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Review of Policenauts

SubjectPolicenauts
Policenauts
ByHelpfulness: 1
Vote: 7.4
kanjieater on 2022-09-24
ReviewIf you are on the fence on this one, I'd recommend it if you enjoy police detective mysteries or sci-fi & space themed mysteries. Otherwise, you're probably fine passing on this one.

The opening chapter does a great job of hooking you onto a hardboiled detective story that evolves into a space detective buddy cop film. The world building at the beginning can have a heavy info dump feel at times, after the 3rd act or so, the chapters become much faster paced (not to mention 5x shorter). Aside from the slow repetitive dialogue as you gather information, the story is extremely engaging. Unfortunately that makes up the bulk of the story and can drag down the pacing of an otherwise solid narrative.

The gun scenes and other "mini-games" in the second act feel a bit flat at times, but as a light gun fan, the later shoot outs can be fun, although they certainly couldn't stand on their own.

The story itself is well researched and has a lot of thought in it. There are quite a few events that feel like they could only happen in this world with this forethought. The mystery is paced well, giving more questions as big answers continue to show up. There's at least a few character lines that felt a bit awkward (specifically a rushed romantic encounter), but otherwise it's a good cast of enjoyable characters.

All in all, this makes for a fun & memorable adventure.
1 point