Murdered: Soul Suspect

Murdered: Soul Suspect is what you get when you create a point-and-click adventure game through the lens of a modern console game. It’s not perfect, but it’s a mystery worth solving.

71%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

replayability, stability

81% User Score Based on 6,413 reviews

Critic Score 61%Based on 28 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $2.26

Buy NowGet on SteamBRL5.59

Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store

About

In "Murdered: Soul Suspect," players become Ronan O'Connor, a detective murdered in a grisly ritual killing. Now a ghost, Ronan must use his newfound supernatural abilities to communicate with the living, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth about his own murder. With a unique setting and detective gameplay, Murdered: Soul Suspect offers a thrilling, otherworldly investigation full of suspense and mystery.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 6,441 reviews

story3k positive mentions

replayability82 negative mentions

Engaging and unique storyline that keeps players invested until the end.
Interesting ghost mechanics, such as possessing people and walking through walls.
Atmospheric setting in Salem, with well-developed characters and side stories.

Gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks depth, with easy puzzles and minimal challenge.
Technical issues, including bugs and a frustrating save system that can lock players out of collectibles.
Combat mechanics involving demons are poorly executed and often feel unnecessary.

story
6,777 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
51%
4%
The story of "Murdered: Soul Suspect" is widely praised for its compelling narrative and unique premise, where players assume the role of a ghost detective trying to solve his own murder in the eerie setting of Salem, Massachusetts. While the main storyline is engaging and features unexpected twists, many reviewers note that the gameplay can feel repetitive and linear, often detracting from the overall experience. Despite its flaws, the rich storytelling and character development make it a worthwhile play for fans of narrative-driven games.
- “The story is compelling, and I can't say that I saw the ending coming.”
- “While the main story holds its own, the side mini-stories you uncover through collectibles, especially the ghost stories, which I highly recommend you take the time to uncover all of, were the true gems, in my opinion.”
- “The story is compelling, with an eerie atmosphere and unique ghostly mechanics like walking through walls and influencing minds.”
- “However, if you are just interested in the story then perhaps just watching a play-through online would suffice as there isn't really much challenging or rewarding gameplay involved in this one.”
- “The story is not that well developed.”
- “The story makes no sense towards the end (basically the ending sucks), the gameplay is almost non-existent or extremely gimmicky and the pacing is all over the place.”
gameplay
2,504 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
58%
14%
The gameplay of "Murdered: Soul Suspect" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplistic and repetitive nature. While the unique ghost mechanics, such as walking through walls and possessing characters, offer some novelty, they are often underutilized and overshadowed by tedious stealth segments and a lack of challenging puzzles. Overall, the game is more focused on storytelling than gameplay, making it suitable for those who prioritize narrative over interactive complexity.
- “The gameplay reminds me of a mix of Life is Strange and the Sherlock games.”
- “As a ghost, Ronan can walk through walls and see residual memories, which adds an interesting mechanic to the gameplay and allows players to explore the world in unconventional ways.”
- “The core gameplay revolves around investigation and exploration, with players using Ronan's ghostly abilities to uncover clues and solve puzzles.”
- “The mechanics, few as they may be, can be very clunky at times, from slight annoyances when trying to get some collectibles and the indicator not showing up as it should to unresponsive buttons.”
- “The gameplay is simplistic and repetitive, with easy puzzles and underwhelming stealth segments.”
- “The gameplay is repetitive and gets boring quickly, and the dialogue screens are horrible.”
graphics
973 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
41%
5%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the visuals are decent for a title released in 2014, they feel somewhat dated compared to modern standards. Some reviewers appreciate the atmospheric design and detailed environments, which contribute to the game's eerie ambiance, while others criticize the character models and animations for lacking polish. Overall, the graphics are generally considered solid but not groundbreaking, with occasional glitches and a noticeable drop in quality during cutscenes.
- “Although the game was released 10 years ago, it has exceptional graphics and surprising details.”
- “The graphics and sound design work well together to create a genuinely haunting experience.”
- “The graphics hold up amazingly well; this game still looks very good and the main character model is just amazing to look at.”
- “The graphics, considering it's from 2014, are quite acceptable in my opinion, and one can discern a range of emotions in the characters' facial expressions.”
- “However, the game's graphical fidelity is somewhat dated, with character models and animations that lack polish compared to more recent titles.”
- “The graphics are starting to show their age and the gameplay and design choices are likewise dated.”
atmosphere
590 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
38%
1%
The atmosphere in "Murdered: Soul Suspect" is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, effectively blending supernatural elements with a compelling narrative set in the haunting backdrop of Salem. Players appreciate the game's atmospheric sound design, visuals, and the unique mechanics that enhance the ghostly experience, although some note that the gameplay can feel simplistic and repetitive. Overall, the game's strong atmospheric presentation, combined with its intriguing story and character interactions, makes it a memorable experience for fans of narrative-driven adventures.
- “The game excels in creating a hauntingly atmospheric world, with the eerie, fog-laden streets of Salem serving as a fitting backdrop for the supernatural narrative.”
- “The atmosphere, lore, and voice acting are the game's strongest attributes.”
- “The atmosphere is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.”
- “The atmosphere is creepy, not scary mind you, but it gives you an eerie feeling.”
- “The game heavily relies on its thick atmosphere and the story twists to drive you along, and I imagine it will be less fun the second time around.”
- “The town is simply dull, some NPCs keep walking in the same path, really killing the atmosphere; they also have only two lines of dialogue, which are boring.”
music
237 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its ability to enhance the atmosphere and create tension, particularly in horror and suspenseful moments. However, several reviewers noted that the soundtrack can be repetitive and lacks memorability, with some even describing it as sparse or minimal. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, it may not leave a lasting impression on players.
- “A decent musical score enhances the game's mystical atmosphere.”
- “The dusky bluish streets, the minimal metallic soundtrack, the ghostly glow of people and things to interact with -- all created a convincing and immersive supernatural world.”
- “The music is great, and it makes getting chased by a demon feel almost scary.”
- “Barely any music, no interesting set pieces, poor dialogue, and just a generally empty feeling world.”
- “The music is sparse, and while usually fitting the mood, it gets boring due to repetition.”
- “The cons was in their music, what I'm telling the music is meh, so for you like the detective case.”
replayability
213 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
55%
38%
The game has been widely criticized for its lack of replayability, with many reviewers noting that it offers little incentive to play beyond the initial playthrough. Most players complete the game in a short time frame of 5-10 hours, and once the story is known, there is minimal motivation to revisit it, aside from collecting missed items or achievements. Overall, it is recommended to purchase the game on sale due to its short length and limited replay value.
- “The game is short but well made; not much replay value though.”
- “This was definitely a game worth playing, and has some replayability to it due to all the collectibles and maybe if you want to finish it with 100%, but otherwise it's more of a 'play through thoroughly once and enjoy' type of game.”
- “While the replay value may not be as good as some other games, it is the sort of game you will play, try to find all the artifacts in the first run through, and then put away when you are finished.”
- “Additionally, the game is relatively short, with a playtime of around 6-8 hours, and offers little replay value.”
- “The game was fun for what it is but once the plot is known it won't hold much replay value.”
- “The game has no replay value to it though.”
stability
211 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
1%
94%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting a plethora of bugs and glitches that can lead to softlocks, unresponsive controls, and game-breaking issues. While some users noted that the game runs well on certain platforms like the Steam Deck, the PC version is particularly plagued by technical problems, making it difficult to recommend without significant patches. Overall, the game's enjoyable story is often overshadowed by its unstable performance and frustrating gameplay mechanics.
- “Runs great on Steam Deck at 90 FPS on max settings.”
- “Additionally, it runs great on older hardware.”
- “It is bug free and complete out of the box, no need to worry about patches or the possibility of DLC.”
- “The game is full of bugs, glitches, and crashes.”
- “Unfortunately, this game is a buggy mess of a terrible console port.”
- “The game is extremely buggy, and the creators have never bothered to patch it.”
grinding
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
1%
97%
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for its tediousness, with many players finding the collection of items, backtracking through levels, and combat encounters to be monotonous and frustrating. Stealth sections and demon encounters are particularly noted as repetitive and lacking in challenge, often detracting from the overall enjoyment of the story. While some players appreciate the narrative elements, the gameplay mechanics are frequently described as a grind that hampers the experience.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A lot of grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “It comes off as tedious and pointless.”
- “Overall, the entire affair can be described as pretty tedious, frustrating, and eventually even boring.”
- “The gameplay is just not interesting, and every playable part is either just mindlessly going through the motions or a tedious, time-consuming ordeal.”
optimization
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
39%
37%
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting performance issues such as stuttering, inconsistent frame rates, and bugs, particularly on PC. While some users found the game to run smoothly on lower-end systems, others experienced significant problems, especially when vsync was enabled, leading to a 30 fps cap. Overall, the consensus indicates that the game is poorly optimized, especially for higher resolutions and more powerful hardware, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Good story, great gameplay, okay-ish graphics, good voice acting, well optimized especially for potatoes, so any potatoes can run it, anyway just get it!”
- “The graphics are nice and smooth and the game runs great on an old system making it feel well optimized.”
- “Pretty good optimization (even my poor 8 year old PC handled the game pretty well).”
- “The game isn't optimized well and was a waste of money.”
- “Great characters, acting, and cinematic sense but underpolished and poorly optimized for anything over 720p.”
- “Worst optimization I have ever played.”
emotional
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
93%
7%
The emotional aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it both touching and impactful, particularly through character backstories and side quests that evoke strong feelings. While some reviewers praised the heartfelt moments and plot twists that resonated deeply, others criticized the lack of character development and a convoluted story that diminished emotional investment. Overall, the game succeeds in delivering memorable emotional experiences, though it may not connect with every player.
- “It's one of those gaming experiences that feels both memorable and emotionally impactful!”
- “I loved the characters, the storyline, dialogue, the side quests helping lost souls to cross over, the plot twist, the emotions (I cried when Iris and Rose left together), stories, thoughts, clues, mystery solving, and great detail into the history and attention to suicide awareness.”
- “This is a beautiful and emotional game with a lot of depth to it.”
- “Play through an unsatisfying and boring story as a ghost detective.”
- “This game honestly I thought it was going to be better; there wasn't any real climax for it. The demons got annoying hiding from them a lot, and just a boring story I called from the start who the villain really was.”
- “Nothing special, boring story with weak gameplay.”
humor
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with players noting amusing dialogues, quirky character interactions, and funny glitches that enhance the experience. While some moments are genuinely humorous, particularly between the main characters, others fall flat due to repetitive NPC dialogue and lack of creativity in background characters. Overall, the game successfully incorporates humor into its narrative and gameplay, making for a lighthearted experience amidst its darker themes.
- “The game presents a little dated with the fedora-toting main character and a few funny glitches, but my overall experience was very good.”
- “Funny to say: the stories of the dead people are way more interesting than the ones alive.”
- “The two main characters, Ronan and Joy, have a great odd couple vibe that had me laughing in spots.”
character development
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
55%
11%
Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the depth and interactions between main characters, while others criticize it as lacking or basic. Many noted that character designs are visually appealing, but the emotional connections and backstories are often underdeveloped, relying heavily on collectibles for additional context. Overall, while there are moments of strong character development, it is frequently overshadowed by a more engaging story and atmospheric setting.
- “I like the character development and characterization; it's not boring.”
- “The duo Ronan and Joy feel really like a crime-solving team with their quarrels and wits. The character development is well written, with plot twists here and there.”
- “There is pretty great character development in this story, and the whole thing has a very distinct movie-like feel to it.”
- “Character development is somewhat lacking, leaving players with a protagonist who, while intriguing, doesn't elicit a strong emotional connection.”
- “The game falls flat in gameplay, length, character development, and story.”
- “Very little direction is taken towards obstacles you run into like the demons, spiteful cops, or paranoia plaguing the area, thus leaving much more to be desired in character development.”
monetization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
14%
57%
The game is praised for its lack of monetization tactics, such as microtransactions, DLCs, or multiplayer components, which is considered a refreshing rarity in the current gaming landscape. However, there are concerns that the publisher may have pressured the developers to include such elements, as they feel inconsistent with the game's overall experience.
- “A rock-solid fun game, with no microtransactions, DLCs, or anything else, which has become a rarity nowadays.”
- “A really good RPG game that does not include microtransactions. *woot*”
- “I have a sneaking suspicion that they received orders from their publisher that if they wanted a triple-A advertising budget, then it had to have those things in it because they feel completely at odds with the rest of the game.”
- “I am really glad that this game doesn't have any unnecessary extras, like DLCs, multiplayer components, or any sort of microtransactions.”