Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot: The First Cases

First Cases is a significant change of direction from The ABC Murders, Poirot’s last outing also published by Microids. Stepping comfortably into visual novel territory and casting aside the puzzling that would hold back narrative flow, your fantasy is one not of being Hercule Poirot but rather of enjoying a Poirot novel. The Switch let’s you indulge in that as you would a great book, whether in the wingback of your stately home’s library or, indeed, on the toilet of your bedsit. For storytelling, the game format is ideal – even ingenious. The trademark Christie web of connections between events, evidence and the psychology of the characters is planned out in front of your eyes – either to pore over on a diagram or to stroll through in the neatly presented settings. The game’s main limitations are the inanimate world and workaday writing that fail to lend the sparkle of life to a well-machined story. Nonetheless, while puzzle-loving gamers shouldn’t pick this one up, visual novel fans and Hercule-heads won’t be able to put it down.

Starting at $3.95Buy now

Get on Steam

Get on Xbox Games Store

Discover an untold crime story from the mysterious youth of the famous detective Hercule Poirot.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 301 reviews

story80 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

Engaging story with complex characters and intriguing plot twists that capture the essence of Agatha Christie's work.
The mind map mechanic allows players to connect clues and evidence in a satisfying way, enhancing the detective experience.
High-quality voice acting and appealing visuals contribute to an immersive atmosphere.

Gameplay is overly linear, with little room for player agency or exploration, making it feel more like a visual novel than a true detective game.
Some connections in the mind map can feel arbitrary or illogical, leading to frustration when trying to progress.
The game lacks replayability due to its fixed narrative and the inability to make mistakes or explore alternative outcomes.

story
179 mentions
45 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its engaging narrative and adherence to Agatha Christie's style, featuring intriguing characters and plot twists. However, the linearity of the gameplay and lack of player agency detract from the experience for some, making it feel more like a visual novel than an interactive game. While the story is compelling and enjoyable, opinions vary on its execution, pacing, and predictability, with some players expressing disappointment in the ending and overall depth.
- “The story is excellent, full of twists and turns, and most of the characters are interesting.”
- “The story is intriguing as well.”
- “The story and characters are interesting, and if you played 'The ABC Murders', I think you'll also like this one.”
- “The plot wasn't really strong enough to remain interesting for the full length of the game.”
- “You don't have any choice to make, just click left and right until the story is over.”
- “The story is as basic as it gets and the ending is extremely predictable.”
gameplay
81 mentions
28 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases" is characterized as linear and simplistic, primarily revolving around a point-and-click mechanic with a mind-map deduction system. While some players appreciate the narrative and visual elements, many find the gameplay tedious, lacking challenge, and often breaking immersion due to its reliance on clicking prompts and navigating menus. Overall, the game offers a casual experience that may appeal to fans of story-driven adventures but falls short for those seeking deeper gameplay mechanics.
- “Investigation and deduction form the core of the gameplay, in which we collect evidence, question suspects, and connect the dots on a mind map.”
- “The gameplay loop is mostly 1) investigate areas for clues 2) talk to people and finally use the cool 'mind map' to link together alibis, events, and deductions.”
- “I really enjoyed this game; the story is great, graphics are good, and gameplay is excellent.”
- “The interface is clunky, and the gameplay is tedious.”
- “Sadly, the gameplay this has to offer amounts to clicking every on-screen prompt there is to click, then fiddling with a very arbitrary 'deduction' system where you connect nodes on a mind map.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it repeats itself a lot (I lost count of how many times I clicked a dialog option, right-clicked, pressed 2 icons, pressed Q, pressed E, rinse, wash, repeat) and at times even frustrates as you have to navigate a series of menus to make an obvious connection only to enable a dialog option that otherwise wouldn't appear while the character sits in the same room!”
graphics
44 mentions
52 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art style and environments as visually pleasing, while others criticize the dated character designs and lack of animation. Many players note that the visuals are not groundbreaking and can feel static, resembling an interactive storybook rather than a fully realized game. Overall, while the graphics may not impress, they are often seen as adequate enough to support the engaging narrative and gameplay.
- “The art style is very pleasing.”
- “On the plus side, the actual graphics and design is superb.”
- “The art style is phenomenal and the colors are very warm which I enjoy.”
- “The graphics are not the best out there; the characters look emotionless with basic animation.”
- “The game is poorly optimized, resulting in high resource consumption which is not justified by the game's plain graphics.”
- “The graphics are dated, to say the least - it comes off as a 2011 game ported into a 2021 engine.”
grinding
13 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The reviews consistently highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by tedious and repetitive tasks, particularly in the mind mapping and inference chart mechanics, which disrupt the flow of gameplay. Many players found the dialogue and overall pacing to be drawn out, leading to a frustrating experience that detracted from enjoyment. Overall, the game is perceived as overly linear and lacking engaging elements, making the grinding feel like a slog.
- “The inference chart links are tedious, unintuitive, and unrewarding, and break the flow of gameplay.”
- “The interface is clunky, and the gameplay is tedious.”
- “When this happens, the player is reduced to clicking random connections in order to 'brute force' their way through, which is both tedious and dull.”
music
11 mentions
27 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
27 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its beautiful soundtracks and fitting atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. The voice acting is highlighted as top-notch, contributing significantly to the game's appeal, although some players noted minor issues with subtitles. Overall, the soundtrack and voice work are considered valuable assets, despite some mixed opinions on their prominence in gameplay.
- “The voice acting is top-notch, and the 'young Poirot' theme music would be fit for a TV spin-off if ever something like that was made.”
- “The music and voice acting do make valuable additions to the game.”
- “This is an engaging point-and-click game with a great atmosphere and fitting music; the story has so many twists and turns it's hard to guess where you'll end up next.”
- “Opened the game, clicked new game, got a loading screen. After leaving it open and listening to the music for half an hour, it still didn't load.”
- “Voice acting and soundtrack - honestly, I can't say I've heard much of them.”
- “A little underappreciated aspect is fitting the soundtrack to this game also is.”
replayability
5 mentions
20 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has been criticized for its low replayability due to a lack of failure scenarios, clunky navigation, and the absence of features like chapter select or multiple saves. Many players find it difficult to justify extended playtime, as the game does not offer significant incentives to replay.
- “Would give the game a lot more replayability.”
- “That being said, there isn't much replay value to this.”
- “However, there is hardly any replay value as you cannot fail to solve the case, and the UI, especially the mind map, is rather clunky to navigate.”
- “I will say one final gripe, however: the lack of any kind of chapter select or multiple saves, coupled with the inability to bring up previously read text—something that is pretty standard for most visual novels—kills any replay value this game might have had.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its cozy and engaging qualities, enhanced by fitting music and strong narration. Reviewers highlight the excellent characterization and plot, which contribute to a captivating experience that encourages players to immerse themselves fully in the story's twists and turns.
- “The atmosphere is cozy and makes you want to return to this game and savor it slowly.”
- “This is an engaging point-and-click game with a great atmosphere and fitting music; the story has so many twists and turns it's hard to guess where you'll end up next.”
- “To be brief: the moment-to-moment writing, the characterization, the overall plot, the believability of the crimes, and the atmosphere are all good to excellent.”
- “The atmosphere feels recycled, lacking originality in music, narration, and gameplay.”
- “The atmosphere is cozy but ultimately fails to create a compelling reason to return to the game.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been criticized for being buggy and tedious, indicating a lack of polish and reliability in gameplay.
- “The game is incredibly buggy and tedious.”
- “Frequent crashes make it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and instability during gameplay.”
optimization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to excessive resource consumption that is not warranted by its simplistic graphics.
- “The game is poorly optimized, resulting in high resource consumption that is not justified by the game's plain graphics.”
- “Despite its simple visuals, the game demands an unreasonable amount of system resources.”
- “The optimization is lacking, causing significant performance issues even on high-end hardware.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional depth of the game, noting that Agatha Christie's writing style is effectively captured, immersing them in a narrative that feels like an interactive experience of her novels.
- “You can feel Agatha Christie's writing style throughout the story, to the point where it truly made me feel like I was playing through one of her novels.”