Reader reviews for Inspector Waffles

I must confess, I only got it because it was 50% off and didn’t expect much. It looked like one of the many games recently to jump on the noir and anthropomorphic characters bandwagon. But this charming little game definitely got heart and soul. An okay, and particularly entertainingly told, story, accompanied by a fitting soundtrack with catchy MIDI-ish sounds that could directly come out of an 80s/90s adventure game, also decent graphics. Just a bit short for the regular price, but if you see it for less than 10 bucks it’s an absolute no-brainer.

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Time Played: 2-5 hours
Difficulty: Easy

Inspector Waffles came as a pleasant surprise despite it’s light on puzzles. At one point I decided to replay a chapter and quickly clicked through 2 hours of my life in like 10 minutes - it’s that heavy on dialogues. But I didn’t mind it, because writing in this game is so good. Certainly inspired by The Darkside Detective, sharing similar art style, only - to my taste - much, much better. I loved the world this French author created, with anthropomorphic pets playing on both animal and human stereotypes. The main cat-dog duo, Inspector Waffles and his sidekick Spotty, are excellent and grow on you with each chapter, and so does… the other playable duo introduced only briefly.

The world of Waffles is bigger and more detailed than in Darkside Detective, and the game gave me many Lucas Arts vibes. It never tries too hard to be funny or serious, but often succeeds in both ways. There are nice inventory puzzles that require thinking outside the box - again, very traditional Lucas Arts stuff. And there are collectables you may reveal during your journey (why I had to replay a chapter): they add extra scenes to the ending as well as extra fun since they are basically extra puzzles.

In addition, the author made clever use of dialogues by introducing mechanics that also plays like a puzzle. In order to get something out of characters you have to gather clues first and then smartly use them during interrogations. “Clues” could be anything you reveal during your investigation, from case-related leads to random information related to your current needs as well as inventory items. Sure, you can always brute force through dialogues by choosing every clue/item available - I did that several times early into the game, but then realised it was much more satisfying to connect dots in your head.

All in all, Waffles is a cute, colourful and funny take on the noir genre. Its a bit on the short side and I wouldn’t mind playing another chapter of this length, but for a debut game it’s a great achievement. Waiting for a sequel!

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Time Played: 5-10 hours
Difficulty: Easy