• Price: $9.99 USD (currently on sale for $8.99 until June 6th)
• Developer/Publisher: Happy Broccoli Games
• Release Date: May 23, 2024

A review code was kindly provided by Future Friends Games on behalf of Happy Broccoli Games. We thank them for being able to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.

I’m familiar with Happy Broccoli Games from Kraken Academy!!, which I’ve reviewed before. So I was interested to see what they brought to the table next. Enter Duck Detective – The Secret Salami, a cozy mystery described as “Aggretsuko meets Return of the Obra Dinn.” Let’s see if it…fits the bill. 🦆😉

You play as Eugene McQuacklin, a down-on-his-duck luck detective who needs to make some money after an ill-advised expenditure. He gets a call about a case, and heads over to the client’s workplace to investigate stolen lunches. This case may not make your heart race, but it’s honest (and safe) work.

Right away I was pleased with the mechanics, as the gameplay is pretty straightforward. There aren’t any hidden clues to search for, as anything you can interact with has a little dot to call your attention to it. Use a magnifying glass to closely examine computers, calendars, and angry sticky notes around the office, and find a few “clue words” associated with each item.

You can also examine the employees’ appearances for additional clue words and talk to them. Some people and items can be used as prompts to interrogate people and gain more insight into the situation. Once you’ve obtained all of the clue words in a segment, you can start to make deDUCKtions! Select the clues from the word bank that you think will result in the correct answer.

Again, it’s all straightforward; I love that they tell you the approximate number of errors in your deducktion. If you’re missing some clue words, you can get some help by choosing to “ponder” (pressing down on the d-pad). You can then decide which parts you need help with. For the most part I found these hints to be helpful.

I’d say that the game isn’t overly difficult. I was able to solve most of the deducktion puzzles in the first half without a lot of guesswork. (There isn’t a limit to how many guesses you can make, and no consequences for getting it wrong.) Towards the end there were connections I didn’t make for the more lengthy deducktions, so I found myself guessing a bit more then.

There were a few typos (“…suppossed to be here”) and awkwardly phrased sentences (“This is the third time you’re calling” vs “This is the third time you’ve called”). They weren’t prevalent enough to be a huge issue, but it’s something I noticed. However, I thought the writing was still fun and even kind of ridiculous (in a good way). The violence-obsessed character especially made me laugh.

The office setting and the contentious relations between coworkers seemed pretty realistic. I think my favorite office worker had to be the cat character (who I won’t name here as that’s a part of a deducktion puzzle). She’s frazzled and overworked, and her voice actor did an amazing job of conveying those emotions. It was great to have a talented cast of voice actors bring the story of Duck Detective to life.

There appears to be a film noir influence here, between the soundtrack and the Duck Detective’s way of setting the scene. The adorable character designs and small details like the posters in the background are a good contrast to those elements. (Plus the glorious puns.) The story isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but it’s still entertaining, and the artistic direction is fantastic.

I only wish that I had a little more time as the Duck Detective. There’s only one case to solve, which should take you an hour or two to complete. I would have loved to have solved another case or two, but I definitely enjoyed the content enough to hope for a sequel. If you’re looking for a short yet silly gaming experience, I think Duck Detective might just be enough to “quack you up.” 🦆😂