New adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express inbound

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Microids Studio Lyon to deliver "modernized" reimagining of the Queen of Crime's 1934 classic whodunit

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express has been adapted numerous times in both film and a 2006 video game by AWE Productions and The Adventure Company. Now the Queen of Crime's classic 1934 whodunit is getting a brand new adventure game treatment from Microids, and this time it's set in present day.

The story is a classic one: Famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot finds himself aboard the luxurious titular train with an eclectic cast of characters, one of whom is murdered during the trip. The murderer(s) must still be here, but each passenger has their own secrets and possible connection to the victim, so who can be trusted? Where the game breaks from its literary and theatrical counterparts is that it's set in 2023 and Poirot isn't the only one on the case. Along for the ride, literally and figuratively, is a brand new character named Joanna Locke, who is able to "regularly exit the train environment during playable flashbacks." As the player, you'll need to use your own "little grey cells" as well as some thorough investigative work if you're to discover the truth amidst all the deception.

This version of Murder on the Orient Express features its own distinct third-person 3D look and has no relation to either the previous game adaptation or to Microids' other Hercule Poirot games (The First Cases, The London Case) set in the great detective's younger years. As you'd expect, the fully voiced, dual-protagonist gameplay revolves around carefully inspecting each location, interrogating fellow passengers, solving puzzles, and entering Poirot's head first-hand to form deductions via "mind maps." Rather than being a straight recreation of the source material, however, the game promises a "faithful but augmented adaptation of the original story," filled with "major plot twists that will keep you hooked until the very end."

There is no firm release date just yet, but Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express should be arriving sometime in the fourth quarter of 2023 on Steam for PC, along with console versions for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch platforms.

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