Murder Mystery Machine

Murder Mystery Machine is an enjoyable crime-solving adventure with a decent story hook. Just watch out for strange controls and weird noises.

58%Game Brain Score

story, graphics

gameplay, music

54% User Score Based on 79 reviews

Critic Score 65%Based on 4 reviews

Platforms

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About

Murder Mystery Machine is a single player action adventure game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Blazing Griffin and was released on August 25, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

In "Murder Mystery Machine," you are a detective solving complex crimes in a city filled with corruption and deceit. Analyze crime scenes, interrogate suspects, and connect clues to expose the truth in this atmospheric point-and-click adventure game. With each case, delve deeper into a dark conspiracy that threatens to consume everything you hold dear.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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54%

Audience ScoreBased on 79 reviews

story9 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The evidence board mechanic is a clever and satisfying way to connect clues, suspects, and motives, enhancing the feeling of being a detective.
The game features engaging crime scenes with detailed environments that encourage exploration and thorough investigation.
The overarching narrative ties the episodic cases together, providing a compelling story that keeps players invested in the outcome.

The deduction mechanics can feel arbitrary and frustrating, often requiring players to make connections that don't logically follow, leading to trial-and-error gameplay.
The user interface is clunky and can become overwhelming, especially when managing a crowded evidence board, detracting from the overall experience.
The lack of voice acting and minimal sound design contribute to a less immersive atmosphere, making the game feel less polished.

story
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
60%
10%
The story is a central element of the game, featuring a blend of standalone cases and a larger, overarching conspiracy that encourages players to engage in active deduction. While the narrative is generally engaging and the mysteries are interesting, some players found the lack of meaningful choices and consequences disappointing, and the overall plot somewhat predictable. Despite these criticisms, the game successfully captures the essence of a serialized crime drama, with a solid structure that ties the episodic cases together, though it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of polish in execution.
- “What carries the experience is the story, which balances standalone cases with a slowly unfolding larger conspiracy.”
- “The narrative is delivered across eight episodic cases that tie into an overarching storyline.”
- “This game basically tries to be a serialized crime drama in game form, with the settings, characters, storyline, etc., and I think it accomplishes that goal pretty well - the mysteries are interesting, the overarching narrative ties everything together nicely, and while individual characterization may be kind of weak, it was still overall enjoyable to watch the story unfold.”
- “The lack of voice acting is noticeable, particularly given the amount of dialogue, and while the written script conveys the story competently, spoken performances might have added more weight to the drama.”
- “And the story I was a little disappointed at; at the end of every case you have two choices, but the choices never result in consequences.”
- “The overarching story is nothing to write home about and the game freezes a lot.”
gameplay
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
80%
10%
The gameplay centers around a unique evidence board mechanic that allows players to connect clues, suspects, and motives, aiming to create an immersive investigative experience. However, many players find the mechanics frustrating and inconsistent, often leading to confusion and a reliance on hints. While the narrative and overarching story are engaging, the gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks polish, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “The game positions itself as a narrative-driven puzzle experience, blending crime-scene exploration with deduction mechanics in a way that tries to make the player feel like a genuine investigator rather than a passive observer.”
- “The deduction board, though sometimes cumbersome, is a clever mechanic that sets it apart from other narrative-driven mysteries.”
- “Overall, I did enjoy this game - the story is solid, the graphics and environments are generally pretty nice, and the gameplay is fairly interesting and unique, just lacking in polish.”
- “Unfortunately, the mechanics don’t always support the illusion of true investigation.”
- “The gameplay involving deduction - a main selling point of the game - is extremely inconsistent and often borders on silliness that causes frustration.”
- “But unfortunately, the gameplay is repetitive, uninteresting, and frustrating.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
47%
21%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the charming art style and visually pleasing environments, while others criticize the character designs as off-putting and the overall graphics as mediocre or plain. Animations are noted to be stiff and slow, detracting from the experience, but the game's cartoony aesthetic and cel shading have their fans. Overall, while the graphics may not be top-tier, they are considered adequate for the game's purpose of engaging players in a murder mystery narrative.
- “The graphics are quite nice, though I'll give it that.”
- “Graphics is the part of the game that was done, if not splendid, then at least visually pleasing.”
- “Overall, I did enjoy this game - the story is solid, the graphics and environments are generally pretty nice, even if you see a lot of assets reused later on in the game (admittedly with plot-justified reasons).”
- “The animations are stiff and take too long; the graphics are mediocre.”
- “The graphics are fairly plain and boring.”
- “Coupled with poor graphics, writing, and near-silent sound production, 'Murder Mystery Machine' is one you should avoid.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
55%
27%
The music in the game is generally described as functional but uninspired, often remaining in the background and failing to enhance the overall experience. While the soundtrack supports the atmosphere, it is repetitive and lacks variety, leading some players to turn it off entirely. Overall, the sound design is minimal, with limited voice acting and a soundscape that does not live up to the excitement portrayed in the game's trailer.
- “The voice acting and soundtrack are functional, supporting the atmosphere but rarely elevating it.”
- “Sound design is similarly restrained, providing ambient effects and subtle musical cues that set the mood without standing out.”
- “The music is quite alright, but it stays largely in the background.”
- “The trailer did a good job selling the game and making it look and sound almost like an episode of a stylish crime show, and yet – the soundscape is minimal here, so the trailer ends up being the most exciting thing about the musical component after all.”
- “There's no music except for the one track in the intro cutscene that gets replayed before every case starts.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezes occurring, particularly when players attempt to reorganize clues on the deduction board. While some users report no bugs, the overall experience is marred by glitches that detract from gameplay, leading many to recommend against it.
- “It's a really fun game, but as of right now, it's still a bit buggy.”
- “The worst thing is the freezes.”
- “Because in every section of the game, when I try to organize clues, my game freezes.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The atmosphere in "Murder Mystery Machine" is effectively established through its visual style and noir tone, though it is somewhat hindered by functional voice acting and a sparse soundtrack that lacks the depth to fully enhance the experience. While the game captures a murder mystery vibe, the limited audio elements contribute to a feeling of silence, which may detract from the intended tension. Overall, the atmosphere is present but could benefit from more engaging audio production.
- “Visually, Murder Mystery Machine is atmospheric without being overly flashy.”
- “They're going for an atmospheric, noir tone, and good audio production is pivotal to setting that up.”
- “There are only a few tracks implying underlying tension (in a TV crime drama kind of way) that could be heard periodically, so largely, the game feels a bit too silent, and even sporadic sound effects don’t really change this atmosphere.”
- “The overall atmosphere lacks depth and immersion, making it hard to feel connected to the game world.”
- “Despite the potential for a rich environment, the atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, failing to evoke any real emotion.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development in the game is generally viewed as minimal, with some reviewers noting that it lacks depth and is frustrating to navigate. While there are positive mentions of character design, particularly for the partner character, the overall progression and internal logic of character arcs leave much to be desired.
- “Great character development.”
- “In spite of the issues with the game freezing, I powered through the remainder of the episodes, and the rest of my review holds: this game is slow, the internal logic is irritating to have to guess at, the character development is minimal, and the investigation gameplay is weak.”
- “The character design, specifically of your partner, is pretty bad.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game offers some replayability through challenges like solving cases with fewer hints or in less time, but its overall short length of around 8 hours and limited replay value make it a less compelling choice for some players, especially at a $20 price point.
- “The game offers multiple endings and choices that encourage you to replay it and explore different outcomes.”
- “Each playthrough reveals new secrets and challenges, making it a joy to revisit and discover something fresh every time.”
- “While the experience is compact, it feels complete, and there is some replay value in attempting to solve cases with fewer hints or in less time.”
- “I can't highly recommend it, especially as it's rather short for a $20 game with no replayability factor at around 8 hours of playtime, but I don't regret checking it out either.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The optimization of the game is hindered by the absence of voice acting, which detracts from the overall impact of the dialogue-heavy script. While the written narrative is competent, the lack of vocal performances limits the emotional depth of the story.
- “The lack of voice acting is noticeable, particularly given the amount of dialogue, and while the written script conveys the story competently, spoken performances might have added more weight to the drama.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional depth of the game is highlighted through the contrasting relationship between Cass and Nate, where Nate's cynicism challenges Cass's idealism, creating a compelling dynamic. However, some players feel that a lack of impactful choices diminishes their emotional investment in the story.
- “The relationship between Cass and Nate adds an emotional layer, as Nate’s cynicism often clashes with Cass’s determination and idealism.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and uninteresting, often exacerbated by the lack of voice acting and subpar writing. While some acknowledge the grind as a necessary part of the experience, it can detract from overall enjoyment.
- “Besides that, there is no voice acting and the writing is iffy at best, which makes everything but the art style fall somewhere between tedious and uninteresting.”
- “Sure, it can get tedious, but I'm a dumbass.”

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65%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews

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8h Median play time

8h Average play time

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Frequently Asked Questions

Murder Mystery Machine is a action adventure game with mystery theme.

Murder Mystery Machine is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck and others.

On average players spend around 8 hours playing Murder Mystery Machine.

Murder Mystery Machine was released on August 25, 2021.

Murder Mystery Machine was developed by Blazing Griffin.

Murder Mystery Machine has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Murder Mystery Machine is a single player game.

Similar games include Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot: The First Cases, Lacuna, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders and others.

Murder Mystery Machine

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