Murderous Muses

I wish I could recommend this game, as I've enjoyed the other games from this studio, but I unfortunately can't. Most of the game was enjoyable, and the acting is great (just like all of the games by this studio), but what did it in for me was the game mechanics. More specifically the one of the blood orbs. Having only a VERY limited amount to spend on each of the suspects over the course of three nights was nowhere near enough. If you're like me, you only get to see about a quarter of what the characters have to say before you get to the end of the third night. By then you don't have enough info to make a guess on who the culprit is, pretty much making you have to stab in the dark. It also didn't help that at the beginning of night two and three you were forced to select one paint to give to Sasha. Meaning you were locked out of viewing that painting for the night. Either there should've been more orbs to spend, or have us spend a few extra nights there instead. In a whodunit game like this, mechanics like that really hold it back and prevent the player from piecing it together without any substantial evidence. I guess it makes for good replay value though?

I wish there was a "meh" option. Got this in a bundle, not the best FPV but not the worse. Closer to worse then best to be honest. Very hard to figure out without internet, but once you get the point/purpose its a fantastic concept. Figuring out the murderer is slightly harder than you think, but the low quality "overacting" makes it harder to decide. I would pay no more than 5 for this.

Personally I think this is the best of the D'Avekki trilogy, simply because they added at least some elements of meta progression to offset the fact that their games always give the game away with the randomized suspect (which just boils down to "which FMVs are different this time?"). Being able to flesh out more of each character's history in each run, as well as their backstories, and then the special FMV unlocks, it makes it more engaging and actually worth replaying.

A whodunnit mystery where the biggest challenge is not the mystery itself but the tedious core gameplay loop around it. The FMV actors are great, each with unique personalities, but they're not the aspect you'll be engaging with most of the time. Much of your time is spent wandering around a gallery, doing tedious minigames. They're fun... for a first playthrough at least, but start to feel like a pointless commute that adds nothing to additional runs. Unlocking clips involves placing paintings above placards with key words, and spending points to see scenes to unlock police interviews. They tell an engaging secondary story of six muses of a famous painter each driven to murder and the mysterious island of Mirlhaven and its history, but they're not important to the quest you have been given and can intentionally misdirect. They confused me at first, because I assumed the scenes of a character incriminating themselves would've been my murderer, but they turned out to be innocent. What you actually focus on is the police interviews, which give you a simple [i]yes[/i] or [i]no[/i] answer, three strikes and they're your killer. Into the second night onwards, you have to give up a pain…

My partner and I were obsessed with this game for about a week! A fascinating setting, GREAT acting, and a fun mystery to solve! We really got into discussing things over dinner, then playing, then discussing more, and repeating daily until we completed everyone's rooms and got all the urns. Figuring out the murder each time via logical deduction was neat, and it was fun figuring out how to unlock which words we needed to progress. Our only complaints are the UI - with a controller it's a bit janky - and the fact that there isn't more of it. Bravo!

As a lover of FMV games, this really delivered. Thoroughly enjoyed Murderous Muses and can't recommend it enough