Detective Dotson

While it having a different cultural vibe, and playing a little differently than a typical mystery-solving adventure, makes it distinct, it has issues holding it back

Detective Dotson would be a neat pixel-art screensaver that depicts the vibrantly coloured, densely populated world that is India. As an actual interactive experience? It’s a boring fetch quest and mini-game heavy kind of mess hiding behind a pretty face.

Quirky point and click adventure game set in India

While it was lovely to be able to see a world bursting with color and full of culture, it didn’t feel fitting to the overall theme of Detective Dotson, and instead felt like it was a bit all over the place.

As a game proudly rooted in Indian culture, Detective Dotson gets credit for embracing its heritage rather than hiding it. It gets it mostly right. Though a few minor missteps on the journey leave the game feeling a little rough around the edges. If you are a fan of LucasArts games like Monkey Island or Sam and Max, you will probably enjoy solving the puzzles and tracking down clues. However, unlike those games, the route to the end is logical and less esoteric. It’s true, nothing here will make you jump out of your seat or fall off your chair. That being said there is a sense of something potentially much bigger in the future. And I look forward to playing more of Dotson’s adventures and seeing where the story takes him next. So, for his hard work and effort in the field of crime fighting, I give Detective Dotson the Thumb Culture Silver Award

Uncover charming mysteries in vibrant India! Solve cases, trade for clues, bargain in markets, and meet quirky characters in a cozy 2D-meets-3D world where each solved case reveals a bigger secret.

It's a reminder that India isn't just Bollywood and mythology. It's crowded streets, people from all walks of life, and knowing everything about your neighbour who you have nothing in common with.

Too often, video games are set in Western worlds, and protagonists aren't culturally diverse. We need more games like Detective Dotson that explore different cultures and provide different worlds for gamers to explore, which may also help them gain a deeper understanding of what other cultures look and sound like. Detective Dotson is a super charming puzzle adventure that highlights the vibrancy of India via its interconnected characters, its use of colour and its charming retro pixel art style. Though I did come across a number of bugs and found it hard to piece together some evidence due to how the case logs are managed, I really enjoyed exploring, chatting and learning more about the delightful folk who inhabit Dotson's wholesome world.

Detective Dostson is our favourite Made In India Game, that simply knocks it out of the park for its Narrative, Mechanics, and Design. The game feels very polished and fluid, and will have something for you to do with each character you walk past. The only thing which put me back is the total playtime, which is barely 2.5 hours for me. But the hope carries on with the wait for the free DLC episode. At the price of ₹500 for the Indian audience, it’s already a bargain for the quality offered.

Detective Dotson is an excellent debut for Masala Games, proving that Indian stories rooted in the everyday can be just as compelling as those based on myth or fantasy. With its heartfelt writing, clever cases, detailed art, and a catchy soundtrack, the game builds a fun world filled with character and charm. While the game’s short length leaves you wanting more, its strengths far outweigh the rough edges. It is a confident and refreshing take on what an Indian game can look and feel like, and hopefully a sign of more to come from this space.