A Beloved Detective’s Return: A Fresh Take on a Classic Novel
Agatha Christie, for those who don’t know, was one of the world’s best murder mystery novelists. Even since her death in 1976, her work has found new audiences, and with numerous film and TV adaptations, she has become a household name.
The novel Death on the Nile was published in 1937 and soon became a huge bestseller, featuring her most famous invention, Hercule Poirot. A Belgian detective with a lavish moustache, he appeared in dozens of novels and countless short stories. He is the star of Death on the Nile, but the game of the same name takes a new look at this story, setting it in the 1970s and introducing a new companion for Poirot to work with.
Murder on the Nile
Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile isn’t French publisher Microids’ first game with Poirot in the Agatha Christie world, but I think this might be the first one to play with the formula.
Instead of 1937, this game is set in the mid-1970s and features all the main players from the novel, but they are slightly updated for the new time period. The biggest addition is the storyline of another protagonist you play as, called Jane Royce, who is a private investigator. She goes off on a murder investigation that leads her to different locations, from Majorca to New York.
Both stories intertwine, with characters coming and going between them. Fans of the original novel will be pleased that the main story arc is still present. Linnet Doyle, who is very rich, and her new husband, Simon Doyle, are being haunted and followed by his ex-girlfriend, Jacqueline de Bellefort. Soon, there is a murder (on the Nile), and Poirot, who was on holiday, has to get involved and save the day.
A Detective Duo: Plotlines and Pacing
I like how this narrative goes beyond the book’s original story and changes things up in terms of plotlines. You are presented with a prologue, then chapters that alternate between Poirot’s and Jane’s storylines. In each chapter, there is something for you to solve, from something simple like a missing ring to things more macabre. I loved the writing and how the characters are fleshed out, with a great eye for detail in the 1970s environments. The cases are complex as well, with the twists and turns that every good Agatha Christie fan should love.
A Mind Map of Clues
You control your characters in the third person, left to wander freely about the chapter environments. The gameplay is varied and primarily involves talking to people and gathering facts. In your menus, you have two essential tools at your disposal. One is the Mind Map, which maps out all your clues and tasks for you to complete. Some might be simple, like “talk to this person,” while others might involve searching the victim’s office. As you gather more clues, this map gets busier, and you can start to build possible connections. Here you can link facts to come to a conclusion or rule out possible suspects. Sometimes you have to place people on a timeline and work out the sequence of events chronologically. What’s great about this game is that each chapter feels new, exciting, and challenging.
The other tab is a list of all the characters you meet, and you can fill in the details of everything you know about them, like their job, name, or secrets. It’s a useful tool to reference when you are making your deductions. You can choose your difficulty at the start of the game, and this will determine how forgiving the game is and how many hints you get for puzzles.
Puzzles are a huge part of Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile as well, and there is a big range of them, from working out how to decode a strange clock to an old-fashioned lock-picking game, and there was a huge one on a jukebox. This involved a cog puzzle, a shape-shifting puzzle, an electrical circuit puzzle, and working out the right song to play. As I said before, each chapter introduces new puzzles to keep your brain cells ticking away and to keep the intrigue going.
’70s Flair and Acid Jazz
The colours in this game are transcendent, really capturing the ’70s vibe, from a disco floor to an amazingly decorated apartment. The costumes on each of the characters are well-researched and designed. However, at times the overall environments feel a tad flat, but the character design is excellent, and the attention to detail in objects, including some brilliant magazine adverts, is superb. I don’t know if these were real or not, or something the developers made up from research, but they were brilliant.
A fully-voiced cast is employed too, with some great performances full of wit and charm. The soundtrack has an acid jazz vibe to it that might become annoying, as it plays all the way through the chapter you are in, and sometimes when you’re on it for over an hour, it does grate a bit. But the overall sound effects have a great design and flourish to them.
A Good Detective Story with Charming Puzzles
I have always found myself wanting to be a bit of an amateur detective, and a good murder mystery novel or TV show is always my guilty pleasure. Thankfully, Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile will let you live out those fantasies without having to leave the house in a trilby and a mac. It’s a good challenge, with a great story and lots of variety in its levels. Sometimes the presentation feels a bit flat, but it’s never anything that is able to take away from the enjoyment.
I will be looking forward to another Poirot adventure in the future.
Important Links
A Tangled Case? The Next Great Agatha Christie Adventure Plays Out with Death on the Nile – https://www.thexboxhub.com/a-tangled-case-the-next-great-agatha-christie-adventure-plays-out-with-death-on-the-nile/
Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile: A New Murder Mystery Sets Sail in 2025 | Release Date Confirmed – https://www.thexboxhub.com/agatha-christie-death-on-the-nile-a-new-murder-mystery-sets-sail-in-2025/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/agatha-christie-death-on-the-nile/9PC9XBHMMCFT
