The Posthumous Investigation's silly sense of humour and lovely art style work surprisingly well together

Ever since I was a young lad, I've been a sucker for time travel stories, likely because my Dad introduced me to Doctor Who the second I was old enough to find Daleks awesome rather than scary. As such, when I heard that Mother Gaia Studios' The Posthumous Investigation centred around a time loop, I had to check it out. 

Naturally, the premise is more intriguing than the mere existence of a time loop, so allow me to bulk it out slightly. You play as a detective tasked with investigating a wealthy tycoon's death. The twist is that Brás Cubas, the aforementioned rich guy, is the individual who hired you to look into the murder. Not only that, but whenever the clock strikes midnight, you're dragged off to Limbo to chat with him about everything you've found out in that particular loop. 

You're then thrown back onto the streets of Rio to use the information you collected on the previous loop to interrogate suspects. Understandably, they often freak out at what appears to be medium-like abilities. Still, they have the good grace to answer your questions in lieu of any physical evidence. Shock makes people more truthful, I suppose. 

While the clues and other information gathered on each loop remain, physical items return to their original spot. The key you find in the alleyway needs collecting every time, as does the umbrella used for accessing the prestigious Midnight Club. It's not quite as tedious as it sounds, though, at least early on. Since you come armed with prior knowledge, you can bypass a few steps.

Thrown for a loop

Once you know the corrupt police officer blocking access to the alleyway loves cheese bread, you can head straight for the café to buy him a loaf. Alternatively, playing nice with the right faces in The Midnight Club means you can access the establishment without even needing the umbrella. It's a great way to make everything you learned in the previous loop feel useful alongside skipping dialogue you've already heard. 

Aside from that, the gameplay is mostly chatting with people, asking them about other suspects and showing them items gathered along the way. Hunting for clues is simple enough. This isn't a point-and-click adventure in the pixel hunting mould. Instead, you stroll from left to right, and anything of interest will automatically pop up. Truthfully, it's nothing to write home about, but that's not the idea of The Posthumous Investigation. 

The fun comes from piecing together the web of intrigue that develops after meeting the game's eclectic cast, then figuring out how to use the remaining time in each loop. After a while, you'll know everyone's schedules - when they go to the café, what time they pop into the church to confess and so on. With that, you can slowly inch closer and closer to finding the murderer.

Even that might start to feel a little repetitive if Mother Gaia Studios' noir version of Brazil wasn't an enjoyable place to be. The art style is entirely black and white, complete with a hand-drawn cartoon aesthetic. It looks absolutely fabulous, helping create a wonderful atmosphere, which is enhanced by the writing. 

The occasional spelling or grammar mistake aside, the story is genuinely quite funny. Despite the serious nature of the crime, The Posthumous Investigation doesn't take itself too seriously, often poking fun at the game while generally just being a bit silly. So, if a puzzler with an affable approach to its story and a cool time loop mechanic is what you're after, why not give it a go?