Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express from Microids brings us a new 3D adventure game take on a classic journey. Check out our Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express review!
Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express from Microids brings us a new 3D adventure game take on a classic journey. As a fan of this Agatha Christie classic – and of her other works – I’ve always been up for checking out video game adaptations of her works such as Agatha Christie – the ABC Murders on Nintendo Switch, along with new takes on classic characters, as has been the case for Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases, which chronicles the starts of the famous detective, as well as sequel Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case, which I got to review on PlayStation 5 a few months ago.
It’s now the turn for Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express, which certainly features the brilliant detective work of beloved character Hercule Poirot while also adding a twist by introducing a new character. Her name is Joanna Locke, and she will act as sort of a sidekick who will aid in the investigation by bringing a new perspective on things. By playing as Joanna Locke, you’ll be able to experience events outside of the train during flashbacks that will give you some additional insight into the whole predicament at hand. You’ll quickly notice that this is a modernized take on the classic story, with the events now taking place in 2023. There are new story elements added here and there as well, so you’ll get something different out of this experience even if you’ve read the book before.
Since the game is played from a third-person perspective, you’ll control either Hercule Poirot or Joanna Locke with the left analog stick as you move the camera as needed with the right one. You can run by pressing and holding down the L2 button. The X button will be for interacting with objects or characters, as well as to confirm choices. When inspecting something, you can zoom in and out with the R2 and L2 buttons. To open the Mind Map, all you need to do is press the Triangle button.
The Mind Map is a feature that has found its way here from two other games published by Microids, which I’ve previously discussed: Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases, as well as its sequel, Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case. In it, you’ll be able to find information related to the case, including the clues that you’ve found so far. You can also access it to connect actions that will allow you to progress further. The earliest use of the Mind Map is during the prologue when you’re introduced to the gameplay mechanics.
As to not spoil this journey for you, I’ll speak about the prologue case so that you get an idea of what you’ll be running into. While getting ready to return to England due to an urgent call about a case – with a development he had predicted – Hercule Poirot ends up helping one Captain Arbuthnot, who comes rushing to the main desk saying that someone has stolen his ticket for the Orient Express. Poirot decides that the best course of action is to investigate the Captain’s room, inspect the door that leads to it, and interrogate his neighbors to see if they saw or heard anything out of the ordinary.
After doing all of this, Poirot notices the window in the room is open and that all the documents that were previously on the desk are now on the floor. The bed has been made. There’s also an earring on the nightstand. Those last two elements are important. The first one means that the maid visited the room in the morning while the Captain was having breakfast. The second one means that the Captain was not actually alone the previous night. Maybe his companion could have taken the ticket? Would she have a motive for this?
After talking with the Captain, Poirot decides to visit the front desk. He asks for the maid and assures the clerk that he’s not there to accuse her of taking the ticket. He just wants to talk to her to learn more about the events that transpired while she was taking care of the Captain’s room. It’s then that he learns that the maid did open the window, that it was a bit windy, and that she forgot to close it. With this information, he figures that the ticket was probably blown by the wind, falling inside of the maid’s cart. Upon asking the Captain to join him, he asks the maid to check the bedding for the Captain’s room. The ticket is found, and a crisis is adverted!
The game has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy, and since it’s a Cross-Buy title, if you own a PlayStation 5 console, you’ll be able to download both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game at no extra cost. Each of the lists has 13 Bronze trophies, 8 Silver trophies, and 6 Gold trophies for you to work on. A big chunk of the trophies will be tied to completing each of the game’s story chapters. There’s also a trophy for finding all of the golden mustache collectibles. Along with that, there’s a trophy for completing the game without ever using hints and for completing specific sections of the game without making any mistakes, which will certainly require you to make good use of your little grey cells!
Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express brings us a new 3D adventure game take on a classic journey. It’s a modernized take that brings its characters to the year 2023 while adding some new twists here and there. Along with taking on the role of the beloved Hercules Poirot, you’ll also be exploring things from the point of view of Joanna Locke, a detective from the Berkshire, Massachusetts police, who is following some leads on events that transpired before the story millions are familiar with. Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express is available as a Cross-Buy title, so your $39.99 purchase will allow you to download both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game at no extra cost, with each one featuring a separate trophy list.
Disclaimer
This Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Microids.
