Overview: 3.0/5.0
This is a dialogue-driven point-and-click game where the player assumes the role of a young Hercule Poirot, the detective that features in a number of preceding Agatha christie games. The gameplay involves navigating around crime scenes, talking to suspects, and linking cues in a series of mind maps. There is absolutely nothing innovative in this installment. It does less than other games in this genre, and what it does, it doesn't really do well.
Developer: Blazing Griffin
Genre: Whodunit
Release Date: September 27, 2021
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One/Series S/X, PC/Mac
Price: $29.99
mechanics
Most of the questioning in this game is inconsequential, which isn't problematic in itself. There are a few instances where the player must choose between two approaches to a particular line of questioning. These come in a quick back-to-back series. After each question, there is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it flash of red or green. if you "fail" the questioning, Poirot will make a comment about it and you'll suddenly be dropped back at the start of the meaningful questions to retry it. Each option has a label to hint at which one is right, but they're usually not incredibly helpful. Honestly, the entire system is lacking to the point where it would do less harm to the game if it wasn't included at all. There are so many other games that implement meaningful dialogue choices. It's just not acceptable to do it so poorly anymore, particularly in this genre. If you're not going to invest in developing consequential choices well, just don't do it at all. take that budget and spend it on another mediocre mechanic instead, like the mind map… sigh… the mind map…
The mind map is a collection of icons representing areas of investigation, clues, and insights. The player must link these icons together to reveal new deductions, dialogue topics, and objectives. Again, this isn't anything new. Most of the time, it's obvious which items should be linked together. Unfortunately, even when you know what you need to do, actually linking them in the UI is tedious. the cursor doesn't snap to the icon and it routinely takes several tries to select something in the mind map. and that's when you know what to do! Too often, the ones that are meant to link together are completely unintuitive. Even more frustrating, progressing through the game is blocked by completing mind map links in absolutely confounding ways. For example, in an early chapter, the player must complete a deduction about being the last guest to arrive in order to enter a room. It's maddening.
environment
the environments in this game are rich and beautiful, which is a relief since you can't move through them very quickly. The character models are... fine - they're outdated and halfway between realistic and stylized, but they're fine. (With the exception of Poirot’s shoes. How did someone come to the conclusion that Poirot, the meticulously polished detective, would ever decide to wear such obnoxious clown shoes?!") The character animations are better suited to the smaller screen of the handheld mode for Switch, though, and the character art that comes up during the dialogue is much better in my opinion.
Narrative
Settle in, because this mystery is more on-the-rails than Mystery on the Orient Express, which actually does take place on a train and preceded this game by 15 years. Halfway through the game, you’ll suddenly start teleporting from room to room as you search through each guest’s belongings. This wasn’t so unwelcome as slowly walking through the halls and trying to remember where everything is would certainly have been tedious. However, it really did eliminate any notion that I was directing the narrative at all. The mysteries themselves are fine, interesting and satisfying enough, but nothing that demands significant investment either. Just like with the dialogue “choices,” there is no room for error or even non-linear exploration. You can’t leave a room until you’ve collected everything. You can’t go anywhere expect the next destination determined by the plot. You can’t be unsuccessful in getting information from a suspect. You can’t draw an incorrect conclusion from the mind map.
Conclusion
This game isn’t terrible, it’s not unplayable, it’s just not impressive. The mechanics are functional, if uninspired. The story is interesting enough to maintain momentum during gameplay, even if it doesn’t have you pondering the solution between sessions. If you’ve played every other mystery game, need to fill some time, and don’t mind just absorbing the mystery as it’s fed to you, then sure, add this to your collection. However, if you need to be selective with your limited gameplay time, you’re not missing anything if you pass this one by.
