Bohemian Killing

Bohemian Killing isn’t the prettiest game in the world, but it’s certainly a fascinating experience. It delivers on both its concept as a good ol’ fashioned whodunnit, as well as its unconventional approach to storytelling.

61%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

replayability, stability

61% User Score Based on 141 reviews

Critic Score 61%Based on 6 reviews

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About

Bohemian Killing is a single player simulation game with drama, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by Libredia and was released on July 20, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Steampunk Paris, set against the background of the late 19th century, torn between tradition and modernity. Class differences and pervasive racism finally lead to a tragedy. A year later you find yourself on trial, accused of a brutal murder. How far will you go to exonerate yourself? Will you lie, seek evidence to prop your testimony or, perhaps, pretend to be insane? Your imagination is the limi…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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61%

Audience ScoreBased on 141 reviews

story24 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

Unique and clever courtroom drama concept where you piece together a testimony to manipulate the verdict.
Multiple different endings and narrative paths providing replayability and player choice.
Atmospheric setting with well-done music, voice acting, and immersive storytelling.

Numerous bugs, crashes, and technical issues that impede gameplay and cause frustration.
Short and repetitive gameplay with small environments and limited meaningful interactions.
Tedious and frequent loading screens, unskippable or repetitive dialogue sequences, and some awkward controls and animations.

story
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
66%
4%
The story centers on a unique courtroom scenario where the player, as a murder suspect who actually committed the crime, must craft a believable narrative to convince the judge while navigating evidence and timelines. While praised for its originality, dynamic storytelling, and multiple endings, some players found the repetition of largely similar storylines tiresome and desired more expansive narrative depth and context. Overall, the story is engaging and thought-provoking, rewarding players who enjoy piecing together and manipulating details within a constrained framework.
- “Bohemian Killing has great storytelling and is one of the best detective games I've ever played.”
- “The plot twist is that you are in fact guilty (you actually commit the murder at the very start) and it is your job to tell lies to the court that match up with not only the prosecutor's evidence & timeline against you, but also with your supporting evidence (should you find it).”
- “I really like the storyline; which is splendid, and very dynamic; I like how it changes based on your choices during the game.”
- “It somehow feels as if they had another story in mind at first and forgot to change the murder scene at the beginning which now does not fit at all for the game.”
- “Ultimately, I found the game’s story (and all its different iterations) rather uninteresting and dull, especially after the first few times through.”
- “I do have some issues with the story; at the beginning of the game, the very scene where you kill Marie Capet and go through the intro sequence afterwards, that entire thing is unskippable and required to play through that scene every single time you replay the game to try to get a different ending.”
gameplay
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The gameplay of Bohemian Killing is unique and innovative, blending walking-simulator exploration with a narrative-driven trial mechanic where player choices affect multiple endings. While it offers an interesting concept and compelling, story-based interaction with timing elements, the experience is often marred by bugs, technical issues, slow pacing, and insufficient tutorialization, which can hinder accessibility and enjoyment. Despite these flaws, many find the gameplay thought-provoking and worth exploring for fans of narrative mystery games.
- “The gameplay is, in effect, a representation of you defending yourself during a trial by lying about what took place on the night in question.”
- “The game, by its nature, pushes player to think and plan ahead in detail, but it does that with grace, without harming smooth narrative flow and its joyful gameplay.”
- “This is one of the better examples of walking simulator and mystery games that I have played, with a very compelling gameplay mechanic where almost every move you do changes the final outcome.”
- “Many of the mechanics are janky, and I had a hard time figuring out what I was supposed to be doing when I first played it.”
- “The mechanics aren't difficult, but the amount of glitches made it frustrating and impossible for me to complete the path I was on.”
- “The way to advance time is the most infuriatingly annoying mechanic I have seen in a very long time.”
graphics
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
62%
10%
The game's graphics are generally considered decent but subpar for its time, with some atmospheric lighting and pleasing art style balanced against noticeable bugs, glitches, low-quality character models, and limited resolution support. While the overall visual design fits the indie scope and story-driven focus, issues like awkward animations, distracting cursor artifacts, and occasional graphical errors detract from the experience. Players appreciate the unique style but caution those prioritizing high-end graphics.
- “The graphics and lighting are generally very good and atmospheric (I particularly liked the female statues throughout and the opulent furniture and ritzy locales).”
- “The soundtracks, conversations, and graphics were all so good.”
- “The game worked smoothly the entire time, graphics are good for an indie game as well as the soundtrack and voice over.”
- “However your character does not appear in reflections (even in mirrors) and there is no way to turn off the crosshair/dot. The inactive mouse cursor shows up in the graphics of the game distractingly as a small but bright visual glitch which floats around the screen depending on where you look.”
- “The graphics are subpar and the opening murder scene has some atrocious character models.”
- “Even after finding a way to turn off the omnipresent filter that makes the whole game look washed out, the graphics are still low grade.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
15%
12%
The music in the game is widely praised for its strong themes, fitting orchestral style, and effective contribution to the game's atmosphere, especially enhancing tension and the murder mystery motif. However, some note the soundtrack is short and repetitive, with only one main track looping throughout. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a valuable and enjoyable component, complementing the voice acting and art style well.
- “Fantastic music with a strong musical theme.”
- “I love Paris, so I adored the setting; the music fits the murder mystery motif perfectly, and I was pleasantly surprised at the different ways you could end your testimony.”
- “However, the orchestral soundtrack is very pleasant to listen to, and it amplifies the tension of what is happening during critical moments.”
- “There is a soundtrack available on Steam but altogether it is only about 15 minutes long.”
- “There is only one piece of music that repeats the whole time.”
- “I'm in my 50's, and I had to turn off the music to be able to hear the actor.”
replayability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
64%
18%
The game offers multiple endings (ranging from 8 to 9), providing some replayability through different outcomes and approaches. However, many players find the novelty wears off quickly after the first few playthroughs, as it revolves around a single case and becomes repetitive. Overall, replay value is decent but limited, with potential for improvement through additional content or varied scenarios.
- “There are multiple endings, which makes for nice replayability, and the author helpfully provided a guide to help players get to some of the more obscure ones.”
- “There are a total of 8 endings to unlock, giving the game a lot of replayability in future playthroughs.”
- “Also with 9 different endings, the game offers a decent amount of replayability for its price point.”
- “Once you unlock most evidence, the replay value diminishes.”
- “Problem is that it's only one case which you can play multiple times to get different endings, but the novelty of this one case dies as soon as you get your first ending, so replay value dies as soon as you finish it.”
- “Only problem is there's very little replayability, and beyond the first one or two playthroughs it just becomes a railroaded fetch quest.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including freezes, crashes, and graphical issues, severely impacting playability and completion. While some players found the bugs frustrating enough to quit, others noted the technical problems as minor but still detracting from the overall experience. Stability remains a significant concern, especially for completionists and those sensitive to crashes.
- “However, it's so buggy that I eventually gave up without completing the game.”
- “The mechanics aren't difficult, but the amount of glitches made it frustrating and impossible for me to complete the path I was on.”
- “It just has one problem: I can never finish it, because it freezes and crashes all the game sessions... I hope it will get fixed.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is widely viewed as tedious and frustrating, relying heavily on trial and error rather than logical progression. Players often feel forced to repeatedly attempt random interactions to achieve outcomes, which, combined with bugs and lack of immersive design, leads to a tedious and unenjoyable experience.
- “This is a very short game overall and only becomes longer if you try to exhaustively go through and get every single ending and/or achievement the game has, which I think would be a truly tedious exercise.”
- “What was supposed to be a 'trial and error' approach, as a tedious substitution for a proper tutorial, turns out to be a massive waste of time for the player, forced to re-live situations in the mere hope that some correct random interaction with world objects will trigger some positive chain of events and therefore a positive outcome.”
- “Not to mention the tediousness of trying again and again until you find - more by chance or exhaustion of possibilities rather than thanks to logic - one of those combinations.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The atmosphere is generally praised for its strong and immersive setting, with impressive graphics, lighting, and attention to detail such as opulent locales and authentic accents. While some find it captivating and true to the mystery genre, others feel it becomes repetitive and less engaging on subsequent playthroughs.
- “As a big fan of mystery novels and movies, this game perfectly captures the atmosphere and look of the time and the situation.”
- “Intriguing choice of perspective for the narrative and a very atmospheric setting.”
- “The graphics and lighting are generally very good and atmospheric, featuring opulent furniture and ritzy locales.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
User opinions on optimization are mixed: some report awful performance issues, while others find the game runs smoothly even on older hardware.
- “Well optimized.”
- “Runs smoothly on my old laptop.”
- “Awful optimization.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor initially offers some mild amusement through silly antics, but it quickly becomes repetitive and loses its charm. The limited variety hampers the intended fun of experimenting with humorous outcomes, leading to frustration rather than sustained entertainment.
- “It's just the frequency of it that's a bit off (to a point that it gets hilarious).”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the monetization system restrictive, offering fewer options and limited freedom despite claims of wide-ranging possibilities.
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect was negatively impacted by the lighting, which induced feelings of discomfort and nausea.

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61%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews

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5h Median play time

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Frequently Asked Questions

Bohemian Killing is a simulation game with drama, mystery and thriller themes.

Bohemian Killing is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing Bohemian Killing.

Bohemian Killing was released on July 20, 2016.

Bohemian Killing was developed by Libredia.

Bohemian Killing has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Bohemian Killing for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Bohemian Killing is a single player game.

Similar games include Home, The Detail, 1954 Alcatraz, Blacksad: Under the Skin, Empathy: Path of Whispers and others.

Bohemian Killing

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