Dick Tracy returns as a retro treat for Mega Drive in 2021, picked up by some enthusiast and released to the world as a SRAM hack. Originally a classic detective game on 8-bit, now we have it dressed up for 16-bit, though we barely know who's behind it all. Strange? Probably not — the demoscene does what it wants.

You can play as the renowned detective in his effort to unravel cases. This isn't some action carnival — it's classic point-and-click detective work in pixel form. You run around rooms, collect evidence, talk to suspects. The game lets you experiment, but it can also game over you if you head down a blind alley without the right item or important evidence vanishes.

The controls are what you'd expect from Mega Drive ports of that era — the cursor crawls across the screen, menus scroll pretty slowly. Interactions light up here and there more clearly, here and there less so, which looks quite odd on today's mobile devices. The graphics are rough around the edges, but legible. The sound keeps you in the atmosphere, though it's not exactly the catchiest.

Dick Tracy in such a retro hack is more of a curiosity than a landmark achievement. The original 8-bit version had its charm and tension in its limitations. This one tries to be more ambitious, but the mechanics aren't exactly well-oiled and the game demands you remember even the tiniest details from previous scenes. It's not a disaster, but you've got to play detective honestly.

It does not run in the browser here — the page carries a description, screenshots and the release data. Today you'll pick it up mainly for curiosity and a historical journey through Mega Drive detective games. It's not a game that'll fascinate you day in and day out, but it'll keep you occupied for a while.