Murdered: Soul Suspect (PS4) Review

 Murdered: Soul Suspect (PS4) 7/10

Hello everyone and welcome to another game review. Today, let’s take a look at a game that flew under the radar, and that was released for both the seventh and eighth console generations. Murdered: Soul Suspect is a mystery puzzle solving detective game that was released on June 3, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game was developed by Airtight Games and published by Square Enix. Upon its release, the game did fairly well, but it wasn’t as popular as the other titles that came out that year.

MSS is a game that I had my eye on for a while. Although it’s a really cool concept, I do think it could have been fleshed out a bit more. It’s not a bad game, but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of story and gameplay. Let’s begin.

Our story follows Ronan O'Connor, a hardened detective that grew up with a troubled childhood. After meeting his soon to be wife Julia, she introduces him to her brother Rex, who is a cop for the Salem Police Department. Rex gets him into the police force and is quickly promoted to detective. While this is going on, a string of murders has been stirring up the silent streets of Salem. A serial killer by the name of the Bell Killer has been killing his victims in the same fashion that witches were executed during the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600's. After a fatal confrontation with the killer, Ronan is killed. After he dies, his ghost is still present. His late wife Julia comes in and says that he needs to resolve any unsolved business before he can move on to the next world. The rest of the game is about Ronan trying to solve the Bell Killer case so that he can reunite with his wife.

I love this story. There's nothing like a good ole fashioned murder mystery to entertain yourself. What makes this story unique is the paranormal side of the story. Ronan is a ghost for the whole game (minus the intro), so you'll be dealing with other ghosts and demons. You'll be using your detective skills and ghostly powers to uncover the truth behind the Bell Killer murders.

The characters for the game kinda suck, except Ronan. Ronan is obviously the best character because of his great character development. He is covered in tattoos and the opening of the game greatly shows his past through his tattoos. Gotta be honest, this is probably one of my favorite video game openings next up Deus Ex: Human Revolution and InFamous. Joy, the witness, is decent, but nothing really gripping about her. Rex kinda reminded me of Delsin's brother from InFamous Second Son. The rest of the cast sucks. Like yeah you got their personalities and shit, but no actual development except for Baxter, and even then he's still a dick.

The actual murder investigation though is great. I'd put it up there with Heavy Rain and Persona 4. I love the way the case unfolds as you investigate the previous murders and connect everything together. I will say though that the plot twist of who the killer is is disappointing. Like it makes sense, but it could be better.

Graphically, the game looks great. It's not hyper detailed like modern games, but it still looks good. I love the overall look and feel of the game. It's all grim and dark like how detective stories should be.

Music is trash. Like there's a tune that'll play when you're dealing with demons, but other than that, there's no music for the game. You can argue that a game like this doesn't really need a soundtrack or was probably going for a "The Last of Us" kind of sound, but it just doesn't work. Why not have a song that plays when you're running around Salem or when you're investigating a scene. Like a little tune or melody would work here. Everything else about the game (sound wise) is good. Gotta say, I love Ronan's voice too.

The gameplay is a mixed bag for me. When it comes to the actual investigations, the game is amazing. These parts of the game remind me of Connor's investigations from Detroit: Become Human. You have to find clues and leads at the investigation sites in order to continue with the game. There are other sections where you have to escort Joy through a restricted area. I wasn't too fond of these sections as they were too easy.

The final part of the gameplay is the exploration. All throughout Salem and the key locations you'll visit, there's a shit load of collectables to find. I'm talking about around 180 collectables in the game. These collectables are tied to certain characters and events within the game. Julia, Salem's history, the Bell Killer, the Witch Hunts, etc. There's also exclusive collectables for each level of the game plus Salem. If you find all of these collectables in a level, the game will tell you a ghost story involving those objects. My favorite ghost story has to be "The Watery Grave" from the apartments. All the other ones were eh. Anyway, there's WAY too many collectables. I get that these collectables are here to pan out the game and give more background info for this game's lore, but there's no reason for there to be almost 200 collectables in this game. I thought the Assassin's Creed series was bad but this is ridiculous.

As you explore levels, you'll sometimes run into demons. These guys are just here to fuck with you. If they spot you, they'll start eating your soul. These guys helped mix up the gameplay a bit and are a decent addition to the game. I loved their designs too. 

So since you're a ghost, you have ghost abilities. Walk through walls (that's not glowing blue), poltergeist, possess, influence one's actions, teleport, and reveal/hide spectral objects in the world. You'll be using your abilities to traverse Salem and solve the case. You can also talk with other ghosts. There's four ghosts in particular that'll be needing your help. If you help them, they'll be able to move on to the next world. Sadly though, I do wish there were more of these side cases to do considering that a major selling point for the game is detective work. 

Overall, this game is a mixed bag. The story is great with some excellent gameplay elements, but on the other hand, it's littered with weird design choices. Minor little thing right here: I do find it weird how there's blatant advertising for Square Enix's other games. On the computers, you can find the Deus Ex Human Revolution pause menu and in the police station, there's straight up posters of Just Cause 2. Again, weird design choices. Anyway, if you want a quick murder mystery to wrap your brain around for a good 10 hours, go play this game. Also, this game is a very easy platinum trophy to get as everything is story related and collectables.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.

This is Zorgak, signing off.