My Playtime: 31h+ (100% achievement, finished the game twice)
My First Playthrough: ~15.4h
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (26 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No (1 is bugged).

Blacksad is an adventure game played in a similar style as Telltale games; it is played as if you're watching a movie while taking control of the main character's actions and responses. The story was spread over 3 acts that revolve around a murder investigation.

Pros:
- Solid story
- Deductions are mostly easy to do

Cons:
- No manual save
- Navigating the location is hard
- Buggy, especially the controls and achievement completion

Specs
Steam Deck: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t 2.4-3.5GHz, 16 GB RAM, 8 AMD RDNA 2 CUs

No.
Unless you are not an achievement hunter and don't mind dealing with the bugs, do not buy this game.

---

Blacksad uses a nice, realistic 3D look with animals instead of humans as characters. The characters look great in their highest resolution, although they still look fine in the lowest one. However, despite how the humanoid characters look, I still find it weird how their lower body resembles that of a human. On the other hand, the backgrounds look pleasant to the eye with their realistic look.

Blacksad is a game where you decide your main character's personality. You will have to choose between 1-4 choices or choose to be completely silent whenever you are given a chance to reply. That being said, your choice won't give a drastic change to the story. There might be an occasion where you can choose who will and will not die, but that's all there is to it. Moreover, the multiple endings that the game has mostly just differ in who stays at the end of the game, giving an illusion of choice.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2508706085

Gameplay
If you haven't noticed, Blacksad is a story-focused game. You will mostly sit through listening to people's dialogues while responding with some answers from time to time. Sometimes, you will be able to use your cat sense, which will allow you to find clues that won't be noticeable at first glance.

However, the controls ruined it. You need to use a joystick to move a cursor around to a target, but the game tries to "help" and autocorrect your cursor to the wrong position each time. It takes effort and luck just to position it to where you want it to be.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2428342601

And that's not the only problem that the game has. The controller is also bugged; sometimes you won't be able to move your character or make a decision despite being able to use the same button to access the menu. The in-game collectible is also broken - some collectibles won't show up unless you restart the game from the beginning.

Others
All bugs aside, there are other two gameplays in the game. The first is QTE and the second is making deductions.

You need to find clues to make deductions. Clues can be found by either interacting or talking to people. These clues can then be used to make deductions by connecting two or more connecting facts. Doing so is easy as long as you pay attention to the story - they mostly serve as a hint to expand your train of thought. However, some clues can be too vague and others won't make sense even though you already know the answer.

QTE is one of the most annoying parts of the game. The timing is tight and the game hardly recognizes your input. You will have to retry several times just to proceed with the story, and if you are going for 100% completion, the save points between QTE scenes are sparsely placed. Moreover, restarting the game several times will increase the chance to get a bug where your controller won't be recognized, making the game unplayable. You won't have many issues if you don't care about achievement completion, but I think it's still something worth noting.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2508706138

Length and Difficulty
I finished the game at 31h+. I played it mostly while being offline and Steam doesn't track those playtimes, so expect to spend more to complete it. QTE will be the most difficult aspect that the game has to offer, and you won't have any trouble with it as long as you know which button to press in advance.

That being said, despite having 6 endings variations, it is not worth it to do another playthrough. There isn't much difference between the choices and you can tell the drastic ones right away. You'll just end up torturing yourself with the unskippable cutscenes if you decide to do that. Also, if you are an achievement hunter, you need to play the game at least twice.

Issues
The game can be buggy with its collectibles, forcing you to restart some scenes several times for it. Moreover, your controller won't be recognized sometimes, forcing you to restart the game several times to make it work. I tried to plug in my mouse and my controller (as opposed to using Steam Deck's buttons) to my Steam Deck to switch the controls, but it doesn't seem to work.

Despite all my concerns, Blacksad is actually a good game. It has a nice story, tying all of the theories that you have into one big story. Unlike closed-room investigation games where the number of suspects is limited, Blacksad keeps on presenting you with more facts and new people that will eventually play some part in the story. Although the deduction sections sometimes don't make sense, it guides you to follow the main character's way of thinking.

However, all of these end up being overshadowed by bugs and questionable design choices. There wasn't a day when I don't have to deal with the unresponsive controller, and the QTE sometimes being too fast for its own good. These all ruined my experience with the game - I didn't have fun because of it.

[b]My Playtime:[/b] 31h+ (100% achievement, finished the game twice) [b]My First Playthrough:[/b] ~15.4h [b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No. [b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (26 achievements). [b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No (1 is bugged). [h1]Intro[/h1] [b]Blacksad[/b] is an adventure game played in a similar style as [url=https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Telltale][i]Telltale[/i][/url] games; it is played as if you're watching a movie while taking control of the main character's actions and responses. The story was spread over 3 acts that revolve around a murder investigation. [b]Pros:[/b] - Solid story - Deductions are mostly easy to do [b]Cons:[/b] - No manual save - Navigating the location is hard - Buggy, especially the controls and achievement completion [b]Specs[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck]Steam Deck[/url]: AMD Zen 2 4c/8t 2.4-3.5GHz, 16 GB RAM, 8 AMD RDNA 2 CUs [h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1] [b]No.[/b] [i]Unless you are not an achievement hunter and don't mind dealing with the bugs, do not buy this game.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] [b]Blacksad[/b] uses a nice, realistic 3D look with animals instead of humans as characters. The characters look great in their highest resolution, although they still look fine in the lowest one. However, despite how the humanoid characters look, I still find it weird how their lower body resembles that of a human. On the other hand, the backgrounds look pleasant to the eye with their realistic look. [h3]Story[/h3] [b]Blacksad[/b] is a game where you decide your main character's personality. You will have to choose between 1-4 choices or choose to be completely silent whenever you are given a chance to reply. That being said, your choice won't give a drastic change to the story. There might be an occasion where you can choose who will and will not die, but that's all there is to it. Moreover, the multiple endings that the game has mostly just differ in who stays at the end of the game, giving an illusion of choice. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2508706085 [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] If you haven't noticed, [b]Blacksad[/b] is a story-focused game. You will mostly sit through listening to people's dialogues while responding with some answers from time to time. Sometimes, you will be able to use your cat sense, which will allow you to find clues that won't be noticeable at first glance. However, the controls ruined it. You need to use a joystick to move a cursor around to a target, but the game tries to "help" and autocorrect your cursor to the wrong position each time. It takes effort and luck just to position it to where you want it to be. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2428342601 And that's not the only problem that the game has. The controller is also bugged; sometimes you won't be able to move your character or make a decision despite being able to use the same button to access the menu. The in-game collectible is also broken - some collectibles won't show up unless you restart the game from the beginning. [b]Others[/b] All bugs aside, there are other two gameplays in the game. The first is QTE and the second is making deductions. You need to find clues to make deductions. Clues can be found by either interacting or talking to people. These clues can then be used to make deductions by connecting two or more connecting facts. Doing so is easy as long as you pay attention to the story - they mostly serve as a hint to expand your train of thought. However, some clues can be too vague and others won't make sense even though you already know the answer. QTE is one of the most annoying parts of the game. The timing is tight and the game hardly recognizes your input. You will have to retry several times just to proceed with the story, and if you are going for 100% completion, the save points between QTE scenes are sparsely placed. Moreover, restarting the game several times will increase the chance to get a bug where your controller won't be recognized, making the game unplayable. You won't have many issues if you don't care about achievement completion, but I think it's still something worth noting. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2508706138 [b]Length and Difficulty[/b] I finished the game at 31h+. I played it mostly while being offline and [i]Steam[/i] doesn't track those playtimes, so expect to spend more to complete it. QTE will be the most difficult aspect that the game has to offer, and you won't have any trouble with it as long as you know which button to press in advance. That being said, despite having 6 endings variations, it is not worth it to do another playthrough. There isn't much difference between the choices and you can tell the drastic ones right away. You'll just end up torturing yourself with the unskippable cutscenes if you decide to do that. Also, if you are an achievement hunter, you need to play the game at least twice. [b]Issues[/b] The game can be buggy with its collectibles, forcing you to restart some scenes several times for it. Moreover, your controller won't be recognized sometimes, forcing you to restart the game several times to make it work. I tried to plug in my mouse and my controller (as opposed to using [i]Steam Deck[/i]'s buttons) to my [i]Steam Deck[/i] to switch the controls, but it doesn't seem to work. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Despite all my concerns, [b]Blacksad[/b] is actually a good game. It has a nice story, tying all of the theories that you have into one big story. Unlike closed-room investigation games where the number of suspects is limited, [b]Blacksad[/b] keeps on presenting you with more facts and new people that will eventually play some part in the story. Although the deduction sections sometimes don't make sense, it guides you to follow the main character's way of thinking. However, all of these end up being overshadowed by bugs and questionable design choices. There wasn't a day when I don't have to deal with the unresponsive controller, and the QTE sometimes being too fast for its own good. These all ruined my experience with the game - I didn't have fun because of it.