Agatha Christie The ABC Murders Review (PlayStation 5)

Rating: 7
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · August 1, 2024

Agatha Christie The ABC Murders Review, 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”.

Agatha Christie The ABC Murders Review Pros:

Beautiful cartoon-like graphics.
911.5MB download size.
Platinum trophy.
3 save slots and they are aptly called slots A, B, and C.
Subtitles on/off.
Invert axis and sensitivity sliders.
Own in-game achievements like a system called awards.
In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
Good voicework.
Brilliant soundtrack.
3D game world and you move around Interactive locations.
The left stick is to move and the right stick is to move the magnifying glass around and inspect the elements.
Tutorial pop-ups as you play.
The little grey cells are presented as a Web of questions and answers Poirot asks himself and they then join up to make deductions.
Auto saves regularly and shows an icon.
At times you will examine a particular spot of the location or character and here you move the cursor around until it vibrates and fills in a deduction or observation.
Multiple choice interactions.
Your notebook fills in details and clues as you discover them.
The objectives list will be updated when you finish tasks.
Ego points can be earned by acting like the true Poirot. (basically, answer and ask questions like Poirot would).
Interact with items and use the 3D viewer.
There will be self-contained puzzles to find and solve.
Very clever puzzles but they really don’t give you a lot to work with.

Agatha Christie The ABC Murders Review Cons:

Cannot remap the controls.
The characters are very robotic in their movements and facial expressions.
To me it’s weird hearing these different voice actors and to be honest they don’t feel like a good fit.
They have used the TV show version of Inspector Japp but not Hastings and Poirot is a bit of all version.
At times the game has a long pause until it says success or failure and it’s way too easy to accidentally back out.
Re examining anything also replays all the voices which gets a tad annoying and repetitive.
You don’t get a lot of guidance or feedback on searching with the magnifying glass.
Key sequences or scenes feel flat.

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Agatha Christie The ABC Murders:

Official website.

Developer: Artefacts Studio

Publisher: Microids

Store Links –

PlayStation

7/10

Graphics - 7/10
7/10

Sound - 7/10
7/10

Accessibility - 7/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
7/10

Fun Factor - 7/10

7/10

Summary

Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders offers a visually appealing experience with its beautiful cartoon-like graphics and a manageable download size of 911.5MB. The game includes features such as a platinum trophy, three save slots aptly named slots A, B, and C, and options to toggle subtitles and adjust axis inversion and sensitivity. The in-game achievements system, called awards, adds an extra layer of engagement. The game boasts good voicework and a brilliant soundtrack, enhancing the overall atmosphere. Players navigate a 3D game world, moving around interactive locations using the left stick for movement and the right stick for inspecting elements with a magnifying glass. Tutorial pop-ups guide players as they progress, and Poirot’s “little grey cells” are presented as a web of questions and answers that lead to deductions. The game auto-saves regularly, indicated by an icon, and players can earn ego points by acting like Poirot, which involves answering and asking questions in his style.

However, the game has its drawbacks. The inability to remap controls can be frustrating, and the characters often appear robotic in their movements and facial expressions. The voice actors, while competent, may not feel like a good fit for fans of the original characters, as the game uses the TV show version of Inspector Japp but not Hastings, and Poirot is a blend of various versions. The game can experience long pauses before indicating success or failure, and it is easy to accidentally back out of interactions. Re-examining items replays all the voice lines, which can become repetitive and annoying. Additionally, the game provides limited guidance or feedback when searching with the magnifying glass, and key sequences or scenes can feel flat.

In summary, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders is a visually appealing game with engaging features and a strong atmosphere, but it is hindered by control limitations, robotic character animations, and some repetitive elements. Despite these issues, fans of Poirot and mystery games may still find it an enjoyable experience.