Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot - The First Cases Review (PS4)

Developed by: Blazing Griffin

Published by : Microïds

Platforms: PS4, PC, Switch, Xbox One

Release Date: September 27, 2021

Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot – The First Cases was reviewed on a PS4

Who doesn’t enjoy a good whodunit? Well if you’re a fan of the traditional period drama / murder mystery with each character doing their best to hide their true motivations and their dirty little secrets, then this one’s for you.

Hercule Poirot – The First Cases feels like a seamless continuation of the novels. The story is engaging, thrilling and has enough twists and turns to keep you glued to your screen for the entirety of the game, even if it’s a bit lacking in the gameplay department.

What is Hercule Poirot – The First Cases?

It’s a top-down detective mystery with a heavy emphasis on connecting clues and evidences, interrogating the usual suspects and discovering the intricate relationships between each of the game’s well-written characters.

During the prologue, you start out as a young Poirot as you investigate a missing bracelet in the mansion of the high-class family of Van Den Bosch. A family led by the despicable Cassandra, who mistreats her workers, belittles Poirot and acts like a real uhm female dog. I hated her right from the start, and this goes to show that the game’s writing is outstanding.

You meet an array of interesting characters, each with their own quirks, temperaments and characteristics that help flesh them out. I knew all of their names by heart minutes after meeting them and the writing does an awesome job of getting you acquainted with them.

The first chapter fast forwards a few years and sees an older, more experienced detective Poirot as he’s invited by one of the characters from the prologue to her engagement party, as an attempt to uncover who’s been blackmailing her. It’s not long though before things go awry, as one of the guests is brutally murdered and it’s up to you to unravel the identity of the assailant.

My Little Grey Cells

Any clues or evidence you gather are intricately organized within Poirot’s mind maps. A cerebral pin board where both you and Poirot can link the clues together and advance your investigation further. These mind maps seem daunting at first, and the first few hours of the game fail at showing you that, they’re easier than they seem. The game did a bad job of explaining what clues to link and failed to mention that most of the related clues are close to one another. They almost never overlap visually as well so the player should’ve been at least informed of that instead of having to try out every solution possible.

All of these issues however were resolved with the inclusion of a hint system that was introduced in a recent patch. It’s an automatic hint system, so there’s no way to activate it manually, which is much more intuitive and allows you to do an actual effort before instinctively mashing the hint button whenever you are stuck for more than 5 seconds.

The linear formula of the game does bring its own share of issues. There’s no wrong answers or deductions, which heavily limits the game’s replayability and it ends up feeling like an interactive visual novel of sorts instead of a fully-fledged crime solving game.

Top-Notch Presentation

The First Cases’ presentation is top notch, as the characters are all fully voiced, with some talented voices behind them. It was a delight to hear them interact with one another and the acting successfully portrayed the full range of emotions that the characters went through.

The game’s visual style is also impressive and striking, with a vibrant and colorful palette and locations that are well designed, filled with tiny details sprinkled throughout that made each room feel lived in and memorable. There is a bit of repetitiveness in the game’s locales, especially since the majority of the story takes place within a single manor. That’s to be expected though from a whodunit, that usually fits all of its characters under the same roof.

Overall,

Hercule Poirot – The First Cases might be a tad simplistic and linear in its mechanics. However, the story told here is top notch and does an amazing job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. Technically, the game ran without a hitch and I rarely encountered any bugs or glitches. The voice acting is stellar as well and succeeds at fleshing out the characters, especially with the solid writing backing it up.

If you’re scouring the market for a satisfying mystery-solving game that’s easy to pick up and play, then Hercule Poirot’s latest adventure is the game for you. If you’re a fan of games that take place in a modern setting instead, then make sure to check out our review of Murder Mystery Machine. It’s developed by Blazing Griffin as well, the same developers of Hercule Poirot – The First Cases.

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Special thanks go to Microïds for providing us with a review code.

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You Should Play Hercule Poirot – The First Cases If:

Don’t mind the simplistic gameplay

Enjoy a good whodunit

Love the game’s vibrant visual style

Don’t mind the linearity of the storyline

Love gathering clues and interrogating suspects

Score:

8 / 10