Murdered: Soul Suspect: Press preview
Good detective games can be counted on one hand. It’s too difficult to simulate multifaceted investigative activities related to collecting evidence, analyzing it, designing a situation, and so on. It’s even more difficult to imagine all this boring routine in the form of interesting mechanics and a fascinating plot. With the last component Murdered: Soul Suspect – a project from a little-known company Airtight Games – no problem: in the game we will have to investigate our own death.
Life after death
No matter how attractive this statement may sound, for a more or less thinking person it evokes a very definite associative series: posthumous existence, the worlds of the living and the dead, immaterial spirits, creepy ghosts and other pseudo-religious husk. Expectations are also fueled by the fact that the game takes place in the well-known city of Salem, the main abode of black magic in America.
The plot fully confirms the assumptions: Ronar O’Connor, a slightly cynical but highly professional and uncompromising police officer, dies while trying to apprehend a mysterious criminal. But his soul is in no hurry to go to another world: there are unfinished matters in Ronar’s life that do not allow the guy to rest in peace and detain him on the “bridge” – a special dimension where similar souls and evil demons that feed on them live. Finding out the identity of the criminal, as well as what is not completed in Ronar’s life, is what we will be doing throughout the entire passage.
Everything would be fine, but with the detective genre, as practice shows, the mystical fantasies of game developers are far from on friendly terms. Suffice it to recall the surrounding Fahrenheit, which started out healthy, but in the middle of the race lost its way and finished in the most absurd mystical nonsense. Recent Outlast also noted for its professionally spoiled ending. For some reason, the developers consider it good form to abandon common sense and give unscientific explanations for what is happening.
However, if the mystifying urges https://slotastic-casino.co.uk/games/ of the developers were limited to the above-described principle, justifying Ronan’s posthumous quest, and the criminal had completely human motives, then the plot Murdered there would be a good chance of maintaining intrigue. But it looks like paranormal mystery will be built into the center of the story. The hero’s killer has superhuman strength, among the evidence we find a certain religious book, and the witness to our death goes to church. It’s too early to judge, but the facts definitely hint that another spiritual drama awaits us.
Despite this, it is worth recognizing that the beginning Murdered really intriguing and does it no worse than the above Fahrenheit. This is achieved not so much by the plot itself, but by the way it is presented. First of all, the atmosphere is set by well-produced videos. It’s interesting to watch how the spirit that emerged from Ronan’s wounded body dances panicky dances around the killer, almost with a tambourine, watching him slowly raise his gun to finish off the hero. The dialogues between the characters are built very well and are full of minor details that are not directly related to the plot, but enrich the images and add a noir flavor to the project.
Occasionally, the videos are interrupted by strange interactive episodes in which we are asked to perform some minor action. For example, in the process of opening a door, the camera hovers over the hero’s hand, which we must “bring” to the door handle. Traces Fahrenheit And Heavy Rain are visible here too – such scenes are completely meaningless, but they help you “get used to” the role of the character.
At the heart of the gameplay Murdered lies a unique form of interactivity. Or rather, its complete absence. The fact is that, having taken on the guise of a ghost, the main character loses the ability to interact with material objects and becomes completely invisible to people. So, we can freely penetrate the walls of buildings, tables, cars, and so on. All this opens up great research potential, and also allows O’Connor to witness some pretty interesting situations. For example, Ronan’s colleague, arriving at the crime scene, tries on the deceased’s hat and speaks evilly about him. True, you won’t be able to walk around the city freely – many walls are artificially “blocked” from our penetration.
Another remarkable skill of the box cop is the ability to inhabit people’s bodies, read their thoughts or even manipulate them. We can take on the appearance of absolutely any person, but the set of possible procedures is limited by the plot situation. It will be possible to read the thoughts of every mortal – even unrelated onlookers. But not everyone can be forced to take certain actions: you will have to wait until the script deigns to issue a “license” to control the body.
The investigation is led by ghosts
The main component of the gameplay Murdered: Soul Suspect is to study the crime scene and collect evidence. Having arrived at a certain location, we receive a task like “find out what the criminal was doing on the fourth floor”. In addition, the number of clues that can be found here is indicated. Then a holiday begins for quest lovers: we wander around a small area, looking for interactive objects and interacting with them. At the end of a long procedure, you will have to reconstruct the situation and draw a conclusion about what happened. At the same time, the main character does not forget to carefully record everything he sees in a notebook, which stores not only data on the main case, but also many third-party facts about the events taking place in Salem.
The investigation is also helped by the peculiarity of the ghostly dimension: it captures traces of people who were actually present in any place. So, Ronan managed to see the “spiritual” image of the girl who witnessed his murder. In order to find out what this person was doing here, we are asked to determine her state by guessing the emotions reflected on her face. The list of possible options has already been given: fear, hatred, curiosity, and so on. All we have to do is turn on the psychologist in us and choose the right ones. Punish for a mistake, as in L.A. Noire, no one will – the number of attempts is unlimited.
In general, the investigative process is organized in a very “casual” way. Local riddles don’t even try to stir up the brain, and mistakes in conclusions are easily forgiven and don’t affect anything. Search, observe, read and, through trial and error, get to the truth – this is what you will have to do the lion’s share of the time in Murdered: Soul Suspect.
In order to dilute the “contemplative” gameplay, the developers populated Salem with motley ghosts who want to finish off Ronan’s rebellious spirit. They manage this surprisingly simply: it is enough to keep the hero in sight for a few seconds. In the preview version, the ghost policeman had nothing to answer; he had to avoid the gaze of his opponents, hiding in the bright holes that dotted the space of the otherworldly Salem.
However, it is possible to eliminate enemies, but only with “rat” methods. To send the demon to where he belongs, you need to get close to him from behind, after which a small cut-scene will be activated, demonstrating the reprisal against the enemy. Again, nothing complicated: thanks to the ability to pass through walls, sneaking up on an enemy is easy.
Despite the simple mechanics, Murdered intriguing, captivating with atmosphere and setting. The character’s unique skills and nice graphics captivate you. The gameplay, as it seemed to us, will not be able to hold attention throughout the entire passage. Perhaps, instead, an excellent production and an interesting plot will cope with this task – it is these two components that he is focusing on Murdered: Soul Suspect.