An Act of Murder

There is a lot to like here -- I am a sucker for a good drawing room mystery in the style of Agatha Christie or Dorothy L. Sayers, and the opening of this game feels like a classic set up: a small group of people who know each other well, a few secrets, a body. Huang's writing is on point, and the NPCs are interesting. And the way that you solve this game -- not just by figuring out the murder, but by laying out the evidence -- is very smart and prevents you from stumbling into a correction solution.

Unfortunately, I think the randomized aspect of the game -- the killer and method of death vary from one play to another -- detracts from its impact. It's clever and no doubt it was fun to code up, but I think it ultimately detracts from the development of the NPCs. I found a lot of actions and topics that weren't implemented -- showing a potential murder weapon to a suspect should elicit some reaction! -- and asking an NPC about a subject more than once got the same response each time. I would have preferred, personally, a game with one solution and deeper development of the NPCs.

But that isn't the goal Huang set for himself, and he did what he set out to do well.