Developer: Blazing Griffin
Publisher: Microïds
Platform: Switch, PS4, PC, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: PC
Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The London Case – Review
A few years have passed since we last saw Microïds’ interpretation of Agatha Christie’s most famous character, but now Hercule Poirot makes his triumphant return in The London Case. The last time we saw our fellow countryman, he was just starting out in The First Cases, but this time around we’re meeting up with a more experienced version of the master sleuth. Consequently, you’d expect developer Blazing Griffin to serve up a series of more advanced mysteries as well, to put our protagonist to the test. Does The London Case deliver on this front? And more importantly, was the game worth the long wait?
Story
Things start out innocuous enough, as is usually the case with Poirot’s adventures. The opening cutscene reunites us with the famous mustached detective as he is tasked with securing a painting of the Penitent Magdalene, together with insurance agent Arthur Hastings. When the painting goes missing, it’s up to this unlikely duo to find the culprit and recover the priceless piece of art. The potential suspects are a colorful bunch, to say the least, and many of them have their own mysteries to get to the bottom of. It’s a simple enough premise, but it unfolds into an intriguing narrative that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.
Graphics
Given that we quite liked how The First Cases looked, we were taken aback to find that The London Case looks significantly worse than its predecessor. The art direction is still as great as ever, and the opening cutscene, which focuses on the Mary Magdalene painting, had a cinematic air to it, but as soon as we saw the in-game models, disappointment kicked in. The London Case looks undeniably dated, with stiff and awkward character models and environments that lack the same level of detail as the previous games. Graphics performance wasn’t an issue, but that had more to do with how simplistic the visuals were comparatively.
Sound
Fortunately, The London Case’s soundscape fares a little better. As usual, the voice performances are top-notch and really help bring the characters to life. Although the game’s visuals fail to convey a cinematic feeling, the soundtrack could have come straight from an actual Poirot film. If there’s one gripe with the soundscape, it’s that occasionally lines are repeated even if they don’t fit anymore. Poirot may refer to an object that is no longer present when interacting with the environment as if it’s still there, for example.
Gameplay
Microïds’ previous Poirot games always felt like they were supposed to be an answer to Frogwares’ much more prolific Sherlock Holmes games, in terms of gameplay at least. Having played quite a few titles from both series, we assumed that we already knew what to expect when we started The London Case, so we were surprised to see that this latest outing takes things in a slightly different direction. The core formula remains the same, of course: taking charge of the famous detective, you’re presented with a series of mysterious cases, which all tie into a larger, overarching plot. However, where The London Case differs from its predecessors is that the game takes on the guise of a more traditional point-and-click adventure game, even more so than The First Cases. As a result, The London Case feels like a game with lower stakes. This makes sense, given what the near future holds for Poirot, but we’ll get back to that.
Each chapter presents you with a self-contained case where you’ll wander around the environment, talk to key witnesses, gather pieces of evidence, and solve puzzles. The London Case avoids the common pitfall that many point-and-click adventures fall into where things are so obtuse that you’d need to resort to a guide to figure out what to do next. At any point, you’ll only have a limited number of items in your inventory, and they’ll all pertain to the case at hand. Additionally, Poirot himself will nudge players in the right direction through dialogue with the various NPCs. If you run out of suspects or witnesses to talk to, then Poirot can simply engage with his sidekick for the occasion, the aforementioned Arthur Hastings. As we mentioned before, the game feels like a very traditional point-and-click title, and as such, the barrier of entry is considerably lower than previous Poirot titles. That’s not to say that this game is necessarily easier, as we did run into quite a few challenges -not to mention that we were completely engrossed in the story. One tradition that The London Case doesn’t break with are Poirot’s little grey cells, an analog to Sherlock Holmes’ mind palace. Gather enough clues, and you’ll be able to literally go inside our hero’s trail of thoughts to piece everything together and solve the case.
What surprised us the most about The London Case is just how short this game is, especially compared to its predecessors. How long it will take to make it through the game’s nine chapters depends on how efficient your own “little grey cells” are at dealing with the puzzles the game throws at you. However, we were able to breeze through The London Case over the course of a single afternoon, clocking in at around 6.5 hours. As such, the €39.99 price point feels more than a little steep, especially with the next Poirot title on the horizon, Murder on the Orient Express, coming in at a similar price point. Granted, we did get the feeling that Microïds released The London Case right now to whet the appetite of Poirot fans ahead of that highly anticipated next game, which is set to launch in October. Murder on the Orient Express purports to be a much more ambitious undertaking, both in terms of story and gameplay, but both completionists and fans of Poirot will want to play both of these games to get the most out of how the series ties everything together, alongside the previous two games.
Conclusion
If we didn’t know that a much larger and more ambitious Poirot adventure was about to drop, we’d feel disappointed with The London Case. It’s a well-crafted game for what it wants to be, but given how short it is and how lackluster it presents itself, we’d feel snubbed if this was what we’d been waiting for for this long. However, as an appetizer for Murder on the Orient Express, The London Case feels more than serviceable. The gameplay is as accessible as ever, even if it feels a bit too traditional at times, but the engrossing story and streamlined pace of the gameplay make The London Case a great “in-between” game. We do recommend waiting for a discount, however, unless you’re a die-hard fan.
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