L.A. Noire
2011
Audio: English · Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, German
- strategy
- adventure
- action
- thriller
- historical
- sandbox
- open world
- mystery
- single player
The story
L.A. Noire is a neo-noir detective action-adventure video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. It was initially released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on 17 May 2011; a Microsoft Windows port was later released on 8 November 2011. L.A. Noire is set in Los Angeles in 1947 and challenges the player, controlling a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer, to solve a range of cases across five divisions. Players must investigate crime scenes for clues, follow up leads, and interrogate suspects, and the player's success at these activities will impact how much of each case's story is revealed. The game draws heavily from both the plot and aesthetic elements of film noir—stylistic films made popular in the 1940s and 1950s that share similar visual styles and themes, including crime and moral ambiguity—along with drawing inspiration from real-life crimes for its in-game cases, based upon what was reported by the Los Angeles media in 1947. The game uses a distinctive colour palette, but in homage to film noir it includes the option to play the game in black and white. Various plot elements reference the major themes of detective and mobster stories such as The Naked City, Chinatown, The Untouchables, The Black Dahlia, and L.A. Confidential.
What it’s like
Sun-bleached daylight over 1947 Los Angeles, with rain-slicked streets, fedoras, and venetian-blind shadows falling across smoky interview rooms, all rendered in a warm, desaturated palette that can be switched to stark black and white. The sound is period-style jazz and brass under the drone of police radios, and long stretches of driving through the city give it an unhurried, watchful rhythm. Crime scenes are methodical and grim, with bodies, pooled blood, and corpses studied closely for clues. Confrontations break out in brief, brutal brawls and gunfire, and a serial-killer thread keeps a steady undertone of dread, though the emotional register stays cool and lingering rather than frantic. Its mood is hard-boiled and morally murky, a slow tension of suspicion and compromise. It suits a late night alone, a long evening with a mystery to untangle, or a stretch of time for a noir-minded player who enjoys reading faces and weighing lies. Violence is frequent and visible but not gratuitous. It is not gentle. For people who want a crime story that rewards patience, careful observation, and a cynical, rain-soaked atmosphere.
More games like L.A. Noire
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved L.A. Noireand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
