REVIEW – This time Microids has not made a one-to-one adaptation of Agatha Christie’s work (there have been several Poirot games from them in recent years), but a little reworking of the idea by the French publisher (who, by the way, will release more games in a few days, leaving no time for anything else). The twist is that the story is set in the present day, and you can get off the train to find out who the murderer is.

Step aboard the legendary Orient Express and don the world’s most famous detective suit in a race against the clock to unmask the murderer.

Poirot

This time our detective is taller and healthier, which alone makes him different. His personality has also changed, as he is no longer the goofball we have seen before. The game environment has been expanded compared to the original. This time we are not only on the train (where the murder took place) and a new character has been added to the story. Joanna Locke is a woman who was knocked out on the train, and she’s the one we control as the story slowly begins to piece together how it all happened. So the interpretation of the original work is a new one, even for those who know the story by heart, and it’s expanded at the end by Microids Lyon, because just when you think, well, that’s the end of the story, suddenly you find yourself in Venice following a suspicious person. In this way, the game manages to keep its audience engaged for a little over 10 hours, even though towards the end it becomes rather abstract about what exactly we are supposed to do. This isn’t helped by the visuals, which look a bit like an early PlayStation 4 game… but the lowest common denominator is to blame, as the Nintendo Switch is the weakest platform Agatha Christie: Murder On The Orient Express has ever been released for.

It’s not pretty, but the character models looked a bit better, but after that you could legitimately ask why they didn’t use the older, cartoony style, as it felt more appropriate. The look of the locations isn’t much better (and they’re severely limited in size), but at least they add variety. And the gameplay is exactly what you would expect from a Poirot game: all the characters are worth listening to, and often worth going back to, because as people talk, some will tell you something new, and so may slip up, which may put others off, making them suspicious. The events are in chronological order and the clues are paired with the characters, but of course the mind map is not left out (it would have been a great sin to leave it out): Poirot’s tiny gray brain cells have to be represented somehow!), which helps you to know how to proceed. Sometimes the solution is not easy, but that’s to be expected: the genre was always about abstract thinking.

Lock

The puzzles (which were not left out of Agatha Christie: Murder On The Orient Express) did not really fit into the game. It’s possible that Microids put them into Poirot’s story, because without them the game would have been a bit too short, but it all feels rather forced (and as always, the result is simply that when you limit someone or something like that). Of course, in many cases it was appropriate, but where it wasn’t, it might have made more sense to leave out the extra puzzles, because it would have felt more natural in the overall picture, which, it should be added, is entirely linear. So it’s not going to be a game that you can replay all the time (e.g. Resident Evil 3 Remake was linear, but you can buy a lot of items in the shop, like an unlimited rocket launcher, if you play it through again and again…), but you play it once and then maybe pick it up again in a year or two.

Oh, there’s a little secret element, but it sounds bizarre to describe: golden moustaches hidden here and there. Speaking of mustaches, Poirot’s is quite a sight to behold, and you have to get used to it first, because no joke, but he has VERY characterful facial hair. It’s almost comical in a way. He looks like Kenneth Branagh, but that’s odd given how his films flopped.

2023

Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express gets a seven out of ten because it is basically good, but not excellent. Perhaps Poirot’s personality should not have been touched, because we are used to the somewhat chubby (but genius) detective sometimes taking it lightly, which is an effective ice-breaker when investigating murders (inner pain and trauma can mainly be covered up by humor, see the case of Luis in Resident Evil 4 Remake, especially in the Separate Ways DLC). A recommended buy for fans of the genre and Agatha Christie fans, but it’s a bit ugly and you could have expected more (maybe if they had left out the Switch). The story is well seasoned, but the execution is not perfect. But for those who want to investigate and don’t like Sherlock Holmes stories, Poirot is a good choice.

-V-

Publisher: Microids

Developer: Microids Lyon

Style: investigation

Release: October 19, 2023.