Edit: Episode 2 has been added since this review was written. Episode 1 has had "minor updates," so some of the information in this review might be outdated.

I don't want to pile on here, and I wouldn't go so far as "dreadful," but yeah, this isn't very good. It feels really rushed, character development is largely tell not show, and things mostly happen one after the other for no apparent reason. If you choose poorly, you just get rescued. Nothing really matters. There's one random choice that will lead to an explanation of a major plot point and give you an important item. If you don't make that choice you still get the item; it comes out of nowhere.

In addition to the plot issues, as a visual novel it's technically pretty sloppy. There are weird things like narration in character dialog windows and single choice decisions. There's no CG gallery with percent completion, even after playing through once.

Considering that the whole thing ends with an ad for the Deadlands Noir tabletop RPG, it probably just should have been free. There are trading cards (set of 5), though, which isn't currently listed on the store page (oh, it's in the description, but not the sidebar), so if it's on sale for fourteen cents it might be worth buying.

Edit: Please note that this review concerns the initial release of this game (episode one).

Games made to advertise other games aren’t particularly uncommon, and for choice-based games, you only have to look as far as Love In Space’s Sunrider Academy or (as a more relevant example) Epiphany Games’ Majestic Nights series to see that it’s very much a thing. But while most tie-ins put in the effort, That Old Time Religion doesn’t.

The crux of it is that That Old Time Religion wasn’t made to be a visual novel. Everything about it points to being an illustrated short story shoved into Ren’py, given a rolling music track from the main product and a few choice points. The game really shows a lack of understanding of what visual novels are, what they can be, or at the very least shows the lack of thought that went into this whole endeavour.

While I can empathise that making a visual novel isn’t easy – even if you’ve made plenty of other games before – there’s just too much thoughtlessness here to ignore. The options that ultimately don’t lead to consequence, the art being a handful of stills, the narration sometimes not matching the art, the narration intruding on the dialogue, the music not entirely suiting the action, the default Ren’py UI, the default resolution, the lack of sound effects, and a bunch of things that come down to taste just gets in the way of any experience you could have.

Future content is promised, but I doubt any additions would change this without giving the whole thing an overhaul. As a visual novel it’s lazy, as an introduction to the RPG it lacks flair; the only thing it suits is publication in a place targeting existing fans. It’s honestly disappointing to see established developers create this and think it’s remotely good enough. Play it if you’re desperate.

Sam Spade [Humphrey Bogart ~ Maltese Falcon (1941)] has nothing on Harvey Jenkins when it comes to being a hard boiled private detective. This is 'Film Noir' without the film.

Stories are set in 1935 New Orleans, Harvey Jenkins is a man about town who has unlikely friends and makes powerful enemies. But that is what happens when one is a private detective that takes on unusual cases, those of the supernatural kind. He and John Constantine (Vertigo comics Hellblazer/2005 movie) are much alike, one foot in Hell and the other in Heaven.

Nearly a kinetic visual novel but reads and plays like Choose Your Own Adventure game. Make your choices and see what happens, just try not to die - again.

Game consists of two stand alone episodes, with options for autoplay or having the story contents read (computer voice, so no voice actors). About 90 minutes an episode, if slow like me (and/or get interrupted).

Worth the read, and asking price, for a nice blend of a visual novel that has choose your own adventure choices.

8.0/10 - Times Were Rough... Especially for Detective Harvey Jenkins

This visual novel takes place in New Orleans, 1935. You are Harvey Jenkins, a private investigator who if compelled to take the next job since times are so rough. Things aren't always as they seem in this noir detective novel, beware of the supernatural! You will be surprised.

This game comes with 2 episodes and took be about 3 hours to complete. The rest of the game time was to achieve the card drops since I typically don't replay these games for multiple endings. If you still want to get the achievements though, you can save prior to any decision and quickly get them by reloading the game from that point. Most achievements happen after a major decision.

Nearly all of the negative comments are from people that don't know what to expect from a visual novel or people that only gave a few minutes of their time. I was pretty happy with this offering. The price is good at $4, and you get a fair amount of content and a decent detective story.

Worth the $4; usually on sale for much less! If you see this cheap and like VN's try it out!

A really short VN, but enjoyable. I liked the noir style and I’d definitely read another VN like this one. Get it on a sale tho, since it’s really short and not so worth paying the full price.

5/10.

I read one review, in which the player complained that the clues were too easy to come by. The way I saw this game, the point wasn't just to find clues - it's to follow the detective on his journey and choose the path he takes. I assume that most choices will eventually lead to him solving the mystery, but even if they don't, it's fun choosing which informant he speaks to next, which action he decides to take, etc. It's your classic choose-your-own adventure novel, and for me, it brought back tons of great memories from my childhood. I personally loved this game. And I loved the visuals. The artwork was amazing, and I thought the music was great too.

Pros: Cheap

♥♥♥♥: no setting customization
bland writing
no choices
very short
bad graphics
assumes you know everything already
no character depth

in total, forget this game, just save your money!

I have no idea why this game is getting such negative reviews. I've attempted to play quite a few visual novels over the past couple years that came in bundles and not many were worth playing more than 5 minutes. This one was worth sticking it out for though its only about a 1/2 hour. There's only really 3 times in the game were your choices lead to different outcomes but overall don't impact the story to much. The music is not bad and sometimes is quite good. I found the writing enganging if you like the whole 1930's noir PI trope. The occult bits in the game too were mostly good and that made this short PG-13 choose your own adventure experience worth finishing. Easy to reload those 3 turning points to get all the achievements as well if that's your thing. 6/10 - If you don't like the trope probably not for you. If you do I think it's well worth at least $2.

I like this short, nice supernatural detective story. I found the pace, writing and original drawings very appealing and enjoyable. There are some minor glitches, as for example if you choose your path wrong in second episode you will need to go through the scene at the police station twice, but my overall impression was very good.
Though when I see the [skill check] box I would like to see some dice rolling :)

Although I'm appalled by the fact that some people don't really understand what this game is all about, especially from the reviews that I've read, I respect their opinions regardless.

Having had the experience of playing through episodes 1 and 2, I found the dialog to be somewhat fascinating. If only a considerable amount of time was sacrificed by others in order to understand what the game truly depicts, knowing it reflects a 1930's dark noir and supernatural setting, then the outcome will be splendid.

But I have enjoyed it nevertheless, and of course will be looking forward to the upcoming episodes.