Game: Detective Dotson
Genre: Adventure, Casual
System: Steam (Windows, macOS, SteamOS + Linux)
Developers | Publishers: Masala Games Private Limited
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $13.49 | UK £11.51 | EU € 13,31
Release Date: April 24th, 2025
A review code was provided, and many thanks to Jasmine James PR.
Detective Dotson is a 2025 casual adventure game developed and to be released by Masala Games Private Limited.
The Premise of Detective Dotson
Detective Dotson is a cozy mystery game about Dotson, a young man with dreams about Bollywood, who instead plays the role of his life—a detective. As a detective, Dotson investigates different cases that are interconnected to a bigger mystery surrounding his father.
Gameplay
Detective Dotson is a classic point-and-click pixel adventure game. To solve the cases, we interrogate a cast of colorful and quirky characters, collect a lot of items, buy some items, and run around the scene a lot. For each case, we have a case board where we make connections between the characters and their actions and connections. Once we unlock all players in any given case, we must arrange them on the board. Then, Dotson will make his conclusions.
The cases seem mundane initially, which ties nicely into the cozy mystery genre. For example, one of the first cases we investigated was who painted a dog pink. All the cases are connected to a bigger mystery. Some of the characters reappear in subsequent cases; some do not.
Talking to people is very important to the deductive process. We can use costumes as disguises, drawing on Dotson’s experience and dreams about appearing in a Bollywood production. The better a costume, the more information we’ll get from a conversation.
Some of the conversations with people require items. Some items we find, others we need to trade for with other characters or buy. So, we need a way to earn money, which is not a usual requirement in detective games. In Detective Dotson, one of the easiest ways to earn money is to collect trash and throw it away in a bin. Also, we can trigger hidden object mini-games. We have several things to find in a limited time. If we succeed, we earn coins. Thankfully, the game is generous with its payments, so we need not grind, as in other games, to progress the story relatively quickly.
Another interesting mechanic is the option to haggle with the merchant. We have three chances to negotiate the price, and we can adjust the asking price. Sometimes, we get lucky and get a good discount.
The throw-away trash option is not just for earning coins – you can also disable cameras or chase away dogs.
The World of Detective Dotson
Gameplay-wise, Detective Dotson is an excellent take on the detective genre, but where it truly shines is its atmosphere. The world in-game is bright, lush, and vibrant. The characters are memorable. The tidbits about Indian culture- national cuisine, festivals, family celebrations, the peeks into Bollywood – are more than worth giving the game a spin. It’s colorful in the best possible way, and the music is excellent. It’s difficult not to compare it very positively to Venba, which was recently nominated for the Peabody Awards.
Detective Dotson is vibrant like Spring, but it would’ve also made a perfect Autumn release for sheer coziness.
Some Other Things
Detective Dotson has basic audio settings and remappable controls. The game starts with a short but clear and useful tutorial. It has no Steam achievements or Trading cards as yet.
Conclusion
Detective Dotson is a small game with great potential. If you are interested in Indian culture, like detective games, and like coziness, you should definitely try it when it comes out in a few days.
Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up
Do you like our content?
Support LadiesGamers as a member on Patreon!
Or buy us a cup of coffee or tea on Ko-Fi!
