If you’ve ever wanted to play detective with a friend, Finch & Archie is a stylish co-op murder mystery that lets you do exactly that. Created by Australian studio Octarine Arts, the game give off big L.A. Noire vibes.
Where many detective games feature a human detective solving cases on their own, the joy of Finch & Archie lies in the narrative, co-op experience between man and dog. Set in the gritty streets of a dark city filled with crime, Finch & Archie is a charming love letter to film noir.
Archie Is Best Boy
In Finch & Archie, players can choose to play as Jack Finch, an experienced yet jaded detective who likes to work solo, or Archie, a super intelligent pointer who graduated top of his class in the police academy.
What’s neat is that each character brings something different to the table. Finch drives the classic detective experience that most of us are familiar with by questioning other human witnesses or suspects, and talking on the telephone. He wields a handy magnifying glass that can inspect objects and surroundings closely.
Meanwhile, Archie is in a different ball park. Not being able to speak to humans, he gathers clues by talking to other animals in the crime scene. With his keen sense of smell, Archie can detect who or where a scent comes from, as well as fit into tighter spaces that Finch struggles with, complementing his partner’s skills really well.
It’s All In The Evidence
The main objective in Finch & Archie is to work together to solve cases. Evidence-gathering happens asymmetrically, meaning that each player is free to carry out their investigation in their own ways. Players will also experience different conversations (including cutscenes) and discover unique clues, forming a unique understanding of the case.
Clues are gathered by interacting with the environment and organising findings on pinboards. Items can be used to unlock rooms or leads. As the case progresses, players piece together the facts in the case journal and ultimately vote on a culprit.
Use Your Words
Communication is key when each player has to manage their own evidence, items and witnesses. Sharing evidence or information can be the difference between progressing or getting stuck. The game doesn’t provide many prompts on what’s missing or which player needs to do something, so make sure to check in with your buddy and backtrack if needed.
Finch & Archie features a fairly cryptic, in-game communication tool. Players can only communicate via text using short, one syllable words, making for some eyebrow-raising moments with my partner. Finch can also whistle to call Archie over, and Archie can bark to get Finch’s attention. Players are encouraged to chat outside the game but to refrain from sharing answers to each other’s clues.
Living Out The Noir Detective Dream
With its cool comic book art, gritty noir aesthetic and the smooth jazz playing at all times in the background, there’s not much to dislike about Finch & Archie so far. Because players do so much on their own, however, something that I felt was missing was a ‘good cop, bad cop’ interaction where players can somehow back each other up in a conversation (Archie, of course, being the good cop).
That said, there is a strong sense of satisfaction when players are able to deduce the culprit by combining their findings. As far as murder mysteries go, Finch & Archie is a compelling co-op game with great attention to detail, style and sense of intrigue. I look forward to the next episode!
The prologue and episode 1 of Finch & Archie is available now in Early Access on Steam.
Access tor Finch & Archie was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this preview.
