For a visual novel RPG, Best Served Cold is surprisingly quick in setting the tone and atmosphere of its alt-history world. It leans into noir detective stories hard enough that you can see the indents on every screen. The beige and brown shades, a suitable musical score, and the character’s fashion make it quite clear what to expect.
This commendable first impression and my general fascination with noir detective stories certainly helped pull me into Best Served Cold’s world that bit quicker, but does its mystery help build curiosity into obsession?
Best Served Cold puts you in the polished shoes of a bartender in the last speakeasy in the fictional city of Bukovie. Outside is a world of violent chaos and miserable oppression, but at The Nightcap, everyone can come and let their troubles fade away for a bit. Unfortunately, your bar is in danger of joining all the rest. And to top it all, there are murders and deception for you to wade through because you’re also a bit of a detective besides being handy with a cocktail shaker.
It’s some interesting stakes, that’s for sure. Framing the player as one of the last bastions of resistance with a handy job for unearthing valuable secrets gives Best Served Cold a unique flavor. The twin jobs of bartender and detective tend to overlap, and being a good listener can help you get crucial information that might solve a mystery and help keep The Nightcap’s lights on for another evening. Serving the right drink can be a good way to get someone onside, too.
In total, there are 22 patrons you can encounter and interact with. Depending on your actions, they could end up as friends or foes, and it’s really up to you to figure out who to trust in a world pretty short on it.
Best Served Cold Review: in Cold Blood(y Mary)
So, the setup is enticing, but what about the execution? While Best Served Cold’s detective work is no Clouseau, it’s far from a Sherlock Holmes. Not just the character, but Frogwares’ game series, which are always a cornerstone of the detective game genre, despite their technical flaws. While that series can be a tad longwinded in getting to the deduction, the journey feels pretty natural and requires reasoning and evidence.
Best Served Cold tries to be this methodical, but it doesn’t have the expansive detail around its cases to make that structure worthwhile. Concluding without full evidence can be frustrating here because it can require a tedious amount of fiddling to figure out what you’ve missed when you already know the answer. It’s not always a grievous issue, but it cropped up enough to interrupt the game’s flow.
Perhaps the biggest flaw of the game’s detective work comes in a switch of character, which essentially stops you from being the protagonist and gives you the role of a new one with knowledge they shouldn’t have. Now, this can be an issue in any game if you replay it, but to derail things early in your first playthrough when you’ve already got to know some of the cast is quite jarring. The moment makes sense from a story structure standpoint, but it interferes with the game’s flow.
That doesn’t stop Best Served Cold’s cases from being compelling, though. There are some well-written characters here with intriguing backstories. The alt-history backdrop is detailed enough to lend every interaction an air of quiet desperation no matter what situation the person is in. Yes, there are structural issues, but it doesn’t mean you won’t find yourself with a satisfied grin and a loud ‘ah-hah!’ in the triumph of your deductions. The notes, unfortunately, don’t always play in the correct order.
While Best Served Cold isn’t the most refined detective game, it has bundles of atmosphere and a good selection of interesting, well-written characters. The bartending twist to the game also adds something different from other sub-genre mates.
Score 6/10 – Decent
Developer: Rogueside
Publisher: Rogueside
Reviewed on: PC
Best Served Cold review copy purchased by the review author.
Best Served Cold is now available on PC via Steam.
