I never thought I would write a negative review for a HOG published by Artifex Mundi, considering that I am a huge fan of their games, and that the game was created by Brave Giant, which is a decent HOG developer. Yet, Noir Chronicles: City of Crime bothered me on so many levels, that I feel the need to warn people about it and suggest that they might want to double check this title before deciding to purchase it.

Let me start by pointing out that the asking price of $15 is horrendously high, judging by the fact that the game takes around 3h to complete, without skipping any mini-games / HOG scenes and includes the extra chapter featured in the Collector’s Edition. There are so many other titles that are worth your $15, with a much higher replay value (Noir Chronicles: City of Crime has none at all) and even at its highest discount of 50% it’s still a pretty bad buy.

Second of all, the characters are poorly designed (the artwork is also not that great) and the story is mediocre at most. Noir Chronicles: City of Crime centers on figuring out the murderer of Barbara Le Purr - a controversial diva who previously had various love affairs, one of them being the character you play - the private investigator Alfred Fox. One would expect that such a femme fatale is depicted as an extremely good-looking lady, yet Barbara is an unattractive middle-aged woman, which looks more like a scary teacher rather than a seductress. Despite touching some of the basic film noir characteristics (corrupted policeman, black and white story panels, first person narration, sexual motivation for the murder), the plot remains dull, unexciting.

There are only 3-4 locations available at a time and those can’t be visited after you progress to the next stage, therefore if you aim to gather all collectibles, you need to use your one-time chance of picking them up while exploring a location for the first time. Probably pretty much the only thing I liked about the game, there is an indicator on every location that tells you if you already picked up the collectible from the current scene.

We have the same type of puzzles that we encounter in pretty much all other Artifex Mundi HOGs, but what bothered me in Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is that some of the puzzles repeat even 2-3 times, especially one that is pretty tedious to solve, requiring you to rearrange a bunch of knots so that the thread lines don’t intersect with each other. It’s not like there aren’t other puzzles available out there, therefore the decision of repeating the same one beats me.

The HOG scenes are nicely made, but there’s a huge issue with one of the achievements related to them and this issue hasn’t been fixed so far (at the moment of writing this review, the game was launched on Steam 16 months ago). The achievement requires you to solve a HOG scene without misclicking; however, combining items in a hidden object scene wrongly counts as “misclicking”, even if it’s mandatory to do so in order to solve the scene. When I played the game, I kept being careful to not misclick and ended up being frustrated that the achievement doesn’t trigger despite my constant efforts. Turns out that there are only 2 scenes in the whole game that don’t contain combinable items, therefore the chance of getting the achievement without knowing this beforehand is pretty low.

Overall, Noir Chronicles: City of Crime counts for me as the worst Artifex Mundi I’ve ever played: exaggerated price, buggy achievements, bland story, unattractive character design. And let’s just not talk about the moment when I had to rub a spoon against the wall so that I can transform it into a screwdriver. It’s utterly clownish.

More reviews on the Lilly's Corner Curator page

+++ easy 100 % Steam Achievements (with Guides/ Thx 4 Help/ Work)

+++ Five Trading Cards (perfect Number)

+ good Quality HOG

- a little bit to short if you rush through with Hints Help

Good for Achievement Hunters, Trading Card Collectors, HOG Fans, Artifex Lovers

Buy it with 50 % Discount or support Developer/ Publisher

Thx 4 reading. Hope you enjoy. Happy Gaming GL HF <3

A mediocre game from Brave Giant. I found many flaws in this game and mainly the character's design and animations. As much as I loved the locations artwork, I couldn't get past the character design of the main character and the woman he is in love with! The story is a murder mystery case where Barbara, the woman who is 'everyone's lover' was killed and this detective who is in love with her want to 'avenge' her death.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1629511422

Voice overs doesn't suit the characters, and the music sounds like two tracks looping. I liked the HO scenes and puzzles, they were well made. Once again, the artwork of the locations are the best in this game, if it wasn't for it I'd have stopped playing the game midway as it got pretty boring.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1634847506

The map is interactive but pretty useless as they'll move you from a set of locations of four areas to another once you finish picking up the items you needed, so the collectibles achievement is missable as you can't revisit the places you've been in before once you move away from them.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1629509959

Pros:
+Beautiful locations design.
+Well drawn hidden objects scenes.
+Variety of puzzles.
+Fast traveling map.
+Collectibles.
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
-Short game.
-Bad voice overs.
-Mediocre story.
-Bad character's design.
-Limited soundtracks.

I set this game on recommended only because it wasn't 'too bad' It is playable but boring compared to the other HOGs around. Get it with a huge discount or a bundle.

𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒

Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is another great, but very casual Hidden Object game from publisher Artifex Mundi.

Please keep in mind i got the game in a bundle for cheap price so my recommendation based on the price i paid for it and mainly thats the source why i recommend it as the game is entertaining and nearly bug free (one achievement isnt working as intended and bit harder to get). I definetly not recommend the game for steam full price and not even on current historical lowest sale price (9eur) as i find that a bit too expensive for a 3-4hours long game (bonus chapter included).

The game is enjoyable and unusual, as in this game now you dont chase any supernatural power just a simple gang boss.

Our protagonist is a private detective who got an emergency call from a girl he was dating back before. As we arrive a bit too late to the scene we find Barbara already dead so our investigation and revenge mission will start.

The game offers lot of various puzzles, hidden object scenes. None of them hard so the game is pretty casual. Only 1-3 areas active at the same time so its very easy to figure out what actions are required to progress on the story. If you like hard hidden object games then, just like all newer AM games, this game definetly isnt for you.

The visuals, the areas and the scenes are all well drawn/animated, so the game has the Artifex Mundi standard.

Hey, iam an achievement hunter!

Most of hidden object games are easy to perfect to 100% achievements. This isnt the exception. It takes about 3-4hours to finish game to 100%. Only 1 playthrough enough (on any difficulty) but there are missable achievements, like need to loot up collectibles and the usual deals: dont use hints during hidden object scenes and dont skip minigames. Sneaky Hand achievement, which require you to finish a hidden object scene without missclicks is a bit bugged as additional actions counted as missclick so its doable only on scenes where all objects visible at the beginning already. One of such hidden object scene can be found at the very beginning of the bonus chapter.

This review was created for Average Achievement Hunter curator

Follow my curator if you like to see achievement related informations (completion time, difficulty to get all achievements) on store page of the games.

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30168383-Average-Achievement-Hunter/

The curator group dont mark any game as recommended so it shows useful information about achievements on the store page of the games without influencing the main store page of steam with recommendations + all games sorted to lists based on expected completion times. No point not to follow!:-)

Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is a Hidden Object Adventure developed by Brave Giant LTD.


As a talented inspector, you think you're in control of your city's criminal scene. But when suddenly your ex-girlfriend Barbara calls you, completely upset, you know that something is wrong. You need to find out more about the mysterious stalker. It doesn't take long for you to realize that your town's underworld is a lot darker than you thought... Investigate as Inspector Gingertail in a dark Hidden-Object mystery! As we are used to, we solve various hidden objects and puzzles in our adventure.


+ captivating crime story
+ partly challenging puzzles
+ solid graphic style
+ good sound
+ beautiful backgrounds
+ multiple levels of difficulty
+ Notebook
+ Help function
+ trading cards and achievements


- short playing time of 2-3 hours


Noir Chronicles: City of Crime convinces with a captivating crime story, which offers you exciting puzzles. Clear purchase recommendation for fans of this genre.



Noir Chronicles: City of Crime ist ein Wimmelbild-Abenteuer, welches von Brave Giant LTD entwickelt wurde.


Als talentierter Inspektor denkst du, dass du die Verbrecherszene deiner Stadt im Griff hast. Doch als plötzlich deine Exfreundin Barbara völlig aufgelöst bei dir anruft, weißt du, dass etwas nicht stimmt. Du musst mehr über den mysteriösen Stalker herausfinden. Es dauert nicht lange bis du merkst, dass die Unterwelt deiner Stadt noch viel düsterer ist als gedacht... Ermittle als Inspektor Gingertail in einem dunklen Wimmelbild-Krimi! Wie wir es gewohnt sind lösen wir verschiedene Wimmelbilder und Rätsel in unserem Abenteuer.


+ fesselnde Krimi-Geschichte
+ teils anspruchsvolle Rätsel
+ solider Grafikstil
+ guter Sound
+ schöne Hintergründe
+ mehrere Schwierigkeitsgrade
+ Notizbuch
+ Hilfefunktion
+ Sammelkarten und Errungenschaften


- kurze Spielzeit von 2-3 Stunden


Noir Chronicles: City of Crime überzeugt durch eine fesselnde Krimi-Geschichte, welche dir spannende Rätsel bietet. Klare Kaufempfehlung für Fans dieses Genres.

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Developed by Brave Giant and Published by one of the most recognized publishers of the genre, Artifex Mundi, who has previously brought us major hit titles such as the Demon Hunter series, Queen's Quest series, and many others. Noir Chronicles: City of Crime was published back in 2018, and up till today remains with a Mixed score in Steam.

I’m always a huge fan of non-fantasy Hidden Object Games, and I’ve been following some of Brave Giant’s releases, so obviously this game had to be on my list. Nothing makes me more excited than a good Noir adventure with a murder mystery case, and alas, I wasn’t disappointed.

In Noir Chronicles: City of Crime we follow detective Fox, who fights crime with all his will and determination, but his latest case has caught him off guard. The victim is someone close to him, too close, and the repercussions will make him travel all over the city, in search of the culprit. Nothing is what it seems and the city holds too many alleyways, and some of them are deadly.

The main story for Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is not going to hold you in suspense, as it’s quite simple and somehow predictable. There are a couple of interesting events that I wasn’t expecting, especially in the Extra Bonus Episode. Other than that, expect a pleasant and casual storyline with a high dose of classic Detective themed adventures across the city.

Gameplay wise, Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is a very traditional game, featuring single hidden object scenes, one per each location. There are two variants for the scenes, one being the classic object gathering with the list of objects, and other with their shape instead of their name. If these scenes are not of interest to you, they can be changed into a mini-game.

While traversing the city in search for the truth, we’ll come across several puzzles and Mini-Games. These range from easy to medium difficulty, with most being very accessible challenges that shouldn’t give you any troubles at all. Object gathering and overall progression are perhaps the most simple and easiest aspect of the game.

In contrast to many other games, this detective thriller doesn’t allow much exploration at all. It’s not uncommon, and I have seen it happen before, where games allow players to traverse between one or two areas each time, making all the previous areas unavailable. Obviously this makes the game considerably easier since there isn’t any backtracking to finding items.

It is perhaps one of the most criticized aspects of Noir Chronicles: City of Crime, although I personally don’t mind much. It’s supposed to be a tale of rushing through the city, one location after the other, always in pursuit, permanently remaining in the shadows of doubts. But it’s also understandable that fans desired a much more in-depth exploration, especially since there is an in-game map, which is pretty much useless, except as a curiosity item to track your steps.

Visually, it’s what you’d expect from Brave Giant’s catalog, with a wide variety of interesting locations, with exquisite detail and setting. Character art is a strange mix between realistic photography, fused with a digital touch. This is the first time I have seen something like this, but it doesn't look that bad, perhaps not the best option but definitely interesting.

The game features original 1080p Cutscene videos and artwork, which looks pretty good in Hidden Object Sequences, with vivid scenarios to easily pick up and identify each object. Most of these are real photos of objects placed into the game, with some rework done to them obviously, so you know the quality is going to be good.

The Steam edition, although it’s not specified, is actually the Collector’s Edition, featuring a Bonus Episode, the In-Game Soundtrack, Wallpapers, and Concept Art. From the original edition published on BigFish, only the Main Menu changed, as for everything else remains including achievements and special collectibles.

The Bonus Episode is available after completing the main story, which portrays one of the darkest periods in the life of Detective Fox. It’s not directly associated with the main narrative branch, and works more like an in-depth perspective over Fox’s early life.

With around 3 or 4 gameplay hours, Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is a really good Hidden Object Game with a fantastic detective vibe. Although the main story isn’t a strong point, it still manages to deliver a fun, casual experience, thanks to its easy puzzles and beautiful design. Perfect if you want a relaxing and enjoyable, simple Noir thriller.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVE_KNFAAYs

'Noir Chronicles: City of Crime' is a typical HOG/Adventure game.

Game have nice atmosphere, an interesting story about love and murder and really good graphics.

I really enjoyed it :)

Average, mediocre, boring, that’s how I could describe this game. If it wasn’t from Artifex Mundi I would go for (unfortunately not existing) neutral, but from AM I expect more, at least entertainment. You won’t find it here.

* Story is boring and full of clichés
* Puzzles are extremely easy
* Almost non variety of puzzles and HO scenes
* HO scenes appear so often you start to wonder if it’s AM (their recent games have more variety)
* Short, less then 3h of gameplay, including the bonus chapter and watching all cut scenes
* Main character is annoying with his almost always raised tone and irritation
* No replay value
* Price too high for what you get

Pros, like always with AM games

• Convenient navigation
• Interactive map
• Collectibles
• Achievements (super easy)
• OK music
• Pretty artwork

Maybe my expectations are too high, but this game is way below AM level, I can’t recommend it.

Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is yet another detective-themed hidden object game from developer Brave Giant, using the mechanics of the Ghost Files games with a touch of now fashionable noir style. I'm somewhat surprised by the relatively large number of negative ratings, because the game isn't bad all things considered, even despite its average plot and some of its awkwardness (+ that it's a bit overpriced due to the fact that recent Artifex Mundi games are all marked with the 'Premium Adventure Collection' tag).

Our hero (who looks like a guy in his late 20s, yet he acts like a 'typical' hard-boiled, seasoned film noir detective) receives an emergency phone call from his (and uhm... of many others') former girlfriend, telling him that her life is in danger and someone is going to kill her (the fact that we see a thug hired by a mafia boss arriving to her home in the intro beforehand takes the suspense away though). As a private investigator we must collect evidence and catch the killer plus the instigator as well, while evading the police, since - as usual - our protagonist is the prime suspect.

As a whole, the game is enjoyable, deploying all the usual assets of a good hidden object game: the common hidden object scenes and formulas, where we have to find the listed items on the screen in order to get key items, traditional adventure game typed inventory-based (composite) item use, puzzles and various minigames - like the ones where we have to memorize the sequence of different types of attacks and click on the right symbols to mimic the pattern in order to win a fight with a villain or to find 3 hidden symbols on a photo to watch a piece of the story (these are usually present in most games of this developer). There are also unique, game-specific ones, which I haven't encountered before, where we have to find clues on people while having a dialogue with them or the lie detector minigame, where we have to pick the correct answers. Unfortunately the annoying rope knot minigame is also present,
The hidden object scenes are varied enough: besides the ordinary listing, sometimes we have to find parts to assemble an item or 12 items of the same kind, or where only silhouettes of the objects are shown. I liked the idea at some point of the game where a new HO scene was revealed by moving and ripping open a trash bag, so it was actually related to some other action, instead of just being there.
An orange coloured cat eye at the bottom of the screen indicates the presence of a hidden collectible on the current scene (these include footprints, handprints, fingerprints), but since there is only one of these on each location, it's pretty much useless.
Once we are done with the main game, we automatically unlock the bonus chapter, which takes us back 5 years into the past, where we are framed for the murder of our father and in which we apparently work in a circus as a knife thrower (?). This roughly 30 minutes long extension feels rather pointless and adds practically nothing to the story (which is simple enough on its own and thus could have used some help).

The main problem with the game in my opinion is the fact that the noir atmposhere is ruined by the daytime locations: the sun shines brightly everywhere with the exception of the very beginning, instead of the dark, rainy, gloomy setting this style is known for. The time period also differs: the story apparently takes place at least in the '60s (it's not exactly specified, but since there are cassette- and video tapes, I'm assuming it) instead of the '30s/'40s where most of the film noir movies originate from. Most of the characters wear sunglasses, which also feels awkward.
The other thing which most of the other reviewers found odd was the appearance of the female lead, who looks like a somewhat ordinary looking, elderly woman and not a hot babe everyone is trying to get... our detective (who also has a weird smile on his face as if he was intoxicated) for example seems way too young compared to her (or rather the mentioned woman looks old compared to him).
As for bugs I couldn't recall any, except for maybe one, where we have to reassemble a camera and it's over before we manage to find the last of the pieces, but since it doesn't make our job harder, easier as a matter of fact, it really isn't something one should be mad about.

The visuals are detailed enough, but I'd still rate the game as average in this regard and the previously mentioned style- and era ruining elements, plus the otherwise lovely suburban, but also rather boring locations don't help either. On the good side there are numerous interactable objects and animals on some locations, which add nothing to the gameplay, but it's nice nevertheless :)
The quality of the audio is a mixed bag, since the game occasionally operates with fitting light jazz, but tends to use the usual, irritating beats known from other HO games made by this developer. The overplayed British accent of the main character also felt out of place.

Noir Chronicles: City of Crime is a slightly above average hidden object game with a somewhat simple (the bad guy is called Domesticus for example or I could mention the chap with bloody handprints all over his coat sitting in a pub as if it was completely ordinary to have blood on one's clothes) story. The puzzles and minigames are pretty good however, so I'd recommend it to those who are the fans of these types of games.

PROS
+ good minigames and hidden object scenes
+ user-firendly collectible indicator
+ bonus chapter (even if it's rather bleak)

CONS
- simplistic story
- atmosphere ruining elements, goofy looking characters
- high price tag

RATING
6/10

Not good for Artifex, IMO, the scenes aren't great, hidden objects easy, puzzles easier... I requested a refund after an hour or so of game play. I was very disappointed. Too bad because I am a HUGE fan of Artifex Mundi games.