A one-of-a-kind narrative crime drama, where reading faces during interrogations is the real hook. The investigation captivates but the open-world driving drags. On Switch, the 1940s atmosphere is rendered impeccably.
Your verdict
Category
Adventure1 player16+
Description
In 1947 Los Angeles, detective Cole Phelps rises through the police force by cracking cases. Published by Rockstar, released worldwide in 2017. Investigations, clue-hunting and interrogations built on advanced facial capture, a film-noir mood and a period reconstruction.
L.A. Noire review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
In post-war Los Angeles, climbing the ranks of the police means studying every face to unmask a lie. The facial technology lends interrogations a fresh intensity, and the noir plot of corruption and ambition slowly tightens its grip around its hero.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"Pleasant"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Long"
Technical info
💾28 GB📅14/11/2017
Published by Rockstar
L.A. Noire (Nintendo Switch) price, value & rarity
Rare but striking, the confrontations here rely not on brute force but on detective work: the real boss is the interrogation. Reading micro-expressions captured by motion scan, choosing the right tone and exposing the lie ratchet up tension like nothing else. These psychological showdowns lend the noir thriller a wholly unique intensity.
A questionable morality
Under the uniform of an upright detective in postwar Los Angeles, we hunt crime in earnest… while cheerfully plowing through half the city in every chase and grilling witnesses with sometimes summary harshness. The player adopts that displayed rectitude without noticing the damage left behind. The gap between the upholder of the law and the driver mowing down sidewalks is good for a smile.
Is L.A. Noire still worth playing in 2026?
L.A. Noire remains a thing apart, an investigation game that staked everything on its groundbreaking facial capture to scrutinise its suspects' lies. Its recreation of 1947 Los Angeles stays superb, and the best interrogations keep a rare tension. The flip side is known, the driving and action feel secondary, and the structure of juxtaposed cases shows its seams. Over time the face technology has lost a little of its magic, but the narrative ambition stays singular. For lovers of film noir and auteur games, it is a curiosity still worth savouring.
