Chinatown Detective Agency gets a free 'Prologue' chapter on Steam

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Chinatown Detective Agency is a cyber-noir adventure about a former Interpol agent named Amira Darma, who becomes a private detective in near-future Singapore. It's a point-and-click adventure in the vein of the Carmen Sandiego games—explore the world, collect evidence, talk to witnesses, figure out what's going on—but with a darker, cyberpunk bent.

It's expected to be out in early 2021, but you can get a taste of what it's all about in Chinatown Detective Agency: Day One, a prologue to the full game that's now available for free on Steam. Day One follows Darma's first day as a PI, as she manages her agency and takes on one of three clients for her very first case: the fixer Rupert Zhou, the kingmaker Tiger Lily, or the reformer Keeran Iyer.

"In the Lion City your choices matter, and your actions will change the course of Singapore’s future," developer General Interactive Co. said. "Even on her first day, Amira will make decisions that could help get the city back on track... or send it spiraling into chaos."

The prologue chapter is different from the original demo for Chinatown Detective Agency, which remains available on Itch.io (and is apparently quite good): General Interactive Co. described this new release as "an extended and revamped version of that initial demo with new missions." And if "free" isn't sufficiently convincing, you can find out more about the game at generalinteractive.co.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.