I played an early preview build of Detective Dotson
The build, provided by Masala Games, featured two cases and a bit of side content, and sets things up nicely for its early 2025 release
I’d played the first Detective Dotson demo back in May or June, and had an inkling of what to expect in the early preview build when I fired it up sometime last week. On offer this time were two full cases and a bunch of side quests plus exploration thrown in for good measure. Now, on the off chance you haven’t heard of Detective Dotson, here’s a quick synopsis of the premise ripped straight from the game’s Steam page:
A story-driven adventure game set in modern day India. Meet colourful characters and use disguises to get information. Explore the richly detailed streets of India to collect clues and complete the evidence board. Solve cases as Dotson — the reluctant detective who wants to be a Bollywood star!
In a June interview with The Qun, Detective Dotson creator Shalin Shodhan had noted that a key differentiating factor between this game and many others is that this one is based in modern-day India. Calling it ‘an unexplored, underrepresented and nearly missing setting from games culture’, he had said, “We saw the opportunity and wanted to make something amazing in that space.”
On the strength of the original demo and the latest preview build, that vision appears to have come to fruition because what truly stands out is the manner in which developer Masala Games embraces modern-day India, warts and all. Strewn liberally all over Detective Dotson are litterbugs, gossipy aunties, roadside Romeos, potentially dodgy godmen and everything in between.
Gameplay has rather expectedly remained (from demo to preview) much the same, with the eponymous detective capable of some light platforming, environmental and NPC interaction, and of course, disguise. Here’s a quick look at a small sample of the gameplay loops at your disposal:
The demo had already introduced the central ‘find clue, put it on evidence board, solve case’ mechanic of the game, and the preview build puts it into play with two diverse but deeply Indian cases. The first sees Dotson infiltrate a kitty party — the holiest of holies for ‘high-society aunties’ with too much time on their hands — to find out why a Mrs Sengupta has been banned from a particularly ritzy high-tea gathering.
The second (in the order I played) finds Dotson investigating the curious case of pigeons attacking a wedding musician. It’s as unhinged as you’d hope and very reminiscent of the ‘it happens only in India’ stories you’d find in shows on ‘90s television. Both these cases let you unlock a unique disguise apiece — each accompanied by its own powers. One lets you break the ice with people using some high-energy dancing and the other lets you read minds with your errm… sadhu abilities.
Impressions
The first thing that struck me was how alive and abuzz with energy the world of Detective Dotson appears to be. I’d had a taste of it in the demo, but that tiny slice of the playing area showed me only a few glimpses of the version of India Shalin and his team bring to life in this game. The preview build exposed me to a whole lot more, including construction sites, cracked ruins, parks, typical ‘Horn OK Please’ Ashok Leyland-style trucks, heritage buildings standing alongside hulking glass-and-steel structures and so on. The juxtaposition of pixel art characters on realistic backgrounds really pays off and each frame looks busy and interesting.
The sound design and music I’ve encountered so far is subtle but makes its presence felt quite gently, which is pleasant enough. Admittedly, this is an early preview build, so I was willing to accept that the gameplay might not be overly polished, and so it turned out. Jumping from one platform to another was accurate and aiming (when hurling garbage) appears to have been made more precise. The same cannot be said for more minor things like the side quest that tasks Dotson with collecting flowers for an old woman that seemingly never ends. Her demands for flowers continue ad nauseam, which doesn’t seem to be the best use of a detective’s time. Plus Dotson would frequently run across the entire playing area of his own volition, and I’d have to pause, minimise the window, maximise it again and return to the action to get him to desist.
Again, I expect these little foibles to be ironed out by the time the game launches in the first quarter of 2025 on PC and the second quarter of the year on Xbox. My concern at this point, however, is that it’s possible that the gameplay loops may be a bit limited and for want of a better word, simplistic. Sure, there’s some jumping around, interactions and special moves in particular disguises, but it’s going to need a really strong narrative to tie these together in a nice and satisfying package. Other games have made the most of very basic gameplay loops (see here, for instance) and there’s no reason Masala Games can’t. I’m hearing reports of the game being around five hours long in length, which feels like ample time to tell a great story.
In closing, it feels like the studio has disclosed a couple of its cards, but is still keeping the majority of its hand close to its chest. I’m excited because while it would’ve been so easy to slip into cliché when portraying India, the game eschews those in favour of a tongue-in-cheek version based more on observations than stereotypes. And this remains its biggest selling point thus far. In terms of release dates, beyond the launch windows mentioned in the paragraph above, it’s worth keeping an eye out for the game’s coop mode that will drop alongside its Xbox release. But before all this, there’s the Detective Dotson show (read all about it here) that arrives on YouTube in November. In short, plenty to look forward to!