Artefacts Studio·Released Feb 4, 2016·Single player
The ABC Murders is an adventure and investigation game adapted from the classic Agatha Christie novel. You are the famous private detective Hercule Poirot and, once again, you find yourself up against a mysterious serial killer who goes by the name of "ABC".
While there are more complex and intriguing crime games out there and it isn't the longest game, The ABC Murders still offers good entertainment for the interested and serves as a decent port into the murder mystery puzzle genre. Some core mechanics need fine tuning, but the balance between the different game elements is generally good. The interrogation scenes as well as the deduction phases could be a bit more elaborate and slightly longer (because they are - hands down - the best bits of the game) but the overall flow of the game is pleasant.
If you're like this writer and enjoy even a decent police procedural game – especially in a medium where they're dishearteningly absent – Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders is a deserving title in your mystery fiction library. The video game adaptation may lack presentation value, but a strong plot, fun deductions, and a rewarding conclusion make up for it in the end.
I associate Agatha Christie with a paciness and lightness of touch. It was there in this game at brief intervals but would then get obscured again as a scene dragged on for too long or you had to hover your mouse over a cigarette someone was holding AND a box of matches AND an ashtray in order to deduce they were a smoker. Eventually it just felt like the interactive elements stopped being a mild diversion and became an obstruction.
