Jackie Hart: Headhunter hits launch target on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Demo also available for indie point-and-click urban fantasy mystery for Windows, Mac and Linux

This surely isn't what Rudyard Kipling meant when he wrote about keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs, but these words have a disturbingly literal meaning in Jackie Hart: Headhunter, the newly released supernatural mystery from indie developer Studio Hazy.

In an alternate-reality Taipei, the natural and supernatural co-exist, if not entirely peacefully. Especially now that a series of grisly ritual beheadings have begun across the city. The latest case is a "gruesome discovery on a hotel roof," in which one of the guests was seen carrying an axe to the scene of the crime but now has no memory of the event. The best, perhaps only person for the job is Jackie Hart, paranormal investigator, who possesses some extrasensory abilities of her own that the police do not, such as a kind of hypnotism that allows her to guide someone back into their subconscious memories.

With help from her towering partner Tian and occasionally from a demon named Keith who's been imprisoned in a toy duck, Jackie must combine both old-fashioned detective work and strategic use of her gifts to untangle the "web of ritualistic sacrifices, ancient folklore, and unearthly entities each with their own motivations and plans for Jackie." In her attempt to "earn the trust of the police and keep [herself] and [her] friends alive to defeat the evil forces rising in the city," it's up to players to decide if she'll "embrace the darkness or step into the light," impacting not just her own fate but those around her as well.

Jackie Hart is a fully voiced, hand-drawn point-and-click urban fantasy adventure. Much of the gameplay involves traditional adventuring like scouring crime scenes for clues; interviewing witnesses, suspects and other persons or non-persons of interest (ranging from "skeptical police officers to enigmatic shamans" to fantastical otherworldly beings); reconstructing events as they occurred; and making dialogue decisions that will shape both "the narrative and relationships." Far less traditional are the paranormal elements, activated via spell wheel with a simple right-click, which can be added to throughout the game as you "meet powerful allies in the world of mysticism and magic who can unlock your latent powers." The story and settings are inspired by the "rich culture and urban landscapes of Taiwan," and the mystery deepens when you "delve into indigenous rituals, encounter spirits, and face the terrifying yaoguai, as you uncover secrets rooted in cultural mythology."

If you've got what it takes to confront Taipei's "mystical underbelly," you can get started right away as Jackie Hart: Headhunter is available now on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux. If you'd rather try it out for a spell first, a playable demo is also available on Steam or itch.io (the latter only for Windows and Mac).