AG: I first saw Face Noir back at gamescom 2012, where I had the chance to speak with Italian developers Gabriele Papalini and Marco Sgolmin of Mad Orange. Intrigued by what I learned, I went on to play the German version upon release, but with no English version in sight at the time, we decided to hold back on a preview here at Adventure Gamers until full localization was confirmed – we can surely all think of games that never got translated and left us disappointed. Fortunately, that's no longer a concern for Face Noir, as Phoenix Online Studios (Cognition, The Silver Lining) has just signed on to coordinate voiceovers and help smooth out the rough edges of the original version in time to publish an English-language release this summer. (You heard it here first!)
DHGF: Face Noir is a pretty typical adventure title. It focuses on story over gameplay, is full of fetch quests, and has zero replay value. That being said, it has fun puzzles, interesting characters, and a setting that never seems to get old. I could easily recommend it to genre fans but for one thing. You see, this is the first half of a completed story, and it ends as such. There’s no closure to be had. While it might simply whet your appetite for the forthcoming sequel, it will more than likely just come off as cheap and annoying. If you dig the concept, you’re better off just waiting until you can play through the whole story in one go.
Sarahf says “Face Noir Box ArtFrom 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.”
― Raymond Chandler, The High Window
Mad Orange and Phoenix Online Studios have brought their murder mystery, Face Noir, to the Steam and Desura platforms, available to download now. With a storyline that would be right at home in a Raymond Chandler novel or Humphrey Bogart film, Face Noir puts players in the well-worn shoes of a private detective falsely accused of murder.
