Voodoo Detective

Voodoo Detective has great voice acting, pretty graphics, an engaging story, and I managed to figure out the vast majority of the puzzles on my own. I recommend this game.

This game has some of the best character animation that I've ever seen in a point and click game. Fun story, interesting characters, beautiful background art and good puzzles.

This was a impulse play and complete game. Nothing revolutionary, but charming and the voodoo setting provides a cute framing for a majority of the puzzles

A very well-structured point-and-click with a deliriously cornball sense of humour, lovingly-crafted graphics and animation, and fun voice acting. It was clearly created with affection by people who understand the subject matter (and have an interesting position on how to render it in a film noir parody format). There are a couple of minor nitpicks with puzzle logic here and there, but the sheer fun and exuberance of the game more than compensate for it. Five stars for the climactic battle scene in particular.

Voodoo Detective is a solid addition to any point and click adventure library. If you were to combine Grim Fandango, Monkey Island, and Gabriel Knight into a single game, it would look a lot like Voodoo Detective. It removes some of the more obscure puzzle elements found in each of those earlier games, removes the questionable narrative elements of Gabriel Knight, and captures the feeling of the old LucasArts adventures. Unfortunately, it is really short. I've completed the game in a little over 4 hours. It is well told and the puzzle elements are integrated well with the narrative. The characters, especially the titular detective, are fully realized. The noir setting is fun and really did remind me of Grim Fandango with a veneer of Monkey Island. I think more puzzles, more locations, and more lore would have helped this game a lot. It was developed by a small studio, so I can't really hold that against them. If you are okay paying for a well-crafted 4-5 hour experience, it's worth the investment. It is groundbreaking in one specific way: the locations are all designed and intended to provide as little time-wasting as possible. There aren't the random wanderings around maps or pixel hunting for clues. If you read the spell manual you receive, most of the puzzles sort of fall into place. You can't accidentally use an item that is required later in the game, soft-locking your progress (I'm looking at you, King's Quest.) Give it a shot. You'll have fun.

Voodoo Detective is a delightful point and click with the influence of postcolonialism. What sets this point and click apart from other games of the same genre is how voodoo is used. Thinking about Monkey Island, we see how voodoo influences the gameplay and the narrative. Voodoo Detective is different in the sense that this element is the center of the game (as the title implies). Whether it is the gameplay, the story or the cultural context, you can't escape Voodoo. This game offers a deeper and more refined representation of Voodoo, making it an ideal product to explore this rich culture. As such, everything in this game is well made (gameplay, story etc.) but I also wish to express my satisfaction of the voice acting which has enhanced my immersion of this excellent game.