With this being the second Murder Is Game Over title I’ve played, I think I’m seeing a change in my perspective. Overall, this is a series that’s built around relatively bite-sized mysteries that feature a top-down adventure sort of format, a fair amount of character interaction as you interrogate your witnesses or suspects, and then the ability to change to your faithful canine pal to try to sniff out clues that may be about. In the case of the first game in the series, this sort of caught me by surprise with its simplicity and charm, and it left me with some slightly positive feelings.

Now, coming back to the series and finding that pretty well nothing has changed except for the location, general story, and some window dressing, I’ve found I’m less understanding. What felt tight and terse before now simply feels a little under-baked and thin. The straight-forward qualities that helped it feel more casual-friendly and uncomplicated now just left me a bit bored. 

I do understand that, especially at the budget end of the eShop spectrum, it can be a sound business model to set up a framework that works and then continue to leverage it. As a programmer I can respect that mentality. However, as a gamer it feels like this system, without going the extra mile to steadily introduce some new and surprising elements, even if perhaps minor, will just lead to diminishing returns. If you enjoy a decent mystery and haven’t tried this series out, for the price it isn’t a bad deal. At least in the case of this specific entry though, I’m just not seeing what about it helps it to stand out and justify itself, with only a little more energy than being an acceptable level of more of the same, and little more.