. Anyway, I really enjoyed this game. I'd love to see a sequel, especially one that let you get a bit more involved in "solving" cases -- perhaps with a text input? And I just find myself wanting to know where Nooter goes next in this weird, oddly deep world.

I was at least four times on the verge of dropping it. I even closed the game once, but ended up reopening it and decided to give it another chance. It doesn’t really hook you from the start, mainly because it feels a bit buggy at times, and the movement and interactions aren’t the best. For example, with the helicopter, everything feels overly sensitive when you try to drive it. It takes some time to get used to. That said, the story is good and definitely worth it. I never thought I’d see a monkey penguin. The game has its charm mostly because of the penguins of the city. There’s something genuinely enjoyable about seeing them walking around the city and being able to talk to them. It honestly feels like this could easily be the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for a kid from a newer generation.

The game was great until the monsters started chasing me. I know that's only a little part of the game, but I'm just not into being attacked in games. I do not like games like that so I won't be finishing. I was not expecting that at all. The game has quite a few bugs that can impact the game. When i got to the chambers and was dropped below them, I kept coming back to the chambers. Only after loading the saved game was I below the chambers. Otherwise, if you like games like this and don't mind the minor scary part then this is for you.

I really wanted to like this game, but it takes out all the 'detective' out of the penguin when it just tells you exactly what to do and where to go. It's a list of fetch quests, with charming and funny characters along the way. The description says, "solve cases your own way," but that's not what I experienced. This game certainly does not make you feel like a Detective Penguin. I just got to watch what that'd look like. Would love a tv show tho

Absolute fever dream of a game. Had me smiling the whole way through. Very playable despite a few bugs which are yet to be worked out. 9/10

Absolute fever dream. Awful controls. Would recommend.

Changed my life. It'll change yours too