Become a cyberpunk detective in the Chinatown Detective Agency free demo

Chinatown Detective Agency is a cyber noir adventure set in a futuristic Singapore and it's currently on Kickstarter asking for 57,000 SGD by the end of April.

You play as Amira Darma, an ex-Interpol agent gone private detective as she solves a number of investigations in the heart of Chinatown. Created by General Interactive Co, the developers have left the world of a 3D tile placement in their previous game Terrior for a more dark and angsty game.

Chinatown Detective Agency plays out like the point-and-click adventures of the Carmen Sandiego games. You explore the world, moving to different locations, collecting evidence, and talking to witnesses. The detective life in Chinatown is far from glamorous and you'll need to take on enough cases so you can pay your bills.

As part of the game's Kickstarter campaign, General Interactive has released a slick demo available to play on Itch.io. After playing the demo, one aspect that jumped out in particular, apart from the great voice acting and gorgeous pixel art, is that it asks you to do research outside of the game. At one point, I had to type a quote into Google to find what real-life book it came from, and then enter the author's name into a computer as a password. Having to research clues and snippets of info on the internet is an on-going feature throughout the whole of Chinatown Detective Agency, and one that I'm intrigued to see how General Interactive Co. develop.

Deciding what leads to follow, what cases to take on, and how you handle high-pressure situations will affect the outcome of the game. You can also grow your agency into a thriving office by hiring staff like assistants to do research and a secretary to handle your bills. The Kickstarter page says, "Chasing down leads and gathering up evidence may pay the bills, but Amira’s not just a detective: she’s a businesswoman. You’ll need to keep your staff happy, and the office running smoothly."

Pledges for Chinatown Detective Agency start at $16 / £14 for a digital copy of the game and increase from there. You can learn more about Chinatown Detective Agency on its Kickstarter page.

Rachel had been bouncing around different gaming websites as a freelancer and staff writer for three years before settling at PC Gamer back in 2019. She mainly writes reviews, previews, and features, but on rare occasions will switch it up with news and guides. When she's not taking hundreds of screenshots of the latest indie darling, you can find her nurturing her parsnip empire in Stardew Valley and planning an axolotl uprising in Minecraft. She loves 'stop and smell the roses' games—her proudest gaming moment being the one time she kept her virtual potted plants alive for over a year.