Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders from Microids is a cell-shaded murder mystery based on the beloved literary classic. Are you ready to dive into this one? Then check our Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders review!
I got a chance to review Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders a handful of years ago on PlayStation 4, and as a fan of Agatha Christie’s classic – and of her other books – I ended up having a great time with that murder mystery release. Four years later, the game has now found its way to the Nintendo Switch. Has anything changed from one version to the other? Well, the game now features a new interface, an in-game trophy list that expands on the 15 trophies of the PS4 version by adding an extra 35 trophies – which you’ll unlock by collecting Ego Points based on your actions -, extra tutorials, new lighting effects, a reworked sound design, and new anti-aliasing that helps to make everything pop. The game is also fully voice acted, which helps to immerse players into the story.
In Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders, detective extraordinaire Hercule Poirot is called into action by someone who signs a letter simply as A.B.C. He points out that something is about to happen, which will test Poirot’s skills in full. Things, as is turns out, end up in murder. The first victim is one Alice Ascher, who has been killed inside of her tobacco shop in Andover. As you can probably tell by now, both her name and last name start with an A, which means that subsequent murders will end up taking place in which the victims will play into the A.B.C. theme by having names and last names with the letters B and C, respectively. Oh, and the killer also leaves behind an ABC Rail Guide as its calling card. Can you help Hercule Poirot find the mysterious killer?
Once you start to play the game, you will move Hercule Poirot in each 3D location with the left analog stick, using the right analog stick to inspect each scene. This will allow you to find elements to interact with, new information on your surroundings, as well as clues that will aid you in solving the different puzzles you’ll run into. It’s thanks to the right analog stick that we find ourselves before a game of the point and click adventure variety. You’ll move a magnifying glass around the screen as you find new objects or individuals to interact with.
Hercule Poirot will usually ask himself questions to get his little grey cells to work. You can select a special interaction icon on the right side of the screen. In here, you’ll be able to try and match up the clues you have found by linking them so that you can deduce an answer to the predicament at hand. Take, for example, the first question in the game. Without spoiling things too much – because there is no fun in playing an adventure game for which you know all of the answers – that question will have Poirot thinking about the potential motive for the crime. Since you won’t have any clues to link, you’ll have to talk to the police officers and any witnesses, as well as review the crime scene, to find the information you need.
While interacting will people, you should pay attention to their reactions, using your observation techniques to obtain any clues about their overall state of mind and personality. You will get a chance to practice this on Chief Inspector Japp by searching for three clues in particular that match Hercule Poirot’s remark about this particular character. This is done by moving the right analog stick to guide your gaze around each character, using the help of the on-screen cursor and the vibration from the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con or the Nintendo Switch Pro-Controller to zero in on the clues you need.
When investigating a crime scene, be sure to move around the magnifying glass around the entire scene so that you can find items to observe with the X button. Sometimes this might change the camera’s focus, moving to a new scene that can yield some valuable clues, while other times, it will prompt Poirot to make a remark. If you find an important item, it will be shown in a separate close-up so that you can use the left analog stick to rotate it to get a better look.
If you find an important item, it will be added to your inventory. You can access it with the D-Pad, pressing left and right to select the object you want to use by pressing the A button. You can then use the right analog stick to move the item into the right place. If you need to, there’s also the option of inspecting the items in your inventory to get a closer look by pressing the X button, so that you can then rotate them with the left analog stick.
Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders was a lot of fun when I played it a few years ago on PlayStation 4, and the Nintendo Switch version, which has been revamped and improved, is just as fun. As a big fan of Agatha Christie who owns all of her books, I greatly enjoy playing games that do a good job at presenting the stories that the author has to offer, and if you’re a fan of her work, then you should definitely check out Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders, which should take you 7-8 hours to complete at most. Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders is out now on Nintendo Switch with a $29.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Agatha Christie – the ABC Murders review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Microids.
