Murdered: Soul Suspect Reviews
While its concept is unique, its execution leaves an incredible amount to be desired. Unfortunately, the mystery of Ronan's murder is not nearly as thought-provoking as the mystery of when Murdered: Soul Suspect will be offered at a discount.
Judging by the screens, people may think that Murdered: Soul Suspects is a survival horror title, especially with the pics of the demons. It is far from that, as it tells a solid story and is more categorized as a suspenseful thriller. The lack of challenge in the game and the redundancy really hurt the title in the long run. The game is more similar to the likes of Heavy Rain, as it seems like more of an interactive movie. While the game looks and runs great, it certainly will not be for everyone.
Murdered: Soul Suspect is far from a perfect game, especially with some of the mechanics it has, that feel out of place. However the story and characters, along with the setting do a great job of entertaining and we'd definitely like to see more in the future.
The concept and setting here were ripe for out-of-left-field explosiveness, but due to a lack of direction and capitalisation, and likely a small budget, all we're left with is a lifeless game that fails to live up to its potential.
For all its shortcomings, Murdered remains an enjoyable romp. The lack of direct combat never becomes an issue, and the pacing of the main plot is just right. What immersion is lost through lazy NPC behaviour and limited interaction with the world is gained back by dint of the wonderfully sinister atmosphere and the likable leads. Not an instant classic but likely to do well in cult circles, Murdered: Soul Suspect is a new approach to an old genre. On the whole, there's not enough substance to make a second playthrough viable, so the value for money is questionable, yet the mystery as it stands is well worth investigating.
In an adventure game, once the puzzles are over, the story is all you've got. Murdered: Soul Suspect, though it was diverting like a bit of light reading, never really hooked me. And that's its biggest problem.
Like its protagonist, Murdered is dead on arrival. But if you do play it, gather an audience and have some fun. Sure, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but it's the best way to endure this particular afterlife.
I really wanted to like Murdered: Soul Suspect more than I did. The graphics are awesome. The voice actors do a fantastic job. The environments are interesting, especially when you see the ghostly versions of old Salem overlapped over the modern day version. The story is genuinely interesting and kept me playing far after the fun had drained out of the game. But in all honesty, I cannot recommend it. With a couple tweaks, this could have been an awesome game, but as it stands Murderer: Soul Suspect is dead on arrival.
It's easy to be overwhelmed by the many problems in Murdered: Soul Suspect, but if you dig a little deeper, there's an interesting story to uncover.
Murdered: Soul Suspect isn't revolutionary and the core gameplay doesn't offer much of note, but fans of supernatural stories and mystery-solving games will probably enjoy most of what they find in this title.
Murdered: Soul Suspect is a title with many great ideas, but not great execution. Its intriguing story had me hooked from beginning to end and the town of Salam brought much history to its troubled past.The idea of being a ghost was presented well, it's execution was hindered by too much hand holding and no penalties to the choices and deductions the player makes.
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.
Despite the new power of the PS4, the town is essentially (if you'll excuse the pun) dead. NPCs stand or sit in the same place constantly, their faces devoid of emotion. The only one who actually looks alive is the man with seven glowing bullet holes in him.
While the story is focused and engaging, Murdered: Soul Suspect won't stand up to repeated playthroughs. In an age where we've been spoiled by Telltale's decision making mechanics and the ramifications of choice, Murdered feels decidedly one-dimensional. Without thought-provoking and involving puzzles or the strength of comedy seen in adventure games of yesteryear it's got little to fall back on.
Square Enix's Gumshoe-cum-ghost adventure had potential to be one of the most interesting games of the year, but ends up an case study in wasted potential.
Overall, Murdered: Soul Suspect is an enjoyable but simplistic mystery adventure which, although it features a well-detailed game world and well-written plot, is far too short for its own good. It's a game which I'd recommend to fans of this genre, but only at sale price.
Murdered: Soul Suspect is a valiant effort and that's always worth acknowledging. In spite of all the flaws, I do continue to go back for more, and I'm frequently driven by a desire to learn more about that ghostly world. This experience has nothing to do with making a character more powerful, or taking down a host of rampaging enemies (via weapons or guns).
If you're looking for a game that's different and enjoy paranormal lore, then I would recommend this to try out. I'm not disappointed on spending the money on launch day to play it. I certainly knew to expect something different and for that, Square Enix doesn't disappoint. A visually stunning game with wonderful writing.
'Murdered: Soul Suspect' is a throwback adventure game that delivers plenty of fun — no bullets required.
Murdered does its best to suffocate some great ideas while its investigative gameplay has its flaws. Yet there's something refreshing about this spooky detective story, and if you can live with some cardboard characters and scenery then the engaging narrative will pull you through. There's potential here for something smart, unusual and compelling, even if this first instalment doesn't quite make it happen.