Developer: Cereal Games
Publisher: BadLand Publishing
Platform: Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PC, Mac
Tested on: Switch
Pecaminosa – Review
There are a few towns in fiction that can only be described as hell on earth, with scum roaming the streets and beggars on every corner. The titular town of Pecaminosa seems to be one of these, dropping you into a web of crime that divides cops and mobsters into opposite sides while you work your way down a list of people to kill. This action RPG claims to be a classics-inspired game with the charm of a real noir movie and enough of a modern twist to be worthwhile for current players. Sadly it can’t completely make true on these promises, though the result is enjoyable enough on its own.
Story
Pecaminosa places you in the worn-out loafers of former detective John Souza. Disgraced after killing a mobster named Charlie, that the higher-ups would have much rather he arrested the regular way, Souza spends his days surrounded by booze and cigs whiling away time in his shitty apartment. Well, that is until an unexpected visit from Charlie’s ghost turns his world upside down. In order to get into heaven, Charlie needs to ask Souza to get rid of a number of his still alive accomplices. Souza doesn’t seem too interested in helping at first, until he learns his own former partner from his detective days has gone missing while getting involved with these same gangsters. With a common goal in mind, he sets out into Pecaminosa to clear that filth off the streets.
The story is dumped on us rather abruptly, with almost no cutscenes and getting straight into exposition through character dialogue. While there is definitely a gradual build-up into more plot as the game progresses, it’s always rather straightforward and with no side tangents, which can be a little jarring.
Graphics
Pecaminosa mentions its pixel art in the full title, which indicates the game is rather proud of its graphics. And while we don’t want to be a party pooper, it just fails to live up to the standards we’re used to. The few cutscenes the game does have, do come with some lovely art but overall the game feels too undetailed to praise, with blurry character portraits and pretty average-looking art for the game world at large. We won’t go as far as to say it’s ugly, but it’s definitely not the best pixel-styled graphics indie games have been coming out with for years.
Sound
A big facet of the film noir genre is its musical scores, and it seems like Pecaminosa knows this better than anyone. The soundtrack of this game is sublime, really transporting you to the seedy bars of the 1920s and all the danger that lurked in the dark. The game has an original jazz soundtrack that you can also buy separately or combined with the game itself in a bundle. It has no voice acting, however.
Gameplay
Pecaminosa is an action RPG that takes you back to the mafia days with its setting and story. Playing as detective Souza, you get to travel around an open-world map, with a fast-travel system being available in the form of cabs that charge you depending on how far you need to travel across the map. The game guides you on what to do by keeping notes of your current goal and marking destinations on the map, though there aren’t really any side-quests, so it’s not that hard to keep track of what you should be doing.
Your quests mostly consist of getting to a place and talking to people as you investigate the persons on your to-murder list. Fights are likely to break out, but Souza can use a gun or his fists to kick some criminal ass. If you’d rather prevent a fight, some situations can be resolved by conversation alone, usually through skill checks. These skills are built up through the classic RPG system where you level up and get points to spend on your character’s stats.
These skills are as follows: Luck makes you more likely to find loot or dodge attacks. Intelligence is exactly what you’d expect and denotes Souza’s smarts. Force changes how hard-hitting you are and how much damage you can take. Lastly, endurance enhances your stamina, making you faster and able to dash more often. Upgrading these stats will also give you active and passive abilities down the line.
The world of Pecaminosa is a little different than our own, as Souza can consume whiskey to heal himself and uses betting chips as money. This does mean you can play blackjack to earn some extra spendings, which you’ll be able to exchange for bullets or better equipment. The game is split up into chapters, though it’s not that long.
Conclusion
Overall Pecaminosa has a solid base. The premise is pretty interesting, the gameplay is nothing groundbreaking but not bad either, and the soundtrack steals the show. Repetitive quests do end up dragging the entire experience down and there’s not enough content to stay engaged as long as you’d expect from a proper RPG experience, making for an ultimately disappointing experience.
Pecaminosa - Review,
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