Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami is a 2024 adventure game from Berlin-based Happy Broccoli Games. It follows a duck detective named Eugene McQuacklin as he investigates a stolen salami at a bus company office. The game was built in six months to keep the studio from going under after a publisher backed out.

Players control Eugene in an isometric view, with 2D characters outlined in white against 3D environments. The city is populated by animal residents. The game is fully voice acted, and there is a button that makes Eugene quack. Investigation involves moving through rooms, questioning characters, and inspecting objects with a magnifying glass. Clues and words are gathered from the scene, then used in "deducktions"—phrasal templates in Eugene’s notebook where players insert the correct words. After filling a sentence, the game shows roughly how many words are wrong, unless Story Mode is on, which highlights incorrect ones. There is a hint button for stuck players. Miniature puzzles, like cracking a safe password, also appear. The mystery has a fixed solution, but players can choose how to end the game, and after finishing, they see what percentage of others made each choice. Playtime is two to three hours.

Director Annika Maar got the idea for a game called "Duck Detective" after Gamescom 2023. She drew inspiration from adventure and puzzle games like *Return of the Obra Dinn* and *The Case of the Golden Idol*—the "deducktion" mechanic was "stole[n]" from the latter, according to Maar. The detective look came from the Sherlock Holmes video game series, and the setting was inspired by Maar’s own time working customer service for a bus company.

The game released for Linux, macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox consoles on May 23, 2024. It came to iOS and Android in collaboration with Snapbreak on April 9, 2025, and to PlayStation 5 on May 22, 2025.

The cast includes Sean Chiplock as Eugene McQuacklin, a down-on-his-luck duck detective; Annika Maar as Sophie Wintheimer, a depressed giraffe; Brian David Gilbert as Freddy Frederson, a crocodile obsessed with detectives; Lizzie Freeman as Laura Angst, an overworked cat; Nola Klop as Margaret Whitlock, a motherly sheep; Shane Mullan as Rufus Sederis, a practical penguin; Dashawn Ricks as Manfred Ernst, a bear and family man; and Cyrus Nemati as Boris Petrovic, a naive bull.