Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved — Everything We Know

Developer Armonica has lifted the veil on its newest project—a story-driven crime visual novel called Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved. Going by the elevator pitch that was teased earlier this week, the detective adventure will deliver a “suspenseful and moving story, inspired by hard-boiled crime fiction, classic cinema, and other classic adventure games,” all while paying tribute to some of Japan’s greatest adventure IPs. That’s quite the boast — even by today’s standards.

It isn’t due out for a while yet, but on the off chance that you’re looking to scratch out a day on your calendars, we’ve gone ahead and scraped everything there is to know on the project down below. Interested? If so, then read on.

What Is Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved? 

Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved is an upcoming visual novel set around a cross-country train, a murder, and the disappearance of a passenger who, at least in the eyes of their fellow boarders, never actually existed. In a similar vein to a lot of crime novels, the game will take place over several scenarios—episodes in which dialogue will open up new doorways, and clues will paint a clearer image of the past, as well as the events leading up to the climax.

In the developer’s own words, “Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved is a brand new detective adventure game / visual novel, in the style of classic adventure games from Japan. Investigate areas and interrogate witnesses on the path towards solving the mystery and uncovering a sinister conspiracy!”

According to the devs, the game will feature “a unique and striking art style, combining highly expressive 2D pixel art portraits and old-school prerendered 3D backgrounds.” What’s more, it’ll also make room for “a colorful cast of characters to interrogate, with many unique interactions and optional dialogue should you explore the game thoroughly.”

Story

Remember Murder on the Orient Express? Well, from the sounds of the blurb that Armonica posted earlier this month, its upcoming game will have a plot that’s fairly similar, in the fact that there’ll be a cross-country train, a crime, and a detective who’ll have to unearth the clues and establish fact from fiction before it reaches its final destination. It’s very Hercule Poirot — and we’re all for it.

“Following the grisly murder of a man in an unassuming hotel, a woman vanishes without a trace while traveling on a cross-country train,” the blurb reads in part. “The catch? Nobody on board remembers her ever existing in the first place—nobody, except for you. Can you solve the mystery of the missing woman before the end of your trip abroad?”

Gameplay

Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved will adopt a traditional visual novel gameplay style, which means there’ll be plenty of dialogue to sift through, characters to engage with, and of course, environments to scrub clean with a fine-tooth comb. For the most part, it appears you’ll be interrogating potential suspects aboard the cross-country train, as well as searching for clues and evidence to help identify any wrongdoings or criminal activity. So again, a lot like a traditional Agatha Christie novel — only with less bloodshed, and a little more drama.

In addition to the ever-popular 2D pixel art style, Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved will also introduce a “lavish original soundtrack in various musical styles, from jazz to orchestral.” So, if you’re all for the idea of boarding a locomotive that bleeds atmosphere and intrigue, then you’ll definitely want to punch your ticket and board at the next platform, basically.

Development

After the mysterious murder of an unknown man, a woman goes missing on a cross-country train. The catch? Nobody remembers her ever existing… except for you.

A new Detective Adventure Game/VN, coming 2024! Wishlist today: https://t.co/njlSEuodBc#screenshotsaturday #pixelart pic.twitter.com/OlyF5MRJ7J

— Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved (@TrainDetective) November 25, 2023

If you happened to miss out on the initial announcement, Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved is being brought to life by none other than Armonica, an independent studio that, to our knowledge, hasn’t actually released anything just yet. And so, from the looks of the rather vacant portfolio, the upcoming IP will be its first. Not to fret, though — it certainly has all the features that make up a solid visual novel in its arsenal. Or at least, the debut trailer seems to give us reason to believe that, anyway.

As it stands, we don’t really know when Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved will hit the shelves. Having said that, the devs have gone on to tease a loose 2024 launch window, so with any luck, we’ll be hearing more from them over the coming months.

Trailer

If the screenshots just aren’t doing it for you, then you’ll be pleased to know that Armonica actually posted a gameplay trailer earlier this week. Need we say more? You can check it out for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved will be launching on PC via steam at some point in 2024. As for whether or not it will arrive on Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch at some point in the foreseeable future remains to be heard. If, however, something of the sort does come to light, then it’s bound to come to the table a fair ways after its Steam debut.

Edition-wise, there isn’t a whole lot to touch base on, other than the standard copy that’s currently due to arrive on PC. You can go ahead and add that to your wishlist on Steam here.

Interested in staying up to date with Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved? if so, then, be sure to follow the developer over on their official social handle here. If anything does change ahead of the game’s global release, then we’ll be sure to let you know all of the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved when it releases on PC next year? Let us know your thoughts over on our social handle here.