An impressive story will let you weather through the rougher parts of this entertaining adventure.
The premise of this game is that you follow a washed-up detective three years after he left the force. The game as a whole quickly gets into a routine. Kyle, your detective, is in Hotel Dusk with a bunch of other guests, and he slowly unravels their mysteries as he goes through the hotel. By the end of the game, some may be more developed than others, but you feel as though you almost know them as well as your family. This is good dialog. That's all I'll give away, because this story is simply put, entertaining. This is a classic noir story -- something you don't see too often in games as a whole. You may notice a few inaccuracies in the general story, but you're willing to look past that when you know how much of a heart is in this work.
The graphics are easily this game's shining point. The characters are presented in a black and white form, almost as cardboard 2-D cut-outs in a 3-D environment. That may seem too simple, but the characters are presented with shadows constantly moving on their body -- it gives them movement even when they are intensely static. The environments themselves are a little bare-boned especially when compared against the characters, but they do the job.
The audio is where a few flaws come in. The soundtrack is fairly limited, and although the jazz tunes are memorable and catchy, they repeat themselves far too often. The sound effects are even less memorable and sometimes they can get grating, like the often repeating "door" sound effect. It's probably the weakest point of the game.
Overall, Hotel Dusk adds up to an experience that shouldn't be missed. Pick it up if you get the chance.