My brain is not used to mouse and keyboard. Years and years of gaming with a controller, but somehow my mentality was able to revert easily to uncover stones, win staring contests, survive a chase, find clues and discover the mysteries that lie within the town of Orchard under Hill as a the biggest trope a noir story can have, a detective with amnesia.
Although it’s not just any detective, it’s an anthropomorphic squirrel living among anthropomorphic snakes, foxes, dogs, cats, tortoises, hares, peacocks, birds and more. A squirrel full of quips who may or may not understand what he’s doing or why. A squirrel with a deep gravelly voice that would fit well in a 30s mystery film, done wonderfully by David Carter who voices multiple other characters in a way that each sounds completely original and fun.
The dialogue is peppered with clever, funny comedy but also what seems a well thought out (I think?) plot of many moving parts. Gareth Owens is a very fun writer, and Leopold Låby put in major work in designing the puzzles. The artist of some of the main sequences who also did the art for the comic Eloi Amizet brings a special kind of whimsy to the work. While the pixel art work of Penusbmic, Nashrullah Amin and Ruan Quintino as well as a whole team of talented artists truly bring the world to life. And the music by Logan James Hart is subtle and contained, adding extra breath.
Now I won’t say the game is perfect. Those mouse and keyboard controls still took a lot to get used to. Especially in the two chase sequences in this first chapter. Not impossible, as I actually made it through, and also very forgiving. Yet I have zero clue how I’d ever beat the Punch-Outesque unneeded to succeed arcade game without a controller. I just don’t think in QWERTY or QWASDE. This was such a minor thing but one should be aware of before dropping in. If I could get past it and reach the end (for now), then you definitely should be able to.
I said (for now), you should know that No Stone Unturned as it exists right now is in “Early Access” with the next chapter to come sometime this summer, but getting in the door now is the way to go. You’ll get to live in Cox and the inhabitants of the town, get yourself wet and understand the world and the controls before that next story comes out.
DISCLAIMER: P-CS received a review copy of the game but it in no way reflected the review, just as it never reflects any review.
NO STONE UNTURNED is available NOW on Steam for $12 (or 10% off if you see this article before May 6th). There is also a demo available if you’re not ready to leap right in.