Detective Turn-Based RPG 'Pixel Noir' Uncovers Switch Release Date

If you were thinking about making a JRPG inspired by those hard-boiled detective stories, then developer SWDTech has already got you beaten. Pixel Noir, a turn-based RPG that mixes investigative crime with classic RPG elements, is coming to Switch in April next year.

The game has been in Steam's Early Access since 2019 and has captured the interest of many with its isometric viewpoint and different take on the JRPG story. Instead of playing as some plucky young teenagers out to save the world, you're a grizzly detective — the city's cheapest, even! Not a story about the power of friendship, then. Now, publisher BadLand has announced that the game will be leaving Early Access next spring.

As an affordable private eye, you're handed a case that gives you the chance to clear your name after an event that saw your partner and others in a hospital get killed. You take on all sorts of detective cases while trying to find out the truth, but you'll have to hop into the odd turn-based battle every now and then. Oh, and Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta is also contributing to the game's soundtrack/

Here's what publisher BadLand has to say about the game:

“Pixel Noir” is a hard-boiled detective RPG set inside a sprawling metropolis, where gangs roam free and coffee cures all. Uncover the truth--recover your sanity as you unravel Pinnacle City’s darkest secrets.

Something happened that night in the hospital, something that cost you your career as a police detective, your sanity, and the life of your partner. Ten years later, you have a chance to set things right. Are the hallucinations that haunt you a clue to what happened that fateful night?

FEATURES
• Solve mysteries as Pinnacle City’s cheapest Private Eye! From missing pets to murder investigations, your detective skills will earn you either fortune or face punches.
• Explore Pinnacle City, a wretched hive of scum and villainy, littered with black market trade, grifters, and players of all kinds.
• Fight enemies in turn-based combat and unleash devastating combo attacks by teaming up with others in your entourage!
• Tune up your gear! Upgrade weapons with modifications to fit your play style

We love a twist on the RPG genre, so we're excited to get our hands on this next year. Perhaps a nice drink on the rocks will keep us happy until April 2023. We'll let you know as soon as we get a more specific date for Pixel Noir's release.

Have you been following Pixel Noir since its release in Early Access? Are you thinking of picking it up on Switch? Let us know in the comments!