Best Served Cold Review: A Prohibition-Era Murder Mystery

Consider entering a Russian speakeasy, back in the time of Prohibition: a dark bar, swirling clouds of cigarette smoke changed just enough to allow you to see the crystal chandelier, and guilty secrets poured in each glass. This is how Best Served Cold immerses you. It is termed a crime investigation game, but it feels more like a sceney, atmospheric, bartending game that happens to have a dark, noir heart.

Best Served Cold is set in a fictional city in Eastern Europe called Bukovie. You are the bartender for “The Nightcap,” the dark, shady speakeasy, where the folks there don’t just drink, their attendees actually confess. You mix drinks, watch your patrons while at the same time piecing together elements of a larger storyline, which involves murder, manipulation, and the weight of memories. Best Served Cold has a slow-burn elegance to it; you reveal tension between characters through old ways, rather than relying on fast-paced gameplay.

Aesthetic & Animation

The presentation is arguably the game’s best asset. The hand-drawn aesthetic, combined with seamless animations, creates cinematic moments every time you interact. Characters aren’t merely talking; they lean, sip, glance, and emote with each line, allowing the dialogue to breathe..

Gameplay & Mechanics

While the top-level gameplay is deceptively simple, there are nuances beneath the surface. Mixing drinks really involves mini-puzzles that are logically built and surprisingly satisfying. Each drink has precise steps – shake/stir, select in order, etc. A typo is bad – get a step wrong and the character might shut down, or become suspicious. There is weight behind every action you take. There is a tiny learning curve. Leave the game for days at a time, and you might have to recall the recipe logic or dialogue trees.

Music & Atmosphere

The music is simply incredible. The soundtrack is filled with a broody and jazzy composition, contributing to the weightiness of silence and the drama of confession. The music doesn’t just set the tone; it enhances the tone and becomes a fundamental emotional layer to the experience. It is rare to find a dialogue-heavy indie game where the music is such a contributing factor in immersion; however, it works wonderfully in this case.

Controls & Accessibility

The control scheme is where things get a bit weird. The game uses both controller and mouse/keyboard inputs, and we struggled with the controller during our experience. Certain commands did not register at random moments, especially when transitioning between drink preparation and dialogue screens. By contrast, playing on a mouse and keyboard was smooth with no issues, benefiting from better precision and responsiveness. For a game that relies outwardly on timed interactions and meticulous inputs, the issues with the controller were significant, as I wouldn’t be surprised if couch players planned on using a controller.

UI & Design

The user interface is nice and functional. It neither overwhelms nor does it over-inform, and players have a clear expectation to listen, recollect, and piece together deductions. There is neither a hint system nor a quest marker that nudges the player along, instead, players must take their time, engage with people, and make conclusions. This may alienate players who prefer more action or direction in games, but for players who enjoy story-driven narrative experiences, it is a refreshing departure.

Real Talk

Best Served Cold is perhaps not for everyone. It requires the player’s attention, it rewards active observation, and it unfolds at its own unhurried pace. But if you like character-driven narratives, slow-burn mysteries, and the ritualistic joy of preparing a drink while prying into someone’s mind, this speakeasy may become your next favorite haunt. It offers a moody, melodic, and considered experience that invites you not to solve a crime, but to listen to people talking. And at this bar, in fact, sometimes listening is the most dangerous thing a person can do.

FINAL SCORE: 70/100