Murdered:SoulSuspect

InvestigatingtheSceneofMy
Death
http://www.gamescdkey.com/news/murdered-soul-suspect-investigating-
the-scene-of-my-death
IhavemixedemotionswalkingawayfrommyfirsthandsonsessionwithSquareEnixandAirtight
GamesMurdered:SoulSuspectonthePlayStation4,anditsnotbecauseofsomeinternalconflict
aboutbeingkilledintheopeningcutsceneofthegame;thatswhathookedmeandeveryoneelse
whohasheardanythingaboutthesleepertitle.Thepremiseofembodyingapolicedetectivein
Ronan OConnor and having to investigate your own death, all set against the backdrop of the
infamoustownofSalem,Massachusettsisveryinterestingandafreshconceptualspininagenre
thatisrarelyexploredinvideogamesasitis.Unfortunately,Ifeartheexecution(pununintended)
of Airtight Games many ideas may end up lacking, potentially leaving the game in a limbo not
dissimilartotheoneitsleadcharacterfindshimselfin.IhopeImwrong,butreadonasIjustify
my concerns and give my overall impressions of the first hour of the game.
Since the E3 reveal, and subsequent gameplay trailers showcasing the introductory level of
Murdered:SoulSuspect,thingshavechangedquitesignificantly,mostlyforthepurposeofadding
intutorialelementsandfleshingoutRonansbackgroundfromthegetgo.Now,beforewewitness
Ronansfatalfall,amontageplaysasthemanhimselfnarratestheeventsofhislifethatshaped
anddefinedwhohebecame.Notallofthemwerepositiveexperiences,exposingjusthowdeep
Ronanscriminalpastwas.EverymilestonemomentisrepresentedbyitsowntattooonRonans
body,actingaseternal,moralreminders.Mostpertinentamongstthememoriesisthepassingof
Ronans wife Julia, flashing before his eyes as he plummets from a fourth story window to the
concrete street below. He awakes, however, as the player gains control, urged to engage in
contextual actions such as simply pushing a thumbstick towards a door handle and pressing
Square. You wouldnt be blamed for interpreting the nature of its implementation repeated
and basic as an insult to your intelligence.
Thegamecontinuesinitsneedlessattemptstoteachushowtousethumbsticks,asRonanlooks
back to discover his physical body on the ground before we are prompted to press the left
thumbstickupwardsandtouchhisfacewithSquare.Doingsojoltsthemusclesinhisfaceand
revealsthatheisstillbreathing.Ronanthenprescribestothebrilliantlyselfawarenotionthathe
mayindeedrejoinhisconsciousnesswithhisbodybyaligninghimselfwithit.Helaysdown,leading
toyouguesseditanothersomewhatveiledtutorialinusingthumbsticks,thistimeaskingthe
player to rotate Ronans limbs in order to match up with his bodys lifeless position. Thankfully,
learning the clearly difficult navigational controls is less contrived from this point on, although
frequent cinematics interrupting the gameplay persists for the remainder of the introductory
sequence.Unsuccessful,thekillerthenreappears,pickingupRonansgunandfinishingthejob,so
to speak, with seven gunshots to the torso, bringing our protagonist fully into the afterlife.
Immediately,Ronanisdrawntotheproverbialwhitelight,whereJuliaiswaitingtogreethimat
theotherendofthebridge,whichhecannotcrossuntilalllooseendsfromhisexistencearetied
up,namelysecuringpeacebysolvinghisownmurder.ThelightfadesandRonanseesanotherlost
soul,agirl,whomwefollowintoanalley.WhatproceedsisourfirstinteractionusingMurdered:
SoulSuspectslitedialoguetree,whichinthisinstancepresentsconsistsofmultipleoptionswith
nofollowthroughonany.Theconversationisveryoneway,withtheplayergiventhechanceto
askallfourpossiblequestions.Itisclear,however,thatthiswillnotalwaysbethecase,asspeaking
toastalkingspiritwithmalevolentintentagainstafrightened,littlegirllateronpresentsonlytwo
linesofdialogue,andselectingeitherchoiceblocksouttheotherone.Returningtothestreet,the
policehavefinallyarrived.Noseyciviliansandsupposedwitnessesareinteractingwithpolicemen,
all of whom pivotal or not can be possessed and their minds read.Officially starting the
investigation,piecesofevidencearenumberedwheretheylay,abletobeinspected.Doingsoadds
the related clue to your journal, accessible with the touch pad on the Dualshock 4 controller.
As aforementioned, Ronan can possess any living being, but will have limited options once
controllingthemdependingontheirpurpose;forexample,apolicemenwhoismakingnotesabout
the crime can be possessed to peek at the notebook through his eyes, and the chat occurring
betweenanothertwocanbeeavesdropped.OnceintheapartmentbuildingRonanwasbrutally
thrown out of (from 4As window), the player comes across another policemen, this one being
prone to influence as we compel him to shuffle photos around for a clear view. As the game
progresses,newpowerswillbeunlockedthesearejustthemostprimitive.Havingtheabilityto
listentothethoughtsofeverysinglepersoninthegameworldisneatandallowsforsomequirky
moments,suchaslearningacameramanisinfatuatedbyhisfemalefieldjournalist,butthewriting
is quite uninspired.The writing,across the board in fact, can be quite platitudinous. Ronan in
particular is often written to seem either too inexplicably calm and enlightened, or entirely
imperceptive at other times.
When the player decides they have enough information to make a deduction, they must press
Triangle and pick a series of clues that hold the key to answering the given inquest. Doing so
successfullyinyourfirsteffortrewardsa3badgerating,althoughthefunctionandimportanceof
thisratingsystemisnottrulyexplainedinthisbeginningsectionofthegame.Onceanansweris
deducted, the next step in the investigation can commence. Before gaining entry into the
apartment after learning the rest of the ropes through dialogue objects can not be physically
handledandtheexteriorofanyconsecratedbuildingcannotbephasedthroughIattemptedto
walkawayfromthelocationjusttoseehowAirtightmanagetheboundariesofthespaceand
was met with a fadein black screen that faded back out, Ronan having been forced to face his
objective. Im not sure if thats better than an invisible boundary, but in regards to this initial
chapteratleast,itaddsyetanotherstartstopaspecttothealreadyheavilyinterruptedgameplay.
Butonthatnote,youllbepleasedtoknowthat,bytheendofthehour,thegamebecomesmuch
more fluid and unbroken.
Exploringthefourlevelsof theapartmentbuilding,sidemissions,collectiblesandallmannerof
expository information can be discovered. A young woman who had died in the boiler room
requestedourhelpinfindingherbody,anduponscanningtheapartmentandreadingtheminds
ofhernextdoorneighbours,anelderlycouple,wellletsjustsaythatbeingondrugsandplaying
obnoxiouslyloudmusiccanapparentlyawakenthekillerinanyonewhosbeendeprivedofsleep
forlongenough.Thefinalreleasespromiseshundredsofcases,factsandsidequeststoencounter.
Makingourwaytothesiteofthestrugglewithourmurderer,demonsmaketheirpresencefelt.
Sneakinguponthemgrantstheopportunitytodestroythem,butiftheyspotyoufirst,theonly
chance of survival (relative, I know they suck out your souls) is to hide within the lingering
remnants of past residents. This mechanic replaces the old one shown at E3 where the player
instead had to hop between bodies of patrolling humans.
Finally arriving atapartment 4A, we slowly piece together the series of events. Notably, Airtight
GameslistenedasthememoryshowingthekillerbendingthebarRonanoriginallyusedtodefend
himself(adetailnotillustratedintheestablishingcutscene)hasbeenexcised.Notingall14points
ofinterest,wehaveourleadinthegirlwhowitnessedthefightandfledviathefireescape,ending
our preview. Keep an eye on Capsule Computers asMurdered: Soul Suspectwill have another
chance to impress next month; I hope to delve further into the game with a newbuild, prior to
itsfullreleaseonJune5inAustraliaandNewZealand.Untilthen,withallthecriticismsaired,Iam
purelyhopefulthattheyare,forthemostpart,abyproductofabrandnew,creativeIPneeding
toestablishitselfbeforeeventuallysettlingintoitswritingandgameplay.
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