The game is set in a World of Symbolism so the plot is a little hard to explain. The main character, Noman, a watchmaker / detective / Anthropomorphic Personification of Time is hired by Miss Mass, a lounge singer / personification of Mass to investigate her boyfriend, Golden Boy, a Jazz Musician / personification of Energy whom Miss Mass suspects of trying to murder her, a suspicion that turns out to be true forcing Noman to use his power over time to try to undo the murder, and wondering whether he should do so, as his investigation reveals that the murder will create the universe.
A sequel called Nirvana Noir is in production, when we last saw Noman he was faced with an important decision, to prevent the murder of Miss Mass or allow it to happen, in the sequel we find out his choice, use his powers to create two timelines, one for each choice. This however has unexpected consequences for both timelines, in the one where the murder happened social tensions have escalated, causing the police force to become tyrranical and a social movement trying to counter them, here Noman is forced by the police to infiltrate the movement in return for dropping charges for his part in Miss Mass's death. In the other timeline Noman is trying to repair his clocktower when a fire at Miss Mass's and Golden Boys nightclub causes him to find evidence of something illegal happening in relation to the city's new Urban Renewal Project.
The Trailer for the first game can be seen here
. The Trailer for the sequel can be seen here.
The games provide examples of:
- Alternate Timeline: In the sequel Noman's actions in the first game create two timelines, one where Golden Boy shot Miss Mass because she cheated on him with Noman, and another where that never happened.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Several characters appearance matches the concepts they represent, Golden Boy's pompadour is shaped like a Fibonacci curve a.k.a. the golden ratio, in the sequel the butcher, Pork pi has a circular body and head etc.
- Cast of Personifications: Noman is Time, Miss Mass is Mass, Golden Boy is Energy, The police in the sequel are personifications of Physical Forces etc.
- Caused the Big Bang: The murder in the first game is a metaphor for it. The sequel trailer implies there's also a Bigger Bang which involves Nomans alternate selves performing a Mutual Kill.
- Decade Dissonance: Sort of, since were talking about alternate timelines, still, they were exactly the same until Miss Mass's murder, in the timeline where the murder was prevented the city's aesthetic is still a City Noir from The Roaring '20s while in the timeline where the murder did happen the city's appearance and culture has skipped forward to The '70s
- Deliberately Monochrome: The city in the first game the city and its inhabitants are somewhere between this and Celestial Body. In the sequel the timeline where the murder is prevented stays that way, while the other one is a Amazing Technicolor World.
- Karma Houdini: Golden Boy in the timeline where Noman prevented the murder from happening, he even helps Noman in one of the puzzles, justified due to Self-Fulfilling Prophecy below, so he never had a motive to commit the murder in this timeline.
- Place Before Time: The City Noir the first game takes place in, in the sequel it remains that way in one of the timelines since in the other the Big Bang happened.
- Rabid Cop: The police in the sequel become radicalized due to the murder of Miss Mass. Justified since they're the personification of physical forces, applying physical force on others is kinda their thing.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In the sequel Noman gets one from the butcher he's interrogating in the timeline where Miss Mass was shot. Noman claims that she and Golden Boy made their choices, the butcher replies that not only did Noman literally not lift a finger to save her, his involvement caused the murder in the first place.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Turns out that Miss Mass asking Noman for help was what caused Golden Boy to murder her in the first place, since Miss Mass ended up cheating on Golden Boy with Noman and Golden Boy reacting to it in a bad way.
- World of Symbolism: The first game is a Film Noir story that metaphorically tells the story of the Big Bang.