Review of "A Party to Murder"

Review by David Welbourn

I'm not comfortable with murder mystery IFs, so I started the game very slowly and very cautiously, curbing my usual PC-as-kleptomaniac persona, and tried to act like a nice normal guest at my host's wine and cheese party. Of course, this advanced the plot not at all, but I did meet mostly everyone at party, asked them about each other, ate some cheese, drank some wine, looked at numerous furnishings, and generally had a nice time.

Hmph. But that's not what the game's about, is it? It looks like it's up to me to discover where the host is. I'm not sure why, though. What's my motivation? So, anyway, I snoop a little, deduce where he is, solve a puzzle to reach him, and – voila! I find the host's dead body.

So naturally, I tell everyone at the party that the host is dead. Unfortunately, that's when things got surreal. No one seems particularly upset by my news (unless they were already), no one calls the police, and... the party continues. One guest was more concerned about his golf game than his dead friend! How callous! I would've called the police myself, but there's no phone. Nor could I turn off the stereo and end the party. Flabbergasted at this lack of response to my announcement, I couldn't figure out what I was expected to do next. Soon after, my two hours was up, mystery still unsolved. I guess I should've played as a kleptomaniac after all.

Rating: 5.