Graphic adventure games and the Steampunk genre, two things which I deeply admire, come together in this captivating mystery title that follows the disgraced, substance-abusing detective Miles Fordham on his case-solving adventures. I started this game without any knowledge of the plot whatsoever, and I highly recommend this as the best way to experience it. The beginning feels very much like a lighthearted “Sherlock and Watson/Buddy Cop” type of story until a genuinely shocking twist about 30 minutes in. I was hooked from that point on and dare not spoil the opening for the uninformed!
While I am quite the fan of Steampunk, I also appreciate the fact that Lamplight City does away with some of the tropes which are all too frequent in the genre. To start with, rather than taking place in Victorian England (as is very common in other stories), this game is set in an alternate version of the United States, in the fictional city of New Bretagne. It is good to see several characters with diverse backgrounds in terms of race, social class, and sexual orientation, including two crucial lead characters, though the story does exist in a historical context where they have to contend with prejudice. Fordham’s partner, Bill, and his constant mocking of rich, snobbish NPCs in high positions is rather delightful; Steampunk doesn’t need to focus solely on the lives of high-society ladies and gentlemen!
Lamplight City’s overarching plot, in addition to the individual cases, is fairly serious and often explores mature subject matter such as domestic abuse, drug use, and prostitution. The ethical dilemmas and social issues which are present may even have an influence on your gameplay decisions. Thankfully, the game features plenty of humorous conversations while you digest the weightier matters, particularly the lighthearted banter between Miles and Bill. Be prepared for an occasional naughty word beginning with “S!” While far from being a comedic game, the storyline never ends up feeling overly formal or stuffy, despite the mature themes.
The game uses a classic graphic adventure interface, with one major difference: there is no inventory. This seemed very strange at first, though I found it did not detract a huge amount from the overall experience. Progress mostly consists of gathering clues by conversing with the large cast of characters, exploring various locales (particularly a number of seedy pubs and vacant, disordered apartments), and solving the occasional puzzle.
The five cases in Lamplight City can end in many different ways based on your choices. If you aren’t careful, the wrong people can be arrested, and game areas can even become inaccessible, making it impossible to locate certain suspects. Thankfully, the story continues on even if you solve a specific case incorrectly. The overall difficulty is on the easy side, especially if you take time to examine everything and talk to NPCs multiple times; I found that it is almost more challenging to fail a case than to solve it properly. It’s fairly obvious when you do something wrong (such as angering a character and being kicked out of their house). Be sure to save frequently so you can reload prior to these points if you’d like to see the best endings. The autosave function is very handy in this regard, creating a new file every time you move to a different location.
I will add a warning at this point: the final case significantly ramps up the difficulty and resulted in a panic when I believed I had hit a dead end (thankfully, this turned out to be false). The puzzles are a little more difficult, and there is a time limit on accessing one particular section which, if missed, will prevent players from seeing the best ending. A little stressful, though I do see this chapter as a major example of how the game adapts to your choices rather than just presenting a “game over” screen.
Lamplight City’s Sierra-era pixel graphics are very pleasant and fairly detailed. The aforementioned seedy pubs and nighttime scenes, in particular, were among the highlights for me, creating a suitably sinister ambience. Had it been my decision to make, a much larger percentage of the game would have taken place at night. The character close-ups were quite well done as well, though be prepared to see copious mutton chops.
The music is mostly of the classical variety, usually featuring strings or piano instruments. No tracks really stood out to me beyond the ending piece (featuring a full choir), though this also means I don’t have specific complaints. In addition, I was very pleased with the voice acting, which featured a number of diverse accents.
One final thing to note: the game crashed on me a few times during the second and third cases, forcing me to exit the program. These crashes were seemingly random, as they did not happen again when I replayed these sections.
Overall, I found Lamplight City to be a very enjoyable Steampunk adventure. Not perfect — more puzzles and a proper inventory would likely have made for an improved experience, and the game is just a little too easy for veterans of graphic adventures. Still, I found the plot to be genuinely interesting and surprising, and the game is just plain fun. I recommend it to all fans of Steampunk and point-and-click adventures and firmly endorse wearing an elegant top hat while you play, for that extra bit of immersion.
