I was sent Card Detective free to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. If you enjoy my reviews, please leave a like, comment, and share this with your friends. You can also always buy me coffee.
Card Detective is a story-rich deck builder available now on Steam for $3.99. Play as investigative reporter Hazel Gong as she stumbles into one of the biggest mysteries of her career. An accident at a construction site unearths a dead body. The circumstances surrounding the death are a mystery, and it is up to Hazel to solve it. Gather the suspects, ask pressing questions, and figure out who did it in this unique and creative experience.
There is no denying that Card Detective looks good. I am a huge fan of the artwork, an even bigger fan of the comic book-style narrative and its fantastic soundtrack.
Card Detective is a unique deck builder, with gameplay helps it stand out against the rest of the genre. The goal of each encounter is to determine how to extract the truth with a deck of questions you construct throughout the game. Each encounter feels like a puzzle where you have to ask the right questions to get to the truth. There are moments when there is very little guidance or direction, but figuring things out on your own can be satisfying.
My issue with the game is that the story isn’t interesting. There are translation issues that make it an awkward read, and there wasn’t enough substance to hook me. After a couple of interrogations, the game got stale. While I appreciate everything Card Detective tries to do, the game needs better card mechanics and a better story.
Card Detective isn’t the worst way to spend $4. I liked the unique experience it offered and loved the aesthetics, but it didn’t do enough to earn a recommendation. I’m probably going to forget I played it. If you want a unique deck builder you might not finish, check it out on Steam. Otherwise, I would spend my money elsewhere.