Crime or Punishment Preview: I Am the Law

Getting away with murder? Not exactly. More like, covering it up.

Crime or Punishment from Developer Scale Issue is a noir puzzle game where you play as a corrupt detective being paid by the mob to cover up their crimes. Make one wrong move and you’ll wish that you were the one in the body bag. 

In the game’s short demo, available now on Steam, you step into the shoes of Detective Faulkner. There’s just been a crime at a local bar and now it’s your responsibility to cover up who really did it. Not only that, you’ve got to make it look like it was someone else. First things first, you’ve got to do your research about the scum of the city, find someone to go down for it. Once you’ve got an idea of who you can pin the crime on, then you’ll get to work.

When you head to the bar where the crime took place you’ll be able to explore the scene and see what could be used to convince the police that your guy wasn’t the one who did the crime. Smear lipstick on a glass, change the song that was being played at the piano, empty a glass of scotch and fill it with gin, all of these small changes could mean the difference between getting a paycheck or sleeping with the fishes. 

The hard part is consistency. If you decide to pin the crime on Vivian Routledge, the “tall drink of water who's been rubbing elbows with the upper crust lately”, you’ll need to do a lot more than just putting some of her lipstick on a glass at the bar. You’ll have to tamper with some more evidence so it is undeniably her and get rid of any evidence that might point to the mob member you’re trying to protect. 

Crime or Punishment has a really unique 2D art style and soundtrack that will transport you right into your favorite noir movies. The twist at the end of the demo is sure to keep you intrigued and it definitely made me want to play more to see what other dangers I could get the detective into. Add in voice acting for the characters and some impressive close up portraits of them, and you’ve got a really unique, wonderfully designed puzzle game you’ll want to be lined up for when it releases Q4 2024. 

Preview By Becca Smith