Step into the shoes of Edward Locke, a robotic engineer who arrives at Space Station 52 to replace a missing mechanic. However, Ed’s first day takes a dark turn when he discovers the body of his predecessor, marked with the signature of the Keychain Killer – a serial murderer who leaves keys in the wounds of their victims. Now Ol’ Eddy boy has made it his mission to find out who committed the Murder on Station 52.
Platforms: PC – Steam, GOG, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
Players: Single-player
Genres: Point & Click, Mystery, Detective, Puzzle
Developer: Made From Strings
Price: £12.99
Murder on Station 52 Review
You arrive at Station 52 and are immediately thrust into a weird and wonderful world of quirky alien characters. As you get to know them you’ll also be navigating through the intricacies of the space station, solving challenging puzzles, and interacting with said characters. The game’s hand-drawn art style and jazzy soundtrack add to the immersive experience with hints of film noir detective movies from years ago. Edward narrates his actions, his thoughts, and everything in that familiar style of film noir movies, creating a distinct atmosphere that blends classic detective stories with sci-fi settings.
The gameplay involves collecting evidence, questioning suspects, and piecing together clues to uncover the identity of the Keychain Killer. Players are required to think both logically and creatively, as the puzzles often have unconventional solutions that require a keen eye and sharp wit.
Who Dunnit
The main aim is to figure out who committed the murder as you might expect. However, I didn’t really feel like I was ever investigating a murder. Moreover, you move from location to location and meet some residents. They then ask you to do some arbitrary tasks which involve puzzle-solving. Then you have a quick conversation with them – sometimes not even remotely about the murder, and move on.
I think it’s probably fair to say that solving puzzles is the main focus of the game. Most of them are self-explanatory and, whilst requiring some thinking, aren’t too difficult to solve. However, there were a few that left me and my partner stumped. One we had to look up and I’m still convinced it’s wrong as the answer doesn’t make sense when compared to the clues. Personally, I find moments like these really frustrating as it makes me feel like I’ve been doing something wrong the whole time but I’m 99.9% sure had the logic right but it was still wrong.
Additionally, there are times when you have to use certain items on objects or combine them in certain ways as you do in most point-and-click titles. Again, I feel like I tried the correct combinations but they didn’t work only for them to then work later on. It could be an issue with the controls as I was using a controller for most of the game. But I just don’t know.
The Mystery Unravels
There is lots to like about Murder on Station 52, the art is cool. The characters are fun and a bit silly. Its voice acted throughout – although don’t expect too much in terms of performances. And there are some fun puzzles to solve. However, I just can’t overlook how it ended. It just felt so random. Obviously, I don’t want to spoil anything, but the sub-plot just came out of nowhere and wasn’t convincing because there wasn’t really any build-up to it.
As I mentioned, investigating the murder didn’t feel much like an investigation. When it came to the solve it was an easy choice to figure out who it was which felt underwhelming.
Conclusion
Murder on Station 52 isn’t a bad game overall. At times it’s great with some very cool puzzles. Personally, I loved the style of it too. I just felt like the story let itself down and some of the puzzles didn’t make a lot of sense.
If you’re looking for a purely puzzle-solving game, you’ll get a good few hours out of it. However, if you’re looking for a gripping story and some more in-depth detective work, you will be left wanting.
-Will
