Voodoo Chronicles' setting of the late 19th Century comes through pretty well. The cobblestoned streets and older looking cars combined with steam-punk styled machinations and more elaborate robotic helpers makes the whole world feel both familiar and off.
Most of the game's locations have a static backdrop with characters moving about a little in the scene. In order to add a bit more motion to the image, there are a few visual effects like motes dancing in sunbeams or electricity arching across contacts. In the end, these little touches do a good job of keeping the game interesting to look at while you try and figure out your next step.
Audio is an odd mix. While the background noises only help to set the stage, there is a good bit of the dialogue and acting that feels out of place. There are times when the language feels too formal, or the sentence structure isn't quite right. Whether or not this is an attempt to portray an English language that isn't quite ours, or some issue in the actual writing process for the game, is hard to tell. Either way, the audio portion of Voodoo Chronicles: First Sign is hit and miss.