Amongst a sea of sequels and remakes, it’s always refreshing to see something new at E3. It helps when the concept is as compelling as trying to solve your own murder. Square Enix revealed Murdered: Soul Suspect where players will do just that. After seeing the game in action, this investigation title might be one of the show’s biggest surprises.
Taking place in Salem, Massachusetts, a town that’s known for its connection to the supernatural, the main character awakens from being murdered by a hooded man. As an investigator who obviously has a poor reputation with the police based on their conversations, his ghostly powers give him plenty of unique ways to gather evidence. These powers come with their own challenges however, because physical objects can’t be grabbed. This is where being dead comes in handy, because aside from blue tinted doors that are blocked by a power called, “the dusk,” any other walls or doors can be passed through, gaining access to places the police can’t reach. But what about when you need information from the physical world? Well, what kind of ghost would you be if you couldn’t possess people? By taking up residence in a person’s body, you’ll be able to look at evidence through their eyes, read their thoughts and even influence the memories of witnesses with the information gathered from others. What if a character isn’t around to possess? In that case, their memories can be relived at certain spots assuming they were recently near that spot. Once enough memories are collected, they have to be pieced together in chronological order to make progress in the investigation.
As seen in the demo on display though, just because you’re a ghost doesn’t mean you can’t be killed. Demons are roaming throughout the city and thrive on eating other ghosts. You see, demons are ghosts who have lingered too long in the living world, and the belief that eating other ghosts will restore their humanity means that your fresh meat on their menu. Whether or not this is the case wasn’t mentioned, but I’d be surprised if the threat of becoming a demon doesn’t come into play over the course of the game. Regardless, don’t think you’re helpless going against them, because sneaking behind them, possessing them first and tearing them apart from the inside is a very effective way of getting monsters off your back.
Aside from fighting for your afterlife and solving your own murder, side missions such as helping other ghosts find their body will pop up. How helping them aids you in your investigation wasn’t said, but another helpful character was an unnamed teenaged girl who at some point will help you by leaving graffiti tagged hints. This is welcomed news, because without spoiling anything, it looks like we’ll need all the help we can get when this game lands in our hands.
Murdered: Soul Suspect is looking like one of the more unique games in the pipeline from Square Enix. How this mystery will play out is anyone’s guess, but I’m definitely ready to find out. Bringing supernatural mechanics to an adventure game seems like a great combination, so I’m hoping Murdered can keep its momentum going when it releases early next year.
Murdered: Soul Suspect will possess the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in 2014.