Like with Pratchett's work, the story parodies a mixture of traditional hardboiled fiction and film noir,[5] as well as a combination of dark fantasy and Lovecraftian horror.

[6][7] The film noir elements feature significant references to the 1942 film Casablanca, as well as a heavy use of "discordant" strings and dissonance in its background music,[1] matching to the style of jazz and blues pieces from the early 20th century; multiple references towards the horror elements are made of the works of H. P.

[2] Other new characters to the Discworld universe include: Carlotta Von Uberwald, a femme fatale figure,[2][9] and one of the primary antagonists; the troll criminal Horst; Ilsa Verbay, a former love interest of Lewton; and Two-Conkers, an Agatean Empire citizen specialized in archeology.

The game features some notable characters from the Discworld series, including Commander Vimes, Corporal Nobby, and Death.

Despite this, the game's designer Chris Bateman devised Noir's events to fit in between the stories Feet of Clay and Jingo.

The only detail he receives is that Mundy was away in the nation of Tsort, and that he disappeared shortly after he returned to Ankh-Morpork two days ago previously.

At the same time, Lewton learns a troll named Horst, an underworld criminal, is after a relic known as the "Golden Sword", which Mundy was supposed to give to him, and which Carlotta is seeking to acquire herself.

Needing help to access it in the Guild's vaults, Lewton turns to help from Ilsa Verbay, a former lover of his who recently returned to Ankh-Morpork with her husband Two-Conkers, an archaeologist from the Agatean Empire.

Before he can pursue the murderer, Carlotta approaches him, revealing she is the head of a guild devoted to Anu-Anu, a forgotten god worshipped by werewolves such as herself.

With the Falchion restored by the missing jewel, Lewton defeats Nylonathatep with the help of a flying machine created by inventor Leonard da Quirm, saving the city.

[14] Chris Bateman, who had worked on Discworld II in a non-lead role, originally suggested using Teppic (the protagonist of Pyramids) as a lead character, though Pratchett disliked the idea.

Real-time 3D models were unfeasible for the period, as the developers needed the characters to have facial expressions and so likely few people would have computers powerful enough to run the game.

[15] Brydon, who voiced the player character, took a "grueling" week to complete his lines, with the game's main delivery of important information being Lewton's hardboiled monologues.

[14] After the release of Discworld Noir for the PC, Perfect Entertainment folded, leaving them unable to patch the game.

[9] This praise was echoed by PC Zone, drawing notice to the shadows, lighting and fog, and calling the visuals "the perfect companions to an excellent soundtrack".

[2] David Wildgoose, writing for PC PowerPlay, noted the "dark and seedy atmosphere", crediting "enticing visuals and a very cool soundtrack".

Wildgoose felt the developers "tried too hard to make every character and every situation funny", resulting in jokes that fell flat and a level of humour "only sporadically maintained".

[9] Guenther found the British attempts to imitate foreign accents funny, but nonetheless praised the voice acting.

[32] PC Gamer's Richard Cobbett placed it as 25 in a similar list, commenting "the third Discworld game finally shed its predecessors' fixation with being as much Python as Pratchett".

Kelly commented: "Its shadowy, rain-soaked setting, Ankh-Morpork, is brilliantly atmospheric, and it manages to both mock film noir and be a loving homage to it.

[35] Kate Berens and Geoff Howard's The Rough Guide to Videogaming includes Discworld Noir as one of its recommended games.

Noting the heavy number of conversations, they felt the game played "more like an interactive novel at times" but praised the dialogue and called Ankh-Morpork "beautifully rendered".