Review: Blues and Bullets Episode I: The End of Peace – Moody Blues
Disclosure - this is essentially a copy/paste review that I wrote for a site that I do reviews for fairly frequently - I found this game not getting a ton of press and thought with the Quick Look on GB it might be nice to get another view in there. Won't post the site here but it's in my profile for the curious, also always appreciate feedback and critique!
Blues and Bullets aims to be a true noir story told with stylistic choices and direction that make it stand out, offering choice, consequence, narrative, and general good gameplay. Luckily, after a few early stumbles, Blues and Bullets Episode 1 does just this, starting off on a great foot and leaving just enough of a taste to want more.
Blues and Bullets makes its goal very clear, right away. The black and white art style with only splashes of red accent moments like spilled blood, red wine, and carpets lining a spectacular set piece extremely well. The mood of the tickled ivories and soothing voice of some incredible music choices (seemingly crafted just for this game) set the tone of the entire experience so well that it’s almost unbelievable how cohesive the direction is.
After a brief prologue of a pair of children captured by a strange robed figure with an always-creepy deer head for a mask being discovered while trying to escape, we are transported to the Blues and Bullets diner. Headed up by none other than Mr. Untouchable, Eliot Ness. After taking down Capone and losing a few good men in the process, we find Ness serving up pie to the local boys in blue and enjoying a simpler life. He states quite plainly that he enjoys the work, as it’s similar to his work for the government, learning the ins and outs of people. But this Ness is a bit different than your Costner or other versions, and is haunted by a bit of a demon in the form of a brown bottle and his unique to this tale rampage on Capone’s mansion.
After a few bits of exposition and some somewhat clunky walking around, we get some glimpses of the action sections of Blues and Bullets with a quick shootout. The basics are here, as shooting is a cover based affair, handled only by two buttons for the most part. Left trigger gets Eliot to poke his body out and take aim, while Right fires the revolver. Firing in the game isn’t the most thrilling of events, as it seems like Ness can take a ton of heat before needing to take cover. During the times that action like this came out, it was pretty simple to just stay out of cover and take aim, as long as you can move the stick relatively quick. Although the action isn’t necessarily what a noir game needs to be about, and luckily Blues and Bullets changes things up about mid episode, and this is when the game really shines.
To avoid spoilers, the game walks a fine line between what could be a disjointed and weird experience, but ends up delivering some incredibly stylish and cool flare about halfway through the episode. The scene starts simply, with Ness walking slowly down an alley, recounting the events of the past and current. Quick flashes give way to some stylized text on the screen and an interactive section that my words simply cannot do justice to. The scene is quick, and signals a shift in the type of game Blues and Bullets is about to become.
A noir game about a famous officer of the law wouldn’t be half great if he didn’t have a crime to solve, and after that uber stylish section mentioned, we stumble into a murder scene while following up a lead on our main quest. We find a character mentioned briefly, so we don’t have any real investment in that character, but the sheer brutality of the murder scene makes you at least feel a bit sorry for the wiseguy. Ness puts on his pondering face and begins to investigate, giving way to the episodes greatest scene. The camera pans around the gruesome scene, with highlighted areas for the player to examine, and giving Ness a reason to expose on the scene and possible motives. We explore the house, following fairly logical clues and piecing it all together, but while a brief description doesn’t do the scene justice, rest assured it is very well done, and may very well be the saving grace of the episode.
Blues and Bullets does suffer from a bit of the low-budget jank unfortunately, with mouths that don’t match up quite with the sounds coming out of them (sometimes not even close), eyes that seem to roll to the back of the head here and there, and overall faces that go from easily acceptable to pure horrifying. Young Capone in particular is a strange one that just shattered the experience early on, coming off less as a menacing crime boss, and more as a Dick Tracy villain. Luckily the voicing is competent, while not rivaling the Troy Bakers and Nolan Norths of the gaming world, the characters are identifiable and unique. The characters also start to grow on the player, the more time you spent with Capone’s goon, the more his wit and charm grow on you.
Redeeming qualities make their appearance in a few systems beyond just the investigation section, art style, music, and stylish walking section. The game takes a Telltale-esque route in that characters and decisions are permanent, and remembered in the world. A few times throughout the game it spouts a notification when these decisions are made, but nicely done is the way that situations play out based on them. There is no big flashy notification that your previous decision affected, but rather the game relies on the player to have the “aha” moment.
Blues and Bullets first episode has a satisfying ending as well, executing on the trick of making the player think it is over before showing a final scene, a la Marvel-style stinger. The episode would have been perfect ending there, as the scene harkens back perfectly to previous events, and has the player making choices that are absolutely unclear as to their consequence, begging and goading them to look forward to the next episode. A bit jarring it is then to be treated to a “next time on Blues and Bullets” as we really didn’t need more motivation, the hook was there, and the audio-only preview to the next episode does a bit of hinting, doesn’t reveal anything crazy, but feels altogether unnecessary.
The Bottom Line
Blues and Bullets Episode I: The End of Peace starts on a rough foot, immediately noticing the mismatch of voice work to character models, some strange models in themselves, and general slow pace for the first few minutes. Luckily for players, the episode takes a turn from mediocre to extremely interesting and even more stylish than just leaning on a style of black, white, and red. The episode goes to interesting places, and flips the player in to the role of Ness easily, motivating to check out the next episode. Impactful decisions, great creative and stylish choices, and some truly memorable moments make this episode one to check out, and a bargain at that.