We have yet another indie game doing quite well for itself in the ever-growing sea of new releases. Duck Detective: The Secret Salami was released on PC and Nintendo Switch on May 23 and has gained a flock of positive attention. It recently earned an Overwhelmingly Positive review score on Steam, the highest rating a game can earn on that platform. By taking the classic detective story and turning it on its head in a cute and cartoonish way, this game brings a lighthearted tale to the mystery genre that’s sure to get a few laughs out of many people.
I played through this short-form game to uncover the mysteries within it, and now I am happy to bring you a review of Duck Detective: The Secret Salami. First, I’ll do what I always enjoy doing and bring you a bit of background on the team that made this game possible.
The Team Behind Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is brought to us by Happy Broccoli Games, an indie studio based in Berlin. It’s the same studio behind Kraken Academy!!, a game inspired by 90s comedy anime and described as a technicolor fever dream on its official Steam page. That game ended up being a success just like Duck Detective, especially since it ended up winning Best Game Design during the German Computer Game Awards in 2022.
Happy Broccoli Games is also working on a game called Odyssey Island, a party-based action RPG with a pixel art style that has already caught my interest because of its story and what its combat currently looks like. While the release date is yet to be announced, you can find the trailer for the game on YouTube. With the success of this studio’s games so far, I’d say this one is worth keeping an eye on. I am certainly happy that taking on the role of an investigative waterfowl led to my newfound excitement for that upcoming experience.
Sleuthing with Cartoony Style
Duck-Detective: The Secret Salami drops you into the role of a down-on-his-luck duck named Eugene McQuacklin. He’s in desperate need of a case to crack wide open to get back on his webbed feet again, and he gets just that when he’s tasked to discover who’s responsible for the simple case of a stolen lunch. However, what starts as something easy becomes a rabbit hole with seemingly no end in sight. He’s made to scour a workplace to talk to employees, to find clues, and to put his discoveries together to make a string of “deducktions.”
Let me just say that I enjoyed everything about this game. It’s short, cute, and packed with a cartoony style that goes quite well with its comedic take on the classic noir detective story. The criminal actions in this game are much more laid back compared to the ones found in games like L.A. Noire or The Wolf Among Us, and it works for what this game is. While this game is much more family-friendly, it still didn’t fail to surprise me with the twists and turns that are desired in a good mystery.
Short, Sweet, and Simple Gameplay
The gameplay and mechanics of this game are refreshingly easy to understand, and finding out clues and snippets from the lives of the characters you meet feels rewarding. Everyone and everything you investigate can give you a small piece of the puzzle that you’re tasked with solving. With thorough sleuthing, you gain a collection of keywords to fill in the literal blanks of the story. Plus, some of these discoveries are quite amusing, especially if you pay close attention.
I found some of those blanks to be challenging to find the answer to, and I view that as a good thing. While the answers are readily available and sometimes in plain sight, the game requires you to challenge your memory and train your eyes to uncover the crime that’s afoot. If you have trouble with this though, the Story Mode option that’s available to turn on and off whenever you want is there to help you along. Admittedly, I did turn it on towards the end of the game where you have to sort through everything that you learn.
What I Hope for the Future of Eugene McQuacklin
With the success of this game and my love for a good mystery, I believe a string of future Duck Detective games seems quite doable. The mysteries that can be created for players to solve seem almost limitless, and I would certainly look forward to diving into each of them. As long as we get to meet a new and fun cast of potential criminals, each game could be enjoyable in their own way. Of course, it would be fun to see some returning characters too as the voice acting in this game absolutely won be me over.
Even if I don’t get to go on another adventure with the riveting Eugene McQuacklin again, I will be delighted to experience any future stories that Happy Broccoli Games will have to offer. Of course, I encourage you to play this game for yourself since supporting indie developers will always be important to the world of video games. I also recommend taking a look at our other reviews right here.
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