Blues and Bullets
Blues and Bullets is an episodic alt-history noir video game developed and published by A Crowd of Monsters on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The first two episodes of the five-episode game were released in July 2015 and March 2016, and the remaining three episodes will likely never be released, as developer A Crowd of Monsters ceased operations in 2016.
Gameplay
The player searches for clues to find leads in the investigation. Clues include mutilated body parts. Clues can be matched to witnesses. There are also shooting sections. The game's narrative is told in monochrome with occasional tints of color. Interacting with other characters also plays a large part in the game.
Plot
Eliot Ness is the agent who jailed gangster Al Capone. In this new episodic game, Eliot Ness is a retired cop who runs a diner called Blues and Bullets. One day, someone tells him that Al Capone needs his help to find his kidnapped granddaughter. His former nemesis is the only man he trusts to get her back. There are other characters in the game, which include: Milton, Delphine Dockers, Osmond Burke, Alice, Little Girl, Little Boy and Alexa Kahn ), Dickinson, Jim Dockers and Nikolai Ivankov.
Development
The game was first announced on August 13, 2014. Several more screenshots were released on November 22, 2014, and the game was featured at the 2015 Game Developer's Conference. The game was awarded at Game Connection Development Awards in the category of Excellence in Story & StoryTelling. A trailer was released on March 4, 2015. The first developer diary video of the game was published on May 16, 2015.
Episodes
The game was expected to be separated into five episodes, released in several month intervals. "Episode 1" was released on July 23, 2015 and "Episode 2" was released on March 8, 2016. However, developer A Crowd of Monsters ceased operations in late 2016. No further episodes have been released.
Reception
"Episode 1: The End of Peace"
GameSpot awarded the first episode a score of 7.0 out of 10, saying "Although Blues and Bullets isn’t without its flaws, this first episode sets a distinctive comic-book, crime-noir attitude compelling enough to keep you playing and looking forward to what the series will offer in future installments." ComboCaster awarded the first episode 8.3 out of 10, praising the story and pacing. The Sixth Axis awarded the first episode a score of seven out of ten, saying "The End Of Peace feels like A Crowd Of Monsters has crammed too much within the two and a half hour introductory episode, with lots of characters and events occurring without much time to digest what came before."