Chicken Police: Into the Hive

Indie developers really know how to do detective games. They make you feel smart by allowing you to deduce the truth for yourself, all the while creating an atmosphere that really draws you in. While the Chicken Police games might be lighter on the investigative side compared to something like The Case of the Golden Idol or Return of the Obra Dinn, they ooze style through their unique film noir atmosphere. In Chicken Police, you play detective Sonny Featherland, and wouldn’t you know it: one day a mysterious widow comes to your apartment to ask if you can help her with the case of her dead husband, as his corpse has disappeared.

Now, I do want to be upfront here: I did not play the first Chicken Police game Paint it RED!, despite it sitting in my backlog for literal years now. Nor have I gotten around to checking out Zipp’s Café, the Coffee Talk-esque spin-off set in the same universe. With detectives Moses and Plato also getting their own spin-off game sometime in the future, I do love how this world is expanding, as it gives all of these characters so much more depth. But you’re not here to listen to me ramble about the games I haven’t played. You’re here to find out whether Chicken Police: Into the HIVE! is worth your time. Obviously, that will depend on a number of factors. Let’s deal with this case one clue at a time, partner.

You might be wondering if this sequel manages to recapture that distinctive film noir style from its predecessor. Evidence suggests it does, and then some. Everything about the game nails that feeling, from Sonny’s pretty depressing monologues over the jazzy background music to all of the NPC’s seemingly only being able to talk in riddles. This is a game clearly set in the United States back in the day of crime lords and gangster cars, when people drowned their sorrows in smoke-filled bars, hoping to go home with a dame for the night. Just like in the first game, you can choose to go full noir style, with the black and white visuals only accompanied by a couple of very vivid colours every once in a while. But I particularly like that the game also allows a full colour in mode that doesn’t take away from its setting. These visuals reminded me of the coloured pictures you might have seen at your grandparents’ house or in museums. It’s not just a fun addition but also allows people who struggle to play the game in black and white the opportunity to enjoy this game.

But film noir isn’t just about the aesthetics and vibes. It’s usually about a down-on-his-luck detective, staring at the bottom of his last bottle of whisky before a femme fatale enters his apartment to give him one final case. Again, Chicken Police nail these themes, with Sonny picking up where Paint it RED! left off. This time though, he’s about to embark on a trip around the world when the recently widowed praying mantis Millandra shows up, asking if Sonny can help her find out what happened to her late husband’s corpse, as it was stolen from his grave. As a true gentleman, you decide to take on the case, even though it takes place within The Hive, the part of town where all insects were shunted out to, after the segregation law took effect. This is where I’m wondering how the game handles a sensitive subject without having a definite answer of my own. It’s clear what the game alludes to with this segregation law, and we can’t deny that this is a part of the world’s history. What I am uncertain of is how it feels for people who were affected by this, or would be if the law were introduced today. It seems to me like the game makes a valiant effort to tackle this subject, but as a very white person, it’s not exactly my place to make that kind of judgement.

So after you pick up your partner Marty, who seems to be in a bit of a pickle with his wife, you set out to The Hive to investigate. And what you find there is intrigue, and lots of it. Your ex-colleague has been murdered, insects are selling some of their limbs, more bodies have been taken from the graveyard… It’s all pretty grim. It also becomes apparent that some of the things that have been set in motion might just be consequences of your actions in the first game. It’s really interesting to see Sonny and Marty deal with their feelings of responsibility, among the many other emotions the night seems to bring out of them.

The story is worthy of a sequel to such an acclaimed game, and that is also hugely due to the characters within it. All of them are so well-written, with plenty of history going on between them. They’ve also been brought to life wonderfully through some of the best voice acting I’ve heard this year. All of the actors bring something else to the table, even if I found the multitude of dialects a bit confusing for a story set within one city. Then again, that might be a reflection of the amount of immigrants you would find in a metropolis like New York or, in this case, Clawville.

Now obviously, visual novels aren’t for everyone, so if you like your games a little more interactive, this franchise might not be for you. But developers The Wild Gentlemen have once again found a way to make gameplay dynamic by switching up the visual novel elements with some point-and-click mechanics and some interesting minigames as well. It also helps that the actual dialogue is interesting and meaningful, plus when you’re interrogating someone, you get to choose whether the good cop or bad cop approach would work better. What did surprise me was that the game, for all its polish and high production value, was littered with spelling mistakes and missing words. For a visual novel, that’s an important aspect, and if it hadn’t happened so frequently, I might’ve missed it. I’ve also seen it reported that there are still quite some bugs left in the game, some of them even game-breaking, although I didn’t encounter any of those myself.