Deadlands Noir - That Old Time Religion

[b]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 Episode 1 has had "minor updates," so some of the information in this review might be outdated.[/b] I don't want to pile on here, and I wouldn't go so far as "dreadful," but yeah, this isn't very good.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 ...

[b]Edit: Please note that this review concerns the initial release of this game (episode one).[/b] 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 [i]Sunrider Academy[/i] or (as a more relevant example) Epiphany Games’ [i]Majestic Nights[/i] series to see that it’s very much a thing. But while most tie-ins put in the effort, [i]That Old Time Religion[/i] doesn’t. The crux of it is that [i]That Old Time Religion[/i] 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 othe...

While I briefly played the Deadlands tabletop RPG back in the 90s - yup, I'm THAT old! - I'll confess to having never so much as HEARD of this Deadlands Noir phenomenon. Now, considering that Deadlands was more-or-less a transposing of Call of Cthulhu-style antics into a Western (read: cowboy) setting, I'm not quite sure what the purpose of transposing Call of Cthulhu-style antics into a 1930s setting is, considering that that's precisely when the original Call of Cthulhu RPG was set anyway! BUT...I'm not here to query the existence of a tabletop RPG, I'm here to review a video game/"visual novel" set in that universe. So get awn wit' it, already! Now, while I played plenty of Fighting Fantasy-style gamebooks when I was young, and read the occasional "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style book as well, I'm not going to pretend that I'm especially well-versed in the world of the "visual novel". I've played a couple, and that's about it. And in all honesty, they're not a medium terr...

Pros: Cheap Cons: 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!

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 choos...

While simple, this visual novel captures the 1930's noir setting perfectly. I would have preferred more decisions to change the plot, but I enjoyed the story and especially the music. What people need to realize is this is an introduction to the Deadlands Noir world, so the story is relatively basic to ease people in. If you're a fan of the setting or want to check out Deadlands Noir for the first time, this is worth the coin.

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.

The story is too short with no substantial gameplay. If you're expecting a virtual novel which you can get into and play for hours as a complex story unravels, this is not what you're looking for. It's quite cheap, but somehow still manages to deliver below its value. The mechanics are simple, and although I don't get too hung up on that in a visual novel, the story hardly compensates for it. Overall, it feels like one of those toys you get out of Kinder Surprise eggs, you know? Very underwhelming.

Good game: a decent story with original noir-styled art and music. Possibly a bit short but that would be my only complaint Edit for Episode 2: Where episode 1 felt short and had a story that was a bit linear, episode 2's story is a bit longer and feels more fleshed out with a few more branching paths because they've added a little bit more weight to the choices you make. Overall the game feels more complex but in the good way, it makes you feel more invested with the characters and the story. This is a good Deadlands story and I will be pleased if the devs make more.

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.