Rockstar has accrued a fairly storied legacy, one dominated by the prevalence of its most popular series, GTA, in pop culture, but also punctuated by a healthy smattering of smaller, obscure titles that have earned cult classic status over the years. This is a studio that managed to create the most ridiculously in-depth table tennis game ever made, as well as one of the greatest open-world titles ever made, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Name another studio capable of such variety at such a high level of quality. I’d wager very few can top its consistent and frankly, incredibly unique output.
While Rockstar is perhaps a little less known for its succession of distinct titles these days, in large part due to spending upwards of a decade working on a singular title, its past efforts meant that it was almost always at the forefront of innovation within a myriad of genres. Indeed, one of Rockstar’s best games pioneered a genre that has since been swiftly abandoned by both the aforementioned developer and practically everyone else. It is a huge shame, as the detective genre that Rockstar helped popularise with its phenomenal masterpiece, L.A. Noire, thrives within the medium of video games and undeniably deserves another chance.
Rockstar Pushed The Detective Genre Forward & Then Left It Behind
Image Courtesy of Rockstar Games
I have immensely fond memories of playing L.A. Noire, a game that tapped into my mystery-solving obsessed mind in a way I never believed possible. Before delving deep into the many great qualities of Team Bondi’s masterpiece, I had found a passion for mystery games like Phoenix Wright and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, the former especially. So, by the time L.A. Noire rolled around in its shiny black Cadillac Series 61, I was primed and ready to go. Naturally, being a little young, I was utterly abysmal at solving its intricately designed crimes, despite the infamous over-expressive nature of its clearly lying suspects. However, no matter how many times I failed, I found myself enamoured by everything L.A. Noire did, from its sprawling open-world, intense chase sequences, methodical crime scene sweeping, and innovative MotionScan technology.
I was not alone in this adoration of what has easily become one of the very best detective video games, if not the greatest. It was a critical and commercial success, proving unequivocally that there was a desire for more detective-focused mystery games. Indeed, it felt as if this was the dawn of a new future, one that saw the detective genre stand side by side with the open-world one in terms of popularity, in which games like L.A. Noire would be as commonplace as gacha games. Obviously, and rather sadly, that never happened. It started with Team Bondi and Rockstar parting ways after numerous controversies ran the former studio into the ground. It was then shuttered in 2011 after failing to get funding for its new game, and Rockstar, which, beyond owning the IP, clearly had very little vested interest in the property, ended up doing little else with L.A. Noire outside of a few VR missions.
Sure, L.A. Noire was an expensive game to make, and the MotionScan tech wasn’t quite where it should have been for the time, but there was clearly potential for future entries either set during different time periods, in a new city, or centred around a new protagonist (or why not all three). Alas, it has been 15 years since it was released, and Rockstar has given little indication of when or even if we could expect to see a L.A. Noire sequel. I firmly believe one isn’t on the cards, especially considering the time since the last game has all but killed any enthusiasm around it, and the detective genre as a whole never really picked up. Despite the impressive efforts Team Bondi made to push for an immersive detective simulator, and the success of the game as a whole, the genre just didn’t garner quite the foothold in the AAA zeitgeist as one would have expected it to.
This wouldn’t be the first time Rockstar pioneered a genre before swiftly abandoning it. We don’t see many table tennis games anymore, nor open-world school sims like Bully. Sure, people are clamouring for them (more so Bully than Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis), but as game development becomes more costly and lengthy, and the studio increasingly relies on its games becoming evergreen releases, it cannot reliably bank on the likes of Bully or L.A. Noire to sustain its exorbitant costs. It is a shame, as there was real potential in the detective genre being a success, especially as video games are the one medium that can make it truly immersive and interactive in a way that it specifically deserves to be. Fortunately, it isn’t an entirely gloomy affair, as there is the possibility of it making a comeback in the future.
The Detective Genre Could Be On The Rise Again, But It Needs Help
Image Courtesy of Frogwares
While L.A. Noire may have failed to popularize the detective genre within the AAA scene, it has been largely sustained by AA and indie developers. Specifically, developer Frogwares, best known for its Sherlock Holmes games and penchant for Eldritch horror, has consistently worked within the mystery and detective genres for quite some time. While its games lack the level of polish and quality that Rockstar typically delivers, their mysteries are extremely compelling, and they have gotten increasingly ambitious, with the developer’s most recent game, Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, featuring a large open-world peppered with an abundance of additional cases to solve.
Beyond Frogwares, there have been some notable indie and AA detective games that, in many ways, surpass L.A. Noire. Paradise Killer is a truly exceptional mystery game that I cannot recommend people play enough, and Obsidian Entertainment’s bizarrely beautiful passion project, Pentiment, is a richly rewarding and extremely well-written detective title with a medieval twist. However, these, and a handful of others aside, aren’t enough to fill what should be a well-stocked genre. Detective games deserve to be as popular as even RPGs, at least in my opinion, as they, as aforementioned, help elevate a medium that is otherwise immensely popular in all other formats.
Of course, creating a compelling gameplay loop that utilizes elements like facial reactions, clue finding, and deduction in a way that feels natural and immersive is challenging. Detective games are a difficult game to get right in a way that the majority of RPGs simply aren’t. Additionally, without the prevelance of AAA detective games, upcoming developers are unlikely to be as inspired to create their own. What the genre needs is another big blockbuster title like L.A. Noire to kick things off, much like Knives Out did for it on the big screen. That’s possible if Rockstar decides to return to it and release a sequel to L.A. Noire, although, as stated earlier, that seems unlikely. However, should Frogwares finally garner the popularity it deserves, or another high-profile developer tries its hand at creating the next legendary detective, then we could be in for a genre reinvention, the likes of which we almost had before.
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