Nine Noir Lives
Genres: Puzzle, Mystery, Point & Click, Story Rich
Release Date: 7-9-2022
Developer: Silvernode Games
Our verdict
8/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 10–13 h
Nine Noir Lives is a hand-drawn comedy noir point-and-click set in Meow Meow Furrington, a city run entirely by cats. You play private eye Cuddles Nutterbutter, called in to solve a murder that could spark a war between two feline crime families. Its twist on the genre is a lick command, which lets you taste almost anything for clues and jokes. It suits fans of light, pun-heavy adventure games and younger players alike.
The 112 Steam reviews are very positive, at about 89%. Player tags lean on comedy, cute, relaxing and family friendly, which fits the tone. The few detailed reviews praise the cast of more than 25 characters, a story that touches on serious themes beneath the jokes, and a satisfying ending. One player finished in about ten hours and called it good value.
With only three written reviews to go on, puzzle quality is hard to judge beyond the store's promise of challenging puzzles. The cat-pun humour will decide it for most people: if it sounds grating, skip it. For point-and-click fans who like a whimsical setting, it is a safe pick, and the asking price is easier to justify on sale.
Pros
- Lick-anything mechanic adds jokes and clues to every scene
- 80+ hand-drawn screens and 25+ cat characters
- Long for the genre, around ten hours
Cons
- Pun-heavy cat humour will not suit everyone
- Few detailed reviews on puzzle difficulty
- Full price is steep; better value on sale
About
"Wait - did you say the Knitty Kitty Club? Where all the criminals hang out?"
"Not all of them, Tabby. I’m sure some hang out in...uh, dark alleyways, and large empty warehouses down at the docks, and such."
Welcome to Meow Meow Furrington, capital city of cats, home of the world's biggest ball of yarn...and hotbed of crime. You are Cuddles Nutterbutter, feline private investigator and owner of two perfectly normal-sized paws, the doctor said so.
After agreeing to take on a last-minute case for the Chief of Police, you and your plucky assistant find yourselves investigating a murder that risks upsetting the careful balance between the city's two most powerful crime families: the Montameeuws and the Catulets.
Cuddles will need to use every skill he's learned - as well as his definitely-not-smaller-than-average paws - to poke, lick and talk his way through to the heart of the mystery...before some very dangerous cats decide to take matters into their own paws. Which, to clarify, are absolutely regular-sized.Key Features
- Play through a charming comedy-noir storyline inspired by every cat ever, with fewer cat puns than you might expurrct.
- Explore the unique and intriguing city of Meow Meow Furrington across over eighty attractive, hand-drawn screens.
- Interact with over twenty-five hilarious characters.
- Discover a whole new dimension to everything in the game by using your wits tongue. Lick first, and ask questions later. Questions like "what did you expect that to taste like, Cuddles?"
- Experience the city from two very different perspectives as you switch between Cuddles and his capable assistant, Tabby Marshmallow.
- Laugh and learn about the world of Furth with over a hundred thousand words of fully-voiced dialogue.
- Solve puzzles both fun and fiendish - but never unfair.
Simple, Lighthearted Fun
Silvernode Studios is a two-man team, and Nine Noir Lives is our love-letter to point-and-click adventure games. We've been playing them for decades, and we love them - so we're making one. Combining our favourite elements of everything that came before, we hope to mix it up into something deeply entertaining.
While we've drawn on film noir for the story's inspiration, we're leaning much more towards the comedy side of "comedy-noir". Expect some serious topics, addressed seriously - but we don't want to burden the whole game down under the weight of unrelenting grittiness. We feel that there's enough of that in the world already.
Fun comes first, and we aim to be funny before all else, with comedy inspired by the likes of Taika Waititi. We strive for humour that anyone can appreciate, and writing that won't force you to mute your speakers when playing in public. So snuggle up with your favourite floofball and discover Nine Noir Lives!
