Hauma: A Detective Noir Story

An Indiana Jones-ish mystery, Hauma's comic book style leaves an impression, while the plot is playing with a deck entirely of wild cards.

Ten years ago, I’d have been eager to play a game like Hauma – A Detective Noir Story. With few new options to explore a genre I loved, I was eager for anything that even had a scrap of quality, and while its story and characters aren’t particularly strong and its gameplay has issues, a great art style, and solid voice acting keep things relatively enjoyable. There’s nothing truly wrong with any major aspect of Hauma. The issue is that most aspects of the game don’t do much that’s all that right either. Genre fans will find a game that is perfectly playable but which most will forget as soon as they’re done with it. Hauma – A Detective Noir Story is a prime example of why not every mystery needs to be solved.

Hauma: A Detective Noir Story manages to be an entertaining adventure game with a simple mystery that lacks ambition.

Hauma – A Detective Noir Story was a good change of pace in terms of crime-solving games. It is not dreadful, dragging, or painstakingly hard to get through, which makes it more appealing to begin with. There were no wrong choices or unsolved mysteries, every action taken by the player can be redeemed or understood later in the story. The explanations and gameplay are simple enough for someone who is uninitiated by these sorts of genres, and the game could be a nice, relaxing way to get away from stressful games.

Hauma – A Detective Noir Story is a unique and refreshing visual novel that doesn’t follow the normal formula for its genre. With a rich story and a mystery that’ll have you scratching your head, these are perfectly paired with the comic book art style to create a game that you’ll have a hard time putting down. On a more fun note, there might only be one neo-nazi in the game, but you’d be surprised how fun it can be to annoy him to the point of exploding.