(Hi, Slow Game Club family!) From the first few moments of Tails Noir, Eggnut’s post-noir narrative adventure, I was immediately hooked. In an alternate version of Vancouver, I play Howard Lotor, a private investigator down on his luck in a city of anthropomorphic animals. When a new client arrives at my messy Granville apartment, I agree to gather evidence of their husband’s infidelity. And, like any good film noir story, a mundane case leads to a much more sinister discovery.
‘Tails Noir’ is a jaw-dropping visual affair
Stepping out of Howard’s apartment and into the streets of Granville, I’m bombarded with eye candy overload. Tails Noir is, hands down, one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever seen. Its gorgeous pixel graphics are sprinkled with 3D elements, dynamic lighting effects, volumetric fog, and stunning detail. Its jazzy soundtrack, mixing deep strings and brass with slow, brushed drums, sets a perfect tone for its gritty atmosphere.
Videos by VICE

I’d often stop to admire each area, gawking at the intricate backgrounds and foregrounds pumping with life in every scene. Granville has so much to look at. A Vancouver skyline looms in the background as you stroll over wet pavement that reflects the neon lights of retail shops and busy apartments. Equally impressive in their own regard, later areas like Gastown and West End showcase the disparity between the city’s ruling class and the impoverished. The dystopian setting of Tails Noir makes it quite clear. Racism, sexism, homelessness, and corruption are alive and well in Vancouver.
Tails Noir begins on a strong note. Its first act allows me to familiarize myself with some of Granville’s inhabitants while I figure out a way to enter a prestigious nightclub. Each conversation consists of various dialogue choices, granting Howard a bit of agency in how he responds to others. In many interactions, I can choose to be calm and collected, slightly clumsy, or downright threatening. After gaining access to The Bite nightclub, elements of stealth gameplay and puzzle-solving are nicely woven between Howard’s search for his mark.
We change, but we change nothing
A revelation within The Bite leads to a shocking discovery, setting the plot of Tails Noir into full swing. While the first few acts guide players through an intriguing conspiracy of societal reform, things take a jarring turn by the end of act three. I’m not upset at this — in fact, I’m quite a fan of subversive plot derailments in media. By the halfway point in Tails Noir, the story spirals into an unsettling mix of self-realization and depressing introspection, something akin to episode 25 of Evangelion.

Puzzle-solving is gone at this point, however, and the stealthy bits are few and far between, effectively turning Tails Noir into a blatantly linear visual novel. Again, nothing wrong with that, but I did find myself longing for expectations built by the first act. While Howard does have various ways to handle each conversation, all choices seemingly lead to the same conclusion and do not affect the story.
‘Tails Noir’ is a tailspin worth the ride
Unfortunately, the lack of closure leaves several loose ends by the end of its disjointed plot. You never really find out what happens to Vancouver and its inhabitants. The ruling class Apes and the conspiracies of the first few acts are essentially tossed aside. The plot’s tonal shift, then, leaves more questions than answers. Whether intended by Eggnut or not, Tails Noir leaves a lot up to interpretation, requiring players to fill in the gaps of its most intriguing plot points.

It’s a game that, while I would happily recommend, makes me desperate for a sequel, an extended epilogue, something. Tails Noir Preludes, a prequel that details the formative backgrounds of four characters, adds a bit more context to its sprawling story. What happens after Tails Noir, however, appears to be a case gone cold.
Verdict: Recommended
Tails Noir is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.
More
From VICE
-
The Daily Mail -
Letter written by a person claiming to be Jack the Ripper in 1888. (Photo by Fiona Hanson / PA Images via Getty Images) -
Heineken -
Jaromir/Getty Images