A feline-centric police procedural with a lightness of touch and a sharpness in its design, Inspector Waffles: Early Days has very quickly become one of my favourite Game Boy games.
A prequel to Goloso Games’ 2021 release Inspector Waffles, Inspector Waffles: Early Days follows the cat detective in his rookie days, as he finds his place in Cat Town.
Under the guiding eye of your partner, Pancakes (yes, this game will make you hungry), you’ll crack six cases in total, cases handed into your capable paws by your chief – Patches.
The first of these cases deals with the theft of a rare video game cartridge (good!), and you’ll soon find yourself falling into the satisfying pattern of discovering clues, interrogating suspects and solving crimes– as well as hopefully discovering some secrets along the way!
I must admit to having not played the original Inspector Waffles, but this prequel won me over pretty quickly with its design, accessibility, and pick up and play aspects. The writing is snappy and light, as well as being well edited. I’ve played several modern Game Boy titles and they can be pretty rife with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, but Goloso Games have clearly crafted this with love and an eye for detail – which makes solving the cases that much more immersive. A high five also for the soundtrack, which loops effortlessly and catchily as you complete the cases, bouncing along in the background without being irritating or distracting.
The way the main mechanics work is by Waffles exploring the crime scene and discovering clues. The main traversal is through a top-down 8-bit RPG fashion, but key scenes will switch to a point- of-view shot which can be interacted with via a point and click interface. Key notes will be added to your notebook, which can then be referred to during your interrogations.
The way the main mechanics work is by Waffles exploring the crime scene and discovering clues. The main traversal is through a top-down 8-bit RPG fashion, but key scenes will switch to a point- of-view shot which can be interacted with via a point and click interface. Key notes will be added to your notebook, which can then be referred to during your interrogations.
Due to the episodic design of each case, there is a sense of the handful of screens for each case feeling compact but instead of feeling limiting, this actually instead adds to that sense of a tightness of gameplay, meaning that you are never left wandering aimlessly around, desperately pixel hunting, which is much appreciated.
The way in which you relay your thoughts on the case to your superior, Pancakes (who also acts as a save point, as he hangs around by your patrol car in each area) is by approaching him when the on-site interrogations of each suspect is completed, you’ll then be asked a series of questions and marked accordingly. Should you get anything wrong, no bother! Simply re-assess the clues and have another crack at cracking the case!
We were lucky enough to be sent a physical copy of Inspector Waffles: Early Days from publisher Broke Studio, and it comes in a full colour box that features Waffles and Pancakes on the cover, hunched over a clue at a crime scene during the night, as the shadowy figure of Snowball (a dangerous cat!) gazes down at them through the cityscape, lit by moonlight. Inside the box is a full colour booklet that has information on the characters , controls and gameplay, as well as a yellow GBC cart with a hue that matches the box art, this is stored in a Game Boy plastic case.
We were lucky enough to be sent a physical copy of Inspector Waffles: Early Days from publisher Broke Studio, and it comes in a full colour box that features Waffles and Pancakes on the cover, hunched over a clue at a crime scene during the night, as the shadowy figure of Snowball (a dangerous cat!) gazes down at them through the cityscape, lit by moonlight. Inside the box is a full colour booklet that has information on the characters , controls and gameplay, as well as a yellow GBC cart with a hue that matches the box art, this is stored in a Game Boy plastic case.
SUMMARY
A truly great title for the Game Boy, the melding of cat puns, great writing and tight gameplay means that this is is a very easy game to recommend, and I feel genuinely one of the best that the Game Boy has to offer, unique as it is in its field.
9/10
🧊🆒ICE COOL🧊🆒
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