Overview: 4.0/5.0
Murder by Numbers is a visual novel punctuated by nonogram puzzles - or, if you’re a slow puzzle-solver and a fast reader, it’s a series of nonogram puzzles with the occasional brief intermissions to talk to suspects.
Developer: Mediatonic
Genre: Puzzle, Visual Novel
Release Date: June 2, 2021
Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC
Price: $14.99
Mechanics
Murder by Numbers provided something like 40 hours of nonogram puzzles over the last year. Nonograms are puzzles where you are given a grid and a series of numbers for each row and column, and you must use process of elimination to determine what squares in the grid should be filled in. It’s not a game to play in long sessions - you can only solve so many nonograms in one sitting. At the same time, you don’t want to let too much time pass between playing the game either, or you’ll forget the details of the murder you’re trying to solve! Fortunately there are no real consequences to this - outside of the nonograms, Murder by Numbers is mostly a visual novel. The game is divided into four cases with a fairly predictable pattern: talk to suspects, scan a room to find a puzzle, solve the puzzle, repeat. As long as you know what you’re in for, that repetition isn’t a bad thing.
Characters
The main protagonists in this game are Honor, the detective-on-tv, and SCOUT, the adorable flying amnesiac robot. Along the way, we also meet Honor’s friends, family, coworkers, the suspects in each case, and the grumpy stay-off-my-case police detective. Most characters make a distinct first impression and they all have great costume design. The characters are bright and interesting on the surface, with more complex motivations than you might expect based on the game’s aesthetic. As the protagonists, Honor and SCOUT have great development both as individuals and as partners.
Narrative
As previously mentioned, Murder by Numbers is split into four cases. In the first case, Honor’s boss is murdered and she finds herself among the suspects and out of a job. She meets SCOUT and together they search for the murderer. Once they close the case, they can start to investigate SCOUT’s past. SCOUT’s amnesia throughout the game provides both mystery and humor as the robot re-learns the identities of basic objects and makes plenty of movie references. The cases are interesting independently, but they each also contribute to a continuous narrative thread. Because this narrative is delivered in the style of a visual novel, you don’t need to absorb any of the content to proceed - you can just race through it if you’re only interested in the puzzles. However, there’s probably a better game out there if you don’t want to get the story.
Environment
The game’s art style is colorful, lively, and vibrant. This is no dark & gritty detective story, and even when you’re being held hostage at gunpoint the stakes don’t feel that high. From start to finish, everything about the game just feels light and fun. The music is upbeat and only gets slightly annoying if you’re stuck on the same puzzle for too long. Murder by Numbers takes place in the ‘90s and the player doesn’t need to be told this explicitly to know exactly when the game takes place. From the components used to build SCOUT to the bus seat pattern on Honor’s shirt, the game is decidedly ‘90s, so the atmosphere will provide an extra dose of nostalgia for certain players.
Summary
Murder by Numbers is a fantastic puzzle game with a lighthearted series of murders in the background. My only complaint might be that there were a few too many puzzles at the end of the game, drawing out the conclusion to the story, but complaining about too much content is not much of a complaint at all. If you love nonograms, I highly recommend Murder by Numbers.
