Critical response L.A. Noire received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to review aggregator
Metacritic. It was praised for its facial animation, narrative, characters and performances, music, world design, and interrogation gameplay, though responses to the shooting and driving mechanics were mixed.
The Guardians Steve Boxer described it as a "breakthrough for games";
Edge felt most elements are achieved better by other games but "few developers have brought such a diffuse set of genres together so atmospherically, stylishly or cohesively".
GameTrailers wrote it "sets a new standard for storytelling in video games", though noted some overall limitations compared to other games. Reviewers praised the game's facial animation, with several calling it the best in any video game.
GameTrailers wrote "it allows a level of emoting that's never been seen in interactive entertainment". Matt Liebl of
GameZone felt the interrogation mechanic would have been unrealistic without the use of MotionScan.
Joystiqs
Justin McElroy considered the technology "nothing short of revolutionary", noting it allowed the player to view "an actor's entire performance";
Edge found it added a "human element" to the interrogations. Some reviewers found the body animations failed to match the faces—sometimes failing to bridge the
uncanny valley—but felt the effect added to the realism and subtlety of performances.
GameSpys Ryan Scott considered
L.A. Noire to be "one of the strongest stories Rockstar's ever published", and
Giant Bombs Brad Shoemaker called it "among the best in the business", citing its cohesiveness and tension near its climax. Liebl of
GameZone thought the focus on narrative and performances excelled the game over Rockstar's action-oriented titles. Boxer of
The Guardian praised the narrative's pacing and arc; Carolyn Petit of
GameSpot found the game's later chapters made the slower pace of the early story more worthy.
GamePros Will Herring similarly lauded the game's final act, noting the narrative's accuracy in its portrayal of Los Angeles; conversely, some reviewers felt the game became less interesting towards the end and some found it became repetitive. Hilary Goldstein of
IGN wrote the cases that strayed from the formula—particularly the Homicide desk—were among the best, though noted the game failed to reach the emotional heights of
Heavy Rain. Petit of
GameSpot found Phelps's character development "fascinating", and Herring of
GamePro wrote his rapport with his partners made the game more interesting.
GamesRadars Mikel Reparaz considered Phelps more likable as the game progressed.
Giant Bombs Shoemaker felt the characters' dialogue made them feel appropriate to the setting.
Polygons Owen S. Good found Biggs's moral code and reignited interest in justice a crucial personification of the noir theme. Critics lauded the cast's performances, with particular praise for Aaron Staton, John Noble, Andrew Connolly, and Michael McGrady;
Edge felt Connolly "dominated any scene he's in". Some reviewers found the performances made the characters feel more believable and convincing;
IGNs Goldstein praised the actors' mannerisms. Ryan McCaffrey of
Official Xbox Magazine (
OXM wrote the performances made it "a hell of a great drama to watch unfold"; similarly, McElroy of
Joystiq felt they made it one of the "most compelling video game stories ever".
Eurogamers Oli Welsh wrote Staton "does his best with a dry character". in
L.A. Noire received praise, considered by many critics to be the "star" of the game.|alt=Several cars drive down a street in Los Angeles in 1947 in the evening, with several tall buildings in the background. Many reviewers found Los Angeles to be the "star" of the game, with praise directed at the generally accurate recreation of the city in 1947.
Eurogamers Welsh compared it to Rockstar's
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) and
Midnight Club: Los Angeles (2008), noting "it's the fastidious period detail that really impresses this time". Shoemaker of
Giant Bomb wrote the historical elements greatly benefited the overall tone and atmosphere, granting authenticity to the narrative.
GamePros Herring called it "one of the richest and most impressively rendered video game environments". Matt Helgeson of
Game Informer lauded the attention to detail but felt it lacked the feeling of interactivity of Liberty City from Rockstar's
Grand Theft Auto IV (2008). Petit of
GameSpot said the "outstanding" art direction made the game more memorable but the believability of the open world was marred by the awkward dialogue of the non-playable pedestrians. Reviewers lauded the game's original score. Welsh of
Eurogamer opined it contributed to the overall atmosphere, comparing it favourably to the "ominous swells" of
Taxi Driver (1976) and the "signature muted brass" of
L.A. Confidential (1997).
GameSpots Petit concurred it successfully evoked some of the best music of film noir, and
Joystiqs McElroy praised its authenticity to the time period. Helgeson of
Game Informer felt the game effectively balances jazz tracks from the 1940s with a "mournful score".
Giant Bombs Shoemaker wrote the "big-orchestra score feels completely appropriate for the setting and subject matter", and appreciated the music notes used during investigations.
Game Informers Helgeson considered the interrogations "the most compelling aspect of
L.A. Noire";
IGNs Goldstein concurred, comparing them to dialogue-heavy scenes from
role-playing games. Shoemaker of
Giant Bomb favourably compared the interrogations to the
dialogue choices of
Mass Effect 2, noting they provide new energy to each case. Petit of
GameSpot found the interrogations became more interesting once the player received more autonomy.
OXMs McCaffrey appreciated the "vigor" brought to the game by the interrogations but criticised their passive nature of simply listening and pressing a single button. Some reviewers considered the system flawed due to its vague and sometimes illogical choices. Critics were divided on the game's investigation elements:
GameSpots Petit called it "compelling" and praised the rich details, while
Eurogamers Welsh called it "clunky" and "laborious"; Helgeson of
Game Informer felt they became repetitive over the course of the game, feeling "more like an
Easter egg hunt than an actual investigation", while Liebl of
GameZone criticised the lack of significant penalty. Several critics commented on the game's action sequences and driving controls.
Eurogamers Welsh found the foot-chases to be "memorable and fun", comparing them to
police television shows, while
Game Informers Helgeson wrote they became "predictable and repetitive". Most reviewers considered the core gameplay simple to understand, though
GameZones Liebl felt this lessened the experience, and
GameTrailers described the controls as "floaty" and "imprecise". Petit of
GameSpot found the cars to be "responsible and swift", and Shoemaker of
Giant Bomb called the car chases his favourite aspect of the action sequences; other reviewers generally concurred, though some felt the driving was less impressive outside of car chases. Critics generally agreed the game's shooting mechanics were competent but simple; some found the controls awkward or repetitive, while others considered it lacklustre compared to Rockstar's
Grand Theft Auto and
Red Dead Redemption.
GamePros Herring, however, called it "memorable" and "rewarding".
L.A. Noires Windows release also received "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic.
GameSpots Petit considered it the best version of the game due to the inclusion of all DLC cases. Carlos Leiva of
Vandal lauded the higher resolution textures, increased
draw distances, additional environmental designs, and stable performance. Nathan Grayson of
GameSpy appreciated the improvements but ultimately considered it "a pretty bare-bones PC port"; Tommaso Pugliese of
Multiplayer.it echoed this sentiment, feeling the changes from the console release were minimal and the controls were made worse with a keyboard and mouse. Anthony Gallegos of
IGN felt the port could use additional optimisation, citing some technical problems; Matthieu Hurel of
Gamekult was similarly disappointed by the lack of improvements in the Windows version. Will Garrido of
FiringSquad criticised the port's performance, controls, lack of graphical improvements, and required installation of the Rockstar Games Social Club, and wrote the game
crashed several times.
Re-release L.A. Noires re-release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One received "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic. Sam Brooke of
Push Square wrote the re-release was "certainly worth its asking price", and Matt Espineli of
GameSpot declared "it's well worth replaying or experiencing for the first time".
Gameplanets Toby Berger considered the Switch version an effective showcase for the console. The graphical upgrades divided critics—some felt the re-release had significantly upgraded the original game, while others felt it contained few differences, especially on the Nintendo Switch version—though most concurred the Switch version suffered from some dips in
frame rate or other performance issues; Berger of
Gameplanet felt it "doesn't occur often enough to detract much from the overall experience".
Push Squares Brooke appreciated the upgraded visuals, particularly praising the new lighting engine. Some critics noted the sharper textures and increased draw distances had emphasised the game's outdated visuals; Ben Tyrer of
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK (
OPM) felt the facial capture looked "low-res when compared to the rest of the world", and Dave Meikleham of
OXM said the increased visuals "can't disguise" the poor character design. The addition of Joy-Con controls and touchscreen support for the Nintendo Switch also divided critics. Cody Perez of
GameRevolution considered the Joy-Con controls a "welcome addition" and felt the touchscreen support made the investigations more
user friendly; Simone Pettine of
Multiplayer.it corroborated the latter, stating the game's existence on the Switch proved it was possible for other games.
Destructoids Chris Carter was intrigued by the touchscreen controls, while
IGNs
Alanah Pearce found the motion controls "precise enough" to correspond with the in-game animations. Conversely, Chris James of
Pocket Gamer called the Switch controls "lazy and pointless", questioning why Rockstar highlighted them in the game's marketing. Some reviewers noted a preference for the original controller setup. Some critics commented on the additions and changes to the re-releases.
Push Squares Brooke considered the change of the interrogation responses to be "more fitting" to Phelps's dialogue. Damien McFerran of
Nintendo Life and Espineli of
GameSpot found the change was an improvement but they remained too vague; several other critics concurred the responses were ambiguous.
OPMs Tyrer named the addition of the
Photo Mode a highlight of the re-release, while
Multiplayer.its Tommaso Pugliese found it misplaced.
The VR Case Files L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files received "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic. Dan Stapleton of
IGN concluded it felt "less like a port and more like something that was always meant to be played this way", while Jimmy Thang of
GameSpot said it "raises the bar for what a good VR port should look like".
The Telegraphs Tom Hoggins called it an "interesting, reactive, and largely accomplished virtual reality adaption" of the game, and
Gamer.nls Wilbert Meetsma compared it to a
greatest hits album. Several critics praised the control scheme in virtual reality.
GameSpots Thang found it made the player reconsider the evidence they discover, and
The Telegraphs Hoggins felt the exploration "makes a great deal more sense". Meetsma of
Gamer.nl considered the walking mechanic an effective illusion; Alfonso Arribas of
Vandal appreciated the control scheme's realism. Conversely, some critics found the movement controls were unreliable or imprecise; Lukas Schmid and Rebecca Döllner of
PC Games criticised the HTC Vive controllers and the game's unpredictable object physics.
GameSpots Thang found the driving controls "works as well as you'd hope", particularly applauding the chase sequences. Meetsma of
Gamer.nl similarly felt the driving controls were well-designed, and Alfonso Arribas of
Vandal wrote they were precise and the sensitivity appropriate. In contrast,
IGNs Stapleton found them to be "imprecise but goofy fun to pantomime"; Daniel Feith of
GameStar said it was realistic but ultimately felt like a gimmick he eventually skipped.
The Telegraphs Hoggins considered the driving to be the least successful feature of
The VR Case Files, though praised its detail, and
PC Gamess Schmid and Döllner criticised it as uncomfortable. Meetsma of
Gamer.nl described the fistfights as one of the better elements of the game, despite taking up a small portion.
GameStars Feith similarly found them enjoyable due to the simulated areas.
GameSpots Thang favourably compared the fistfights to a
boxing minigame, deeming it appropriate and satisfying. Hoggins of
The Telegraph found them "pleasingly physical" but "a little clumsy", noting a preference for the gunfights.
Vandals Arribas considered the shooting mechanics to be credible and precise, while
IGNs Stapleton called it "pretty simple
shooting gallery stuff" but respected the smaller details and gameplay features;
GameSpots Feith felt that the aiming was "imprecise".
IGNs Stapleton praised the visuals of
The VR Case Files, noting the new perspective grants more appreciation of the development and design and the facial animations are enhanced by the closer angle.
GameSpots Thang wrote "the graphics and artstyle work wonderfully in VR". Meetsma of
Gamer.nl felt the facial animations remained effective but the overall design was less impressive, especially with the game's demanding
system requirements; Feith of
GameStar found the faces had weakened in virtual reality.
Vandals Arribas opined the graphics had worsened with age, emphasised by the perspective of virtual reality;
PC Gamess Schmid and Döllner similarly felt the game looked worse than the recent re-release, citing poor textures and performance issues.
Accolades L.A. Noire received nominations and awards from
gaming publications. It was nominated for
Ultimate Game of the Year and Best Action/Adventure at the
Golden Joystick Awards, and for Best Graphics at the
Spike Video Game Awards. The game received nine nominations at the
15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and three at the 12th
Game Developers Choice Awards. It was nominated for four awards at the 10th Annual
Game Audio Network Guild Awards, of which it won Music of the Year. Along with
Batman: Arkham City, it received the most nominations at the
8th British Academy Games Awards with eight, including
Best Game and
Performer for Staton; it ultimately won for Original Music. Andrew and Simon Hale were nominated for
Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media at the
International Film Music Critics Association Awards. The game was nominated for four awards by
GameSpot, and won Best Atmosphere.
L.A. Noire appeared on some lists of the best games of 2011, including
Ars Technica,
CNET,
CNN,
GameSpot,
The Guardian,
Kotaku Australia, and
NPR. The game's 2017 re-release was nominated for Best Remake/Remaster from
IGN, and for the Freedom Tower Award for Best Remake at the 7th Annual
New York Game Awards.
The VR Case Files was nominated for Best VR Audio at the 16th Annual Game Audio Network Guild Awards. == Sales ==