Who doesn’t like a good “whodunit”? Agatha Christie is a household name not only in the UK, but beyond. Her stories are all about devious and clever murder plans being solved by eccentric characters, the most famous ones being Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. Despite the serious topic of murder, the stories themselves are surprisingly cosy. It is more about solving the mystery, seeing clues that others do not, and a dramatic speech at the end that exposes the murderer and their heist to the whole group of suspects. For anyone who cannot get enough of guessing and holding out for clues, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders on Nintendo Switch promises great potential to start sleuthing themselves.
Certainly, being partial to using clues for piecing a story together is necessary in Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders. Slipping into the shoes of Hercule Poirot, who receives a mysterious anonymous letter, players must soon travel to the first of many murder scenes to investigate. The title plays mostly like a point-and-click adventure, albeit with the left stick and A buttons having to be used. This may slow things down a bit, but makes it possible to play on the go.
Using a cel-shaded style, players are soon enough investigating the first of many crime scenes in detail. Investigation includes witness observations and interviews, as well as searching for clues within the area of the crime. There are some puzzle-like elements, which mostly come into play when opening puzzle boxes to find clues, and are reminiscent of the Room series, but some puzzles can feel a bit repetitive. Looking at you, letters from the murderer! Apart from them, however, it is all about checking the highlights and saying the right thing to the right person.
Hints are available should one get stuck; however, there are instances when the gameplay itself is the issue. For example, during the playthrough there were a couple of times when moving an object did not trigger the next event because it was not moved enough, causing great confusion. One thing that stuck out was the fact that there was a bit of hand-holding going on during observations, by visually indicating being close to a clue, making things too easy. Perhaps this was a choice because the game is on Nintendo Switch and clicking on everything can be tiresome with utilising only the left stick and A buttons, but it trivialises this part of gameplay.
While there is an item inventory, it is very small. Items can be examined but there is overall little interaction with the inventory, apart from retrieving the odd item to use on an object. It feels like more could have been done here.
Generally, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders is a very calm game. Examining crime scenes and figuring out the series of events is paramount, so players do need to pay close attention; however, it is difficult to make mistakes. Little scenes, animations and voice acting keep the game engaging and make it feel alive (despite the dead bodies). The plot itself is, by nature, quite intriguing, and the characters, their personalities and motivations support the plot and intrigue.
The game is segmented into chapters, with each one encompassing one murder. Towards the end of each chapter, the player must recreate the sequence of events correctly, so it is therefore important to pay attention to all the clues and witness statements. In other words, Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders is a title that requires a good amount of concentration. Other small achievements, such as earning points for acting like Poirot or unlocking trophies, are nice gimmicks, and most likely aim at replayability, but they are not really motivation enough to come back after completing the game.
