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A private detective teams up with her 12-year-old self in this funny and sweet interactive fictionThe Grown-Up Detective Agency is a lovely free bit of IF
The Grown-Up Detective Agency is a lovely free bit of IF
A jaded private investigator teams up with her 12-year-old kid detective self to solve a mystery inThe Grown-Up Detective Agency, a lovely bit of free interactive fiction. Bell Park doesn’t know how or why her perfectly precocious child self is here, now, but who better to help crack a case involving her former childhood best friend? And who better to offer fresh perspective on her adult life? It’s a funny little buddy cop story, and it made my morning.
Kid detectives!
Kid Bell is delightful. She’s an archetypal kid detective: precocious, cocky, nosy, and largely oblivious to the adult world, yet insightful. If there’s even a hint of crime afoot, a kid detective’s gotta do whatever they must to solve every mystery and uncover every secret. Adult Bell, as an actual professional detective, is a touch more reserved. It’s a great buddy cop comedy, crashing into a coming-of-age story as Adult tells Kid about feelings she’s not yet confronted, crashing into twenty-something angst as Kid Bell draws Adult Bell’s discontent into focus.
You can play The Grown-Up Detective Agency for free in your browseron Itch.io. I like it a lot! It’s funny, it’s silly, it’s very gay, and it’s sweet. I grew to care about these two weirdos across my 40-minute playthrough. Thinking of you, Bells.
It’s only nowlooking at Hennessy’s websitethat I realise The Grown-Up Detective Agency is part of a series. It started with a Twine gamewe posted about in 2013, starring the kid detective, then continued across several more. I… think I played that? The second,Birdlandwonpraise from Emily Short and a whole lot of awards. Well! I did not feel the presence of absences in The Grown-Up Detective Agency game from not having played (remembered?) the lot, and I am now excited to catch up on the rest of Bell’s adventures.
