Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a detective title developed by Berliner studio Happy Broccoli Games. The developer is also known for Kraken Academy and Odyssey Island. Duck Detective: The Secret Salami was released on Steam (PC Windows, MacOS and Linux) and Nintendo Switch on the 23rd of May. We tested the Steam version.
An Anonymous Call
Our adventure in Duck Detective: The Secret Salami begins with Eugene McQuacklin, our protagonist, who has fallen into poverty, with very little change in his pocket, a soft loaf of bread, several payment notices and signed divorce papers from his wife. He needs something to get going again.
Coincidentally, he gets a call from an anonymous client asking him to investigate a case involving a missing lunch from a BearBus worker.
Our intrepid Eugene McQuacklin boards the bus with the last remaining change in his pocket, and so begins our investigation. What we thought was a simple case of missing food turns into a major investigation with unexpected implications.
Let’s start our DeDucktions!
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a point-and-click detective game that can be played with either the controller or the mouse. As we explore the BearBus Station, we can talk to suspects, analyse and collect evidence. As we explore, we collect clues in the form of words that we can use to formulate our deductions.
We have already seen this system of collecting clues in the form of words to complete a text in The Case of the Golden Idol.
We will not only observe the objects, but also the suspects. In fact, we will have to observe each of them carefully in order to deduce their names and attitudes.
In order to solve the whole mystery of the BearBus, we will have to make several deductions to get a complete picture of the situation and then decide what to do with the culprits.
Elementary! Quack!
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami manages to keep us laughing and entertained for two and a half hours. Although Eugene McQuacklin’s background could have been used for a noir detective story, the developers decided to give it a comic connotation, which is also reflected in the graphic choices.
In fact, our Eugene McQuacklin is the typical cliché detective with an addiction and a past to forget. The comic aspect of this unpleasant situation is emphasised.
The atmosphere is light and pleasant, with cartoonish, colourful graphics that make the characters in the scene look like animated figurines moving in a diorama. The good voice-over makes the game even better and more fun to play.
The difficulty level is not too high and the storyline progresses, making Duck Detective: The Secret Salami an adventure for everyone, very pleasant and, above all, fun.
As the game is aimed at everyone, Duck Detective: The Secret Salami introduces accessibility options such as fonts to help dyslexic people read, screen shake removal, in-game hints and a simplified mode so you can concentrate on the plot.
Leave a Reply