Small Town Murders: Match 3

About

Small Town Murders: Match 3 is an adventure game that combines match-3 puzzles with a murder mystery story. With its wonderful storyline, stellar gameplay, and delightful graphics, it offers a fun and engaging experience. However, players should be aware of the frequent advertisements, grinding, and occasional bugs that may affect gameplay. The game allows players to find clues, unravel cases, and solve murder mysteries in a unique Match 3 Crime Game format.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 6,204 reviews

story385 positive mentions

monetization130 negative mentions

The storyline is engaging and keeps players interested.
The graphics are colorful and appealing, enhancing the overall experience.
The game offers a good balance of challenge without being overly difficult.

Levels become frustratingly hard, often requiring purchases to progress.
The game frequently freezes or lags, disrupting gameplay.
Players are often forced to replay levels multiple times, leading to boredom.

story
699 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
42%
3%
The game's story is generally well-received, with many players praising its engaging plot, interesting characters, and cute graphics. However, some users express frustration over the slow progression of the storyline, often feeling that the gameplay becomes repetitive and overly challenging, which detracts from their enjoyment of the narrative. Additionally, there are calls for more interactive elements within the story, as players desire a greater sense of agency in solving the mysteries presented.
- “The storyline is well thought out, the characters are nicely made, and there are some twists too.”
- “Absolutely amazing storyline, great characters, fun dialogue, beautiful graphics.”
- “It's an excellent match 3 game with a compelling storyline, leaving you wanting to pass the levels to find out what happens next.”
- “They say they will continue the story, but they haven't updated in over 2 years.”
- “You get very small progress in the story for each level you pass, and sometimes have to pass multiple levels before getting any story at all.”
- “The story moves along so slowly and uploading each scene just takes so long.”
graphics
257 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
82%
16%
1%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty, cuteness, and vibrant colors, contributing significantly to the overall enjoyment of the gameplay and storyline. Many users highlight the graphics as a standout feature, with some describing them as stunning and well-executed, although a few mention occasional lag and glitches. Overall, the visuals are considered a major strength of the game, enhancing the immersive experience for players.
- “Absolutely amazing storyline, great characters, fun dialogue, beautiful graphics.”
- “The graphics are amazing, it's just an awesome game.”
- “The graphics are beautiful best I've seen so far, easy gameplay... I love it.”
- “But recently the game has started getting 'laggy,' freezing up during gameplay, and not responding to touches for a second or so, while the graphics spastically go through their motions.”
- “A lousy game with lousy graphics.”
- “I would give four stars because it has bad graphics and has ripoffs of homescapes.”
monetization
170 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
5%
76%
Overall, players appreciate the minimal monetization strategy of the game, highlighting the absence of intrusive ads and the option to watch ads for bonuses rather than being forced to pay. Many users express satisfaction with the lack of constant advertisements, which enhances their gaming experience, although some mention occasional misleading ads that do not accurately represent the gameplay. While some players are willing to make in-app purchases to support the developers, others criticize the game for potential cash-grab tactics, particularly when it comes to level difficulty and the need for microtransactions.
- “I absolutely love this game 😍❤️ no ads for the first time.”
- “No ads is a great bonus!”
- “Awesome game no ads, also the storyline is helping my reading skills.”
- “The ads continually end in a black screen with no way out except to close the game, that's just alienating people who really like this otherwise nice game.”
- “I cannot stand how developers advertise games to reel you in, but once you start, the game is nothing like the advertisement.”
- “The advertisements for this game are inappropriate.”
gameplay
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
47%
5%
The gameplay of this match-3 game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its innovative mechanics, engaging storylines, and appealing graphics. However, some users report issues such as lag, freezing, and frustrating move limits that can detract from the overall experience. While the gameplay is often described as fun and challenging, there are concerns about its similarity to other games in the genre and occasional tediousness in certain mechanics.
- “This is an excellent match-3 game, and I've really enjoyed the mechanics and stories in it.”
- “The story is intriguing, the gameplay is smooth, and the graphics are beautiful.”
- “I am so pleasantly surprised at how fun and challenging the gameplay is!”
- “Most of the stories add a new game mechanic, but instead of making the game more fun or exciting, they often make it more frustrating and tedious by blocking or limiting the moves you can make.”
- “But recently the game has started getting 'laggy,' freezing up during gameplay, and not responding to touches for a second or so, while the graphics spastically go through their motions.”
- “In the middle of gameplay while unlimited lives and power-ups, the game freezes which runs out of your time; I believe the time on the unlimited glitches as well and gives you way less time than what you should have had.”
stability
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The game experiences significant stability issues, with frequent freezing and glitches reported by users, particularly at higher levels. While some players enjoy the gameplay and storyline, the persistent lag and unintentional actions caused by these freezes detract from the overall experience. Despite occasional improvements, many users express frustration over the game's instability, which can hinder progress and enjoyment.
- “I have experienced no glitches or problems loading anything, and I'm so glad to finally have a great game that doesn't require a purchase halfway through to continue playing!”
- “Easy and relaxing game with no glitches or ads.”
- “I thoroughly enjoyed this game until the third case when the game just freezes.”
- “It freezes a lot during the game.”
- “The game is really cool and entertaining but I didn't give it 5 stars because the screen freezes often and is really annoying.”
humor
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players enjoying the witty banter, amusing characters, and clever dialogue that enhance the overall experience. Many reviews highlight the blend of humor with engaging murder mystery plots, making the gameplay entertaining and light-hearted. The campy nature of the characters and the smart writing contribute to a fun atmosphere, providing a welcome distraction and keeping players engaged.
- “I love the humorous banter between the leads.”
- “The plot and writing is personable and humorous, and the artwork is perfect for the game.”
- “The writing is funny and smart, and the art style is great.”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
61%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its relaxing and playful qualities that enhance the overall experience, while others express disappointment over recent changes that they find annoying or less fitting. Many users enjoy the nostalgic feel of the previous music, likening it to classic detective series, and some even find the current soundtrack calming and engaging. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere for many, there are notable criticisms regarding recent updates.
- “The visual style is clean and beautiful, the characters endearing, and the music is playful while setting the tone of a classic who-done-it.”
- “I find the music very relaxing and the gameplay and stories quite engaging.”
- “I absolutely love the music, definitely different.”
- “I do miss the old music though, was much more Sam Spade noir style. Outstanding work, devs!”
- “Why...why did you change the music?!!!!”
- “Just sad that all the sounds and music got changed with this last update.”
grinding
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often feeling that it detracts from the enjoyment. While some appreciate the challenge, many express dissatisfaction with the repetitive nature of gameplay and the necessity to complete numerous puzzles to progress. This has led to mixed reviews, with several users rating the game lower due to its grind-heavy mechanics.
- “It becomes very tedious to try and advance when you have to do a puzzle for every little thing.”
- “Unless you are prepared to fork out your hard-earned money, this game becomes repetitive and tedious.”
- “I didn't agree to having to play all the games to make a move... tedious!”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game is well-optimized, featuring appealing visuals and solid gameplay that runs smoothly. Players appreciate the smooth performance and the creative puzzle features that enhance the experience.
- “The visuals are very appealing and the gameplay is solid and runs smoothly.”
- “This game runs smoothly and you get great boosts.”
- “Runs smoothly and has creative features in the puzzles you don't always see in games of this type.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
The game's atmosphere is generally appreciated, though some users find inconsistencies in the difficulty labeling of levels, which can detract from the experience. There are suggestions for making the game more user-friendly, particularly in educational settings.
- “I like the atmosphere of the game, but as another user mentioned, many of the levels are misclassified as hard or super hard, while some of the regular levels are actually very challenging.”
- “Is there any way to make the game more user-friendly for a school atmosphere?”
- “The game lacks a cohesive atmosphere, making it feel disjointed and uninviting.”
- “The overall ambiance is dull and uninspired, failing to immerse players in the experience.”
- “The atmosphere feels empty and lifeless, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for being unengaging, with users describing the story as boring and lacking depth.
- “There is also a boring story to go along with it.”
- “And a very boring story to boot.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players appreciate the high replayability of the game, noting that the minimal presence of ads enhances the experience compared to other games that are heavily ad-driven. This lack of interruptions allows for more enjoyable and repeated play sessions.
- “The minimal ads really enhance the replay value, setting it apart from other games that bombard you with interruptions.”
- “Each playthrough feels fresh and engaging, encouraging me to dive back in for more.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for another round.”