Murderous Muses

Good mystery with lots of replay value, though much of the deducing takes place in the first run-through as you try to figure out the rules. Quibble: solution requires you to believe suspects are always telling the truth - if the victim was stabbed and the suspect says they hate sharp objects, you eliminate that suspect, Clue-style. Three puzzles you must solve before finishing become repetitious. Ingenious use of paintings for context and atmosphere, and the acting is well above average for video games.

Delightfully unsettling like all D'Avekki games. Now with the liminal space of a museum to explore in addition to the eccentric FMV we know and love. Amazing amount of world building in a small package. One character is obsessed with lab-grown celebrity meat. Thanks to the random game generation system, I felt I only got to see a small portion of the story in one playthrough, and didn't have enough evidence to solve the mystery. I promptly looked up the solution and had it spoiled. Don't be like me. It would have been better to play two or three times and experience the joy of figuring out how the game really works.

Out of all the games I've played when it comes to this studio, mechanically I like this one the best. Unlike some of these other reviews, I think the 3D sections are the best part of this game. Unlike Shapeshifting decectrive (which was a bit to passive for my tastes) and Dr Dekker 1 (which I found a bit too open-ended), the gameplay of this game provides a logic puzzle that is quite satisfying to solve. Reguarding the FMV cutscenes, I think this is their most intreguing cast of characters to date with my favourite lore to date. The camera work in this one of their games is also the least distracting, which helps. However, I do think the mechanics of this game aren't explained well enough and I wouldn't blame people getting lost because of it. Although this game is their most replayable, each playthrough taking 1-2 hours on average, the confrentation with the killer(s) could be more climatic. 7.5/10

So.. I do recommend this game as the aesthetic of this game with the paintings and the environment and music is very unique. It's also really cool that every time you replay the game everything changes, so it's almost like a new game and a new puzzle to solve each time, including a new murderer. However, the downfalls of this game, is how hard it is to figure out how to play within the first few hours. I've played it twice and I still only have 22% completion. I still haven't figured out many things and have tried to find tutorials or explanations but they're so hard to find, so you mostly just have to figure it out on your own, and it can be quite frustrating. But if you manage to put in the time and patience, and try it a few more times you'll eventually figure it out. Once you have, it feels very rewarding and it's fun to play detective in an art museum.

My partner and I were obsessed with this game for about a week! A fascinating setting, GREAT acting, and a fun mystery to solve! We really got into discussing things over dinner, then playing, then discussing more, and repeating daily until we completed everyone's rooms and got all the urns. Figuring out the murder each time via logical deduction was neat, and it was fun figuring out how to unlock which words we needed to progress. Our only complaints are the UI - with a controller it's a bit janky - and the fact that there isn't more of it. Bravo!

The Fourth game by D'Avekki Studios, as with each game there is something familiar and something new. It is a FMV game, but this time it is the first of their games where they have added a 3D-graphic gameplay section. As you work three nights as a nightwatch for the art gallery Argenta. The gallery Argenta is displaying the art of murdered artist Mordechai Grey, located on a most perculiar island of Mirlhaven. An island which seems to have a most odd history. You use putting up paintings in the correct place and order to get video clues to help you solve who murdered Mordechai Grey. Murderous Muses is another hit in my books. The acting and writing is superb yet again, as I've come to expect from D'Avekki Studios. The sound design and music is also fantastic. I can highly recommend this game to people who like FMV, Mystery and puzzle solving games.

I am a fan of D'Avekki's works. I went in with an open mind, having played the rest of the games, and knowing that there were some mixed reviews. My goal was to find my own footing, going in blind like how I went into Immortality. It was so meaningful in Immortality when I stumbled upon the story in my own way, so that is what I wanted to do in this game. I did maybe three playthroughs before looking anything up, and I felt quite dumb because I did miss out on [spoiler]the police interviews and that I could keep the urns in that side room[/spoiler]. I was just basing the killer on [spoiler]the actual story bits that dont change haha[/spoiler], but I thought I was just bad at guessing, as proven by the other games haha. After that, I understood why people would not recommend it, since it is not obvious how you should play, but I don't think that's a bad thing! I enjoyed learning while going, and if you keep this in mind, you will enjoy the game too! I also wanted to add that I like how, since Dekker, theyve experimented with the style of choosing a word and getting an answer from the character related to that word. The early days of Dekker could be quite frustrating figuring out what to say to get the character to give a good answer. Then with shapeshifting detective, they gave you multiple choices. I really like how in this game, [spoiler]there are many words, so with each clip, the player has to put the story together in their head, figuring out the timeline, plus with the help of those side character rooms paintings[/spoiler]. Love how D'Avekki is constantly evolving ! Looking forward to more.