Reviews by Kinetic Mouse Car

You've been fired.

Your boss is a jerk. And has committed acts of fraud, embezzlement, harassment and other crimes. Fortunately, you've been collecting proof. Proof that you can take and hand off to the authorities! You have a printed stack of emails ready to go and....

Wait, where did the stack go?

Someone has taken your stack of evidence. Will you search for it, or leave your ex-job behind empty-handed?

Gameplay
The player navigates a small-sized map of an office building, starting in the protagonist’s crummy “office.” Using a meager box of belongings, the player must gain access to areas deemed off-limits to the average corporate employee. You know you’re getting somewhere when the all-purpose industrial grade floors become carpet.

The game has a max score of 20 points. Points are generally earned through sneaky actions and/or destructive sabotage. It was satisfying to get a full score. Ironically, it requires you to do some (Spoiler - click to show)highly illegal things.

I ran into some guess-the-verb issues, primarily when (Spoiler - click to show)exploring the basement for the first time. It’s dark in there, so you need a light source. You have your lighter (and your 5th anniversary “gift” from your boss) which you drop, leaving you in darkness. I figured that "Find lighter" or "Search floor" would have worked, but they are not implemented. Instead, the solution is “Take lighter” which made less sense since we can’t see where the lighter fell. That said, the game has a helpful hint system to nudge the player in the right direction.

Story/Characters
Fired embraces the familiar premise of an office employee (or in this case, an ex-employee) getting revenge on their immoral boss. It does not offer anything new, however. Does it need to? Arguably not. I’m just left with some questions. (Spoiler - click to show)Why is there a key in the microwave? Was the protagonist fired because of the evidence gathering, or was it unrelated and the printouts merely taken after their desk was emptied out?

Nonetheless, there is still a strong sense of satisfaction at undermining a self-centered and immoral boss. The player strongly feels like they are on the protagonist’s side.

There are multiple endings. You can leave the building at any time to end the game, but the outcome will depend on the actions you took. Your main objective is to retrieve the printouts, but secondary goals such as (Spoiler - click to show)covering your tracks are highly encouraged. That, and getting your poster back. You can take additional steps to gain revenge on your boss, but it's not required to get a decent ending.

Conclusion
Well-rounded, consistent, but not a lot of depth. And implementation could be a bit smoother. That said, its well-roundedness balances out its lack of exposition. I am pleased with my experience.

If you enjoy office settings and/or want a parser game with fairly easy puzzles that is light on story, Fired might be a good fit for you.

The syrup rain drifts down as a heavy mist, making sticky the just and the unjust alike. It is nighttime. But then, it's always nighttime in Sugar City.

You play as Private Eye Bubble Gumshoe, tasked with solving the murder of Jimmy Piñata, a- you guessed it- piñata found in a garage at the outskirts of the city, bashed open and hanging from the ceiling.

But first…
Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata? (WWJP) was the first game I decided to play for this year’s IFComp because I recognized it immediately. It is the third installment of a series that started with Who Shot Gum E. Bear? (WSGEB) back in 2022.

As someone who enjoyed but felt frustrated by the first game, WWJP was a treat to play because it showed clear improvement and dimension. WSGEB featured a lot of seemingly important details that ultimately had little to no function. This included (Spoiler - click to show) visiting the VIP room, buying a newspaper, and utilizing the pack of candy cigarettes. So, imagine my delight when I saw these details being given a purpose in WWJP!

As a fan of WSGEB, I was happy to run around visiting recognizable characters, re-reading the books in the bookstore, seeing if someone was still doing candy in the bathroom stall (blue crystal this time instead of sherbet), and exploring the expanded map*. It also feels a bit edgier and more cynical, heightening the mystery.

And… Easter Eggs! I loved finding subtle references to the previous two games. The walkthrough even has a section dedicated to it.

(*I think it’s neat that you can overlap the map for all three games. Some locations may be inaccessible depending on the game, but the fact that it’s the same landscape builds an established setting.)

Gameplay
Like many detective stories, the game has the player explore the city, gather evidence, and interview people of interest before making your accusation. Relevant topics, objects, characters, and scenery are shown in bold, something I did not see in the previous two games. It made gameplay much smoother.

In comparison to WSGEB, WWJP is stronger in every way, especially with the ACCUSE command, a central mechanic. A complaint I had with WSGEB (spoilers!) was (Spoiler - click to show) that you could accuse anyone and solve the mystery by randomly guessing without any investigation. That’s not the case with WWJP. You want to accuse someone? You need to present evidence to back up your claims.

Plus, WWJP is generally more well-rounded. The map is larger, the streets have names, characters are more responsive, you can dance (as long as no one is watching), and additional verbs are added.

However, for a while, WWJP was cruising at 5 stars, but lost traction following (Spoiler - click to show) our rescue by Battenberg. She’s not the issue, though I do wish she was more responsive to your questions. It has to do with the remaining puzzles. Specifically, INSERT [object]. The game needs to be clearer when inserting objects has any relevance.

This tripped me up twice: (Spoiler - click to show) trapping Father Wafer and getting the keys to the boat. The boat especially was difficult. I knew where the keys were but there were no scenery clues about inserting items. And licking the taffy to make it softer didn’t occur to me, despite me tasting everything in sight just for fun. These were the only two cases where I needed outside help.

There is room for improvement, but the foundation is there, the story is catchy, and the characters are a lot of fun. It is easily the strongest game in the Bubble Gumshoe series.

Story
The author does a great job at combining the grittiness of an urban landscape with the cheerful innocence of different types of candy, all while incorporating themes about poverty, murder, drugs, sex, and crime without being too explicit. You may laugh at the idea of a piñata being a murder victim, but for the characters of Sugar City, this is serious business.

There is plenty of world-building if you know where to look. Occasionally, examining scenery- like businesses at the docks- provides exposition on Sugar City. Especially regarding the highly influential taffy factory that now lies derelict. Even though it’s not a focus in this game, its presence is still heavily felt. So much to see! And taste. And smell.

I won’t spoil who the mastermind is. I am, however, curious about why the game allows us to (Spoiler - click to show) decide if police arrest [name redacted] or not. It’s a yes or no decision that you make right at the end. Both lead to the same outcome of victory but I suppose it lets you pick the flavor of justice.

Characters
Sugar City’s inhabitants are creatively designed, and Bubble Gumshoe is as awesome as ever. Some are recognizable, others are new.

Speaking of new characters, the coolest part of the game for me is this heartwarming scene outside Gumshoe’s 1973 Fudge Challenger:

Also, I know this is besides the point, but Jawbreaker is such an underrated character.

You hold the roll of cash up for Jawbreaker to see.

"That's a roll of cash," says Jawbreaker. He stares at you dimly. "Did I get it? Did I do a evidence?"

The way he says this made me laugh. He brings a lot of unexpected humor.

Conclusion
To wrap this up, WWJP is a delicious story with a light-hearted yet gritty world and a likable female protagonist. Some parts were sweeter than others due to implementation but is otherwise a strong game that shows a lot of refinement. Plus, the author provides a generous walkthrough/hint (available separately) guide, even if its Jolly Rancher imagery made my mouth water.

I hope this isn't the last we see of Private Eye Bubble Gumshoe.

(edit: grammar fix I missed)