As I listened to the jazzy intro toMurder on Space Station 52and took in its meticulously hand-drawn art style, I sat rubbing my grubby little visual novel-loving paws together as I watched the opening cinematic of Edward Locke, the robotic and oh-so chatty protagonist, arriving at the titular Space Station.
You play as this replacement repairman, sent to Space Station 52 to take over from the previous mechanic who’s suddenly gone missing. Edward’s first day on the job allows you to get used to the point-and-click controls, and everything is going well until he finds the body of the previous repairman wedged within the machinery on the Space Station. He’s clearly been murdered, with his forehead split open and an old-fashioned key jammed into the wound, the signature of the Keychain Killer, who is still at large on the Space Station. And since the local police don’t seem to care much about it, Edward opts to get to the bottom of things andcatch the serial killer himself.
The art style of the game and the charming musical score are a beautiful accompaniment to the demo level, acclimating to the gameplay and learning how the puzzle-solving works. Edward passes out upon finding the body, and you’ll need to solve a series of challenging puzzles to get clearance to leave the coroner’s office after waking up and being cleared as a suspect. This involves doing things like interrogating the local sheriff, repairing a mechanical doctor who tells you dad jokes the whole time, and making sleep gas to knock out the jerk of a guard in the morgue.
Murder on Space Station 52 asks you to think both neatly inside and wildly outside the box as you take on its puzzles, but some of them felt a littletooconvoluted in their solutions. As I played, I was grateful for the game’s beta-testing Discord channel, glad to find several search results in the chat log for the puzzles I found myself stuck on – at least it wasn’t just me being obtuse.
One of the earliest puzzles involves replacing the blown fuses in a machine, but the instructions you’re given are pointedly vague. Flipping between the guide and the game, I eventually worked it out: the puzzle doesn’t align where you think it does, and the button that looks like it submits your solution isn’t actually where you needed to click when you think you’ve had your eureka moment.
I appreciate that the game layers its riddles – sure, the fuse puzzle got the machine working again, but it still didn’t change the fact that Edward is a robot who now needed to find some kind of organic material to trick the machine into giving him that clean bill of health. It took time to get your head around how the gamewantsyou to think, especially in the earliest levels. That frustration ran in tandem alongside a guided tutorial, but the game’s how-to made me more annoyed than anything.
It highlighted one of my least favorite game tropes: when you can see an item you know you need, but you can’t have it until the game decides it’s time. When Edward landed on Space Station 52 and gave a second wordy, unsubtle description of who he is to the dock master immediately after giving one to me in the intro, I could see his toolbox sitting on his pile of belongings. I knew I was playing a repairman – Edward wasn’t subtle about that as he rambled off his backstory – and so I tried to grab the toolbox I knew I’d need.
All I got was the same flavor text over and over about how sad it was for Edward to see his whole life packed into boxes. Fed up, I headed over to the next screen, where I was told I needed the toolbox, so the game tasked me with going to grab it, and I could suddenly collect said toolbox.
As you go through these winding, occasionally backtracking paths towards puzzle progression, Edward has a sassy saying for just about everything. It’s charming at first, but it grows old before the end of the tutorial. Edward makes it clear he’s a sarcastic and impatient guy, but his attitude wears thin quickly. You’re trying to solve puzzles, and his snarky comments about every single object rapidly grow irksome when you’re trying this, that, and the other to come up with a solution. What starts off as amusingquickly becomes unhelpful and annoying.
If you may get past Edward’s cumbersome quips, the story of Murder on Space Station 52 is worth checking out. Puzzle fans who enjoy a chance to scratch their chin before the solution dawns on them will find plenty of things to love, but be prepared to rake that same hand through your hair when you get frustrated at some of the more convoluted answers. The game’s air of mystery and sense of style are fully on point throughout, but man was I happy to step out of Edward’s shoes for some peace and quiet when I rolled credits.
Murder On Space Station 52
WHERE TO PLAY
Someone on space station 52 is monstrously murdering its denizens and leaving keys in their wounds.In this strange place, filled with even stranger beings, Edward Locke will discover more about himself than he ever could have imagined. Join him as he explores a hand-drawn, richly conceived world: filled with danger, mystery, creativity and memorable moments.Collect evidence, question suspects, explore the scenic station, consult your meticulous murder board and catch theKeychain Killer. Earn in-game currency by exploring the world or completing tasks and use it to customise your apartment and aquarium with the most amazing items and creatures.FEATURES• A murder mystery investigation with evidence collection and suspect interrogation.• A unique hand-drawn world full of perilous situations and unbelievable mysteries.• Fun and challenging puzzles that will challenge your solving skills.• Full voiceover for the entire charismatic cast.• All original, blues inspired cinematic soundtrack.
