Lord Winklebottom Investigates is as British as it sounds. What the heck does that mean? It’s the humour and perhaps the setting, though not obviously Blighty, the locals indicate it is. Ish.
Based on the legacy of the world’s greatest detective (not the other one), we join the titular giraffe and his companion, Dr Frumple, a hippo, as they’re off to solve a mysterious case, solving a few puzzles along the way.
Part of The Big Adventure Week, Lord Winklebottom Investigates has been on my wishlist since I saw the title and artwork. Now there’s a demo (at the time of writing), how does it hold up? Pretty good. Granted, it is a point and click and gets put on a pedestal in these internet waters, but let’s have a look at it in loose detail.
There are perhaps half a dozen or so scenes in the Lord Winklebottom Investigates demo that our duo occupy, but they’re usually off-screen, allowing you to explore. As Cave Monster’s artwork resembles an illustrated storybook, pixel hunting isn’t an issue, but the zooming is a little queer. Queer as in 1920s meaning: unusual.
Each time you interact with an object, the camera will zoom in and fade out, and it took a bit of getting used to. I’m not some geriatric complaining about all these TikTok users and their attention span, but as an adventure fossil, the zooming was a little off-putting. It was a proper adrenaline rush.
Everything in Lord Winklebottom Investigates is voice-acted, and while it sounds like a minimal cast, they’re pretty good. Considering the era and genre, it reminded me of Bertram Fiddle a little, but not as madcap. The voice talent was a little more nuanced, so in the long run, it works well. However, what was madcap was Dr Frumple’s irritation that I put tea in before the milk!
That said, milk used to be put in first in the 20s as the hot water would crack the china. Fact.
Historical bit over, Lord Winklebottom Investigates was an amusing demo and will firmly remain on my wishlist in anticipation of the Q1 2022 release date. We don’t dive deep into the narrative, but it’s a demo, and for what it’s worth, it’s one you should check out before the demo is removed due to complaints of a giraffe wearing a monocle. I mean, removed as it’s the end of The Big Adventure Event soon.
