Blacksad: Under the Skin Review Summary

Engaging and captivating storyline: The game features an intriguing and well-developed narrative that keeps players hooked. The story is often described as interesting, engaging, and full of twists, capturing the essence of a classic detective tale.

Immersive 1950s New York atmosphere: The game successfully captures the atmosphere of 1950s New York, with its stylish and gloomy world. The setting, music, and overall ambiance contribute to a immersive experience that transports players to a classic detective film.

High-quality voice acting: The voice acting in the game is frequently praised for its excellence and professionalism. Players appreciate the high-quality sound design and the performances of the voice actors, which enhance the overall experience.

Well-developed and charismatic characters: The characters in the game are well-developed, charismatic, and memorable. Each character has their own unique history and secrets, adding depth to the story and making the world feel more alive.

Engaging detective gameplay: Players enjoy the deduction system and the process of solving cases, which is reminiscent of classic detective work. The gameplay mechanics are engaging and well-thought-out, providing an enjoyable experience.

Performance and technical issues: The game suffers from various performance issues, including poor frame rates, constant stuttering, and long loading times. These technical problems significantly impact the gameplay experience and are a major source of frustration for players.

QTEs are buggy and frustrating: Players report numerous issues with Quick Time Events (QTEs), including bugs, stutters, and excessive difficulty. These problems make the game unplayable for some, as the QTEs require instant reactions and fast button mashing, which are hindered by lag and technical issues.

Poor and clunky controls: The game's controls are widely criticized for being clunky, poorly designed, and difficult to get used to. Players find the controls janky, clumsy, and not well-adapted for keyboard and mouse, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.

Unskippable cutscenes: Players are frustrated by the inability to skip cutscenes and dialogues, which can make the game feel slow and tedious. This lack of option to skip content is seen as a significant drawback.

Slow character movement: The character's movement speed is criticized for being too slow, which affects the overall pacing of the game. Players find the slow walking speed and general sluggishness of the character to be frustrating.

Investigation and deduction mechanics: Players engage in crime investigation, gathering clues, and using deductive reasoning to solve cases. This includes analyzing information and making conclusions based on evidence.

Choices with consequences: Players' choices matter and have consequences, affecting the hero's attitude and the characters' attitudes towards the hero, as well as influencing future events.

Story-driven gameplay: The game is narrative-driven, with a strong focus on story progression and involvement, making it a story-based game.

Dialogue and character interactions: The game involves extensive dialogue with characters, where each choice and dialogue brings players closer to solving the case. Character interactions and relationships are key mechanics.

Noir detective setting: The game features a noir detective storyline set in 1950s America, with a protagonist who is a stereotypical New York detective in a film noir setting.

Game is buggy and laggy: Players report a variety of bugs, lags, and game-breaking issues that significantly impact gameplay. These include visual bugs, freezing, and general bugginess.

Audio and technical problems: There are various technical issues reported, including audio problems, lack of environmental sounds, and general technical shortcomings.

FPS issues and drops: There are frequent complaints about FPS locks, drops, and severe frame rate issues. Players mention constant FPS drops and the game ignoring FPS lock settings.

Optimization issues: There are widespread complaints about the game's poor optimization, leading to various performance issues.

Slow loading times: The game is criticized for being very slow, with excessive loading times that impact the overall gaming experience.

Recommended despite flaws: Some reviewers recommend the game despite its flaws such as bad optimization and control issues. They suggest that the game is worth trying if you can overlook these drawbacks.

Worth buying on sale: Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale to purchase the game. It is often mentioned that the game is worth buying at a discount rather than at full price.

Recommended for fans of noir and detective stories: The game is highly recommended for those who enjoy detective stories and noir atmosphere. It is ideal for lovers of quality detective stories and atmospheric games.

Good for fans of narrative-driven games: The game is praised for its strong narrative and is recommended for fans of story-rich and engaging games. It is particularly noted for its deep plot and atmosphere.

Worth playing for the story: The game is recommended for its story and characters. Reviewers suggest playing the game for its engaging storyline.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience with the game reveals several key issues. Performance issues were frequently mentioned, with users reporting spotty performance and frame drops. Control issues were also a significant concern, with many users finding the controls insufficient and awkward. Graphical and physics bugs were noted but were not considered major. Quick-Time Events (QTEs) were problematic for some users, being described as too fast or difficult. Despite these issues, many users still found the game enjoyable and playable on the Steam Deck.

External guides: The game has a compelling story and engaging gameplay mechanics, but it is marred by significant technical issues and gameplay interruptions. These problems often force users to rely on walkthroughs, detracting from the overall experience.

QTE fix requires 60 Hz: Players found that setting the system refresh rate to 60 Hz resolves issues with Quick Time Events (QTEs).

Motion sickness issues: Some players experienced motion sickness while playing the game, which affected their overall experience.

Cheating with SAM software: Players reported using external software called SAM to cheat or bypass challenges in the game.

Character design criticism: There were criticisms aimed at the design of a particular character in the game.