The first episode in the Penny Arcade Adventures is gearing up for its release on Xbox Live.

Due for release on 21 May, Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness will be the first episodic RPG-adventure game to grace the Xbox Live Arcade.

The result of a collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, the first episode sends players to a deranged 1920s comic-book-meets-pulp-horror universe called New Arcadia.

Armed with unconventional weaponry, players join forces with Gabe and Tycho of the Startling Developments Detective Agency to make war on bizarre enemies and solve the mysteries of New Arcadia.

The game also offers players the ability to design their own customisable character, a dynamic turn-based combat system and the ability to transfer your customised character’s stats and inventories to future episodes, or start fresh with each episode.

If it sounds like something you might like taking a peek at, it'll be available for download from Xbox Live for 1600 Microsoft points.