Release Date: 05/03/2020
Played On: Win
Available On: NS / Win
Time Played: 27h 10m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Mediatonic
Publisher: The Irregular Corporation
Puzzle games are often doomed to be limited in scope, as they involve some kind of abstract game mechanics that have been taken from real world equivalents. Translating something like a sudoku puzzle into a video game actually appears to be a difficult task, at least if you're trying to jazz it up a little and not just make another cookie cutter version of the same thing. With that in mind, I'm thrilled to have discovered that Murder by Numbers is to Picross, as Huniepop is to Match 3.
Hold up a minute though, as I'm sure the mere mention of Huniepop will conjure certain images of sexy fairies and a harem of ladies to try and date. That's not the bit I'm talking about though, as Huniepop was actually a very competent and entertaining match-3 puzzle game, the whole dating-sim angle simply enhanced the original game and provided context for your actions. I don't think anyone was expecting to see a sexy match-3 take the gaming world by storm, but Huniepop is a testament to how well two themes can be mashed together.
Similarly, in Murder by Numbers we are treated to something in the same vein, although this time it's traditional picross puzzles, and a good old murder mystery. However, where Huniepop managed to fire on all cylinders, Murder by Numbers lags behind just a little thanks to focusing on the wrong side of the meld. Suffice to say that this is one game where the story and visual novel elements are much more prevalent than the puzzles and picross mechanics.
The story is relatively straight forward; we play as a woman called Honor, who is at that time in her life where things are all up in the air and she doesn't really know what's going on. Thankfully though, at her friend's TV studio someone gets murdered while she is visiting, opening up a prime opportunity to practice her detective skills and search for the culprit. Along the way she finds a robot called Scout who ends up hanging around and being an invaluable assistant to Honor as they set about solving the mystery.
The game is split into set chapters, each with their own murder to solve despite the main story continuing throughout. While each chapter brings new locations and characters, the core group are persistent from start to finish and by the end it's up to us to determine who has been killing all these people based on evidence we find and conversations we have. Initially we get to talk to everyone and interview them about the evidence we have on hand, which means new questions and dialogue will open up when additional clues are discovered.
This is where Scout comes in, as they are able to scan specific spots in the environment to take a close look and find evidence that otherwise could be missed. If you're playing along at home you might have guessed that this is where the picross puzzles come in, and you'd be right. Each time Scout performs a "scan" on an item, person, or scene, we are presented with a picross puzzle to solve. They range from stupidly easy, to mild head scratchers, but there definitely aren't any high level puzzles on offer here. Unfortunately this also relates directly to the balance between story and puzzle solving.
Most of your time in Murder by Numbers will be spent in conversations with other characters you meet and interview for their opinions and theories, which may or may not be relevant to the case. In fact this visual novel aspect takes up so much time that it seems like they didn't have room for any more picross puzzles, not to mention any harder and more challenging versions. The game feels like it never really delivers on the picross angle, but perhaps I have a warped perspective, as I already am in the habit of completing a picross every day on my mobile phone.
Take note though, this imbalance and short number of puzzles to solve is just about my only complaint for Murder by Numbers. Overall the game is an entertaining murder mystery where you actually have to make a decision in the end based on the evidence you've gathered along the way. The characterisations may seem a little unrealistic here and there, but if anything it's because they're larger than life and fairly dynamic as a result. There are some truly funny gags peppered through the story, and the general plot does a good job of keeping things moving and on task.
The loop will often take the form of starting with a story segment, using Scout to search for clues and solving picross puzzles along the way, talking to characters about everything you found, then following another story segment that links to the next scenario. As someone who likes visual novels and story-heavy games, I didn't mind this focus on story all that much, but I was still a little disappointed that there weren't twice as many puzzles.
Although, this seems to be a common theme with certain games, which I can only assume comes down to budgets and development limitations. I recently finished playing another game called Assemble With Care, which ended much, much earlier than I would have liked, as I could have kept on playing its main puzzle mechanics ten times longer. It might sound weird coming from someone who always gets excited about narratives and story, but in these puzzle games all I want to do is solve more puzzles.
Perhaps this is what made Huniepop feel so well paced and balanced, as you had the option of playing as many match-3 games as you wanted to play. Even when you'd finally maxed out all the dating aspects of the game, you could still continue to play the puzzles until you got bored and moved on.
Even with a bunch of bonus puzzles to complete that aren't part of the main story, Murder by Numbers feels bit light on the puzzle side of life, but it still managed to tell an interesting murder mystery. The blend of mechanics between picross puzzle solving and visual novel actually make enough sense to work and are an enjoyable way to break up the gameplay. Perhaps I'm being greedy by wanting more, but it should stand as a compliment to the game that when it finished I wanted to keep going.
As an aside, the art is well realised, even if it isn't my favourite style, but I enjoy the design decisions that were made and all the characters are emotive and show a lot of personality. The writing is decent and didn't make me cringe (always a plus), and the soundtrack was entertaining enough to get stuck in my head each time I played.
Overall there really isn't anything wrong with Murder by Numbers, which is a somewhat dismissive way of saying that it's actually a lot of fun and a good game. Sure I would like to have more of a focus on the picross element, but maybe there are other players out there who struggle with the puzzles and hated every minute. Your own mileage will no doubt depend on how much you enjoy picross puzzles and semi-anime-inspired visual novel mysteries.
At least it's always nice to find a game that blends two genres and pulls it off with style and context that makes sense. In this, Murder by Numbers has done an admirable job and I have no complaints... I Just want more!