Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express is now available from Microids Studio Lyon for PC, PlayStation 4/5 Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Nintendo Switch. This review will contain a spoiler naming the victim of the murder.
Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express by Microids Studio, takes a new modern approach to a famous classic. The year is 2023 and you take on the role of famous Hercule Poirot caught in a murder mystery aboard the Orient Express. The story mostly follows the older source material but puts interesting modern twists in to keep you on your toes the whole time, a must-have for any mystery-solving fans. Overall the game feels almost like an old Telltale adventure game with puzzles. Those who know me, know I’m not the biggest fan of puzzles but in Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express they are pretty easy to understand and complete, you’ll often find that you get a lot of chances so that you don’t fail the puzzle. At the start of the game, you are in a hotel, investigating a missing Orient Express train ticket from a quite agitated man. This served as the tutorial which was really good at teaching me the mechanics that would later on need to be used to solve the murder.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but something about being on moving trains in games really amuses me, kind of like Metro Exodus, just looking out the window and seeing the scenery pass by I loved that and in Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express, you can do the same. When first aboard the train, I explored its intricate details and got to know the other train guests as well when taking it all in. After having a quite peaceful evening, Mr Ratchett sits by you while you’re trying to enjoy your coffee and states how rich he is and how he has an enemy. Sadly, Poirot doesn’t want to hear it, I found this moment slightly worrying Poirot was so quick to shoot him down and not listen, and then he ended up dead in a way, I feel like Poirot was so quick to judge and insult him, maybe if he listened Mr Ratchett may not have ended up being dead? That’s the interesting thing though Microids Studios seems to have you so engaged with the guests on board that you learn all these little details props to them for actually making you care about the characters. I found myself in the game getting to know everyone so that I could uncover clues and try to see who might be the killer. This ranges from interviews, searches and little puzzles. I felt that I had the freedom to approach everything my way.
Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express is a very detailed game, from the character’s expressions to the Orient Express itself. I enjoyed my time exploring every nook and cranny while trying to solve the murder, but especially as mentioned earlier, the scene when the train is moving, just seeing the scenery go by I love that kind of thing. It was a very nice homely feel on the train itself, despite there being a murder if you scratch the murder part, it would be a train I’d love to experience the developers really did put a lot of detail in it to bring it to life. The music that plays in the game is that of a murder mystery type of score, the slow orchestral kind of track, and it goes well alongside the game. The voice acting is also pretty good as well you’ll slowly learn more and more as you go on, it’s interesting to see the emotion in the cast of characters play out as they do open up.
Verdict
Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express is a fantastic murder mystery title that puts a modern twist on a timeless classic. If you are looking for a gentle puzzle mystery, then this game is right up your street. I enjoyed my time with it I think some parts were dragged out a little with certain tasks in the game, especially at the start and one or two bits didn’t make sense to me as mentioned above however I had a really good time with it.
8.0/10
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