We haven't posted a review in awhile, but we recently got to play Murder on the Moon from the Detective Society. If you like Escape Room type puzzle games, then this game is for you. It's the latest addition to the Detective Society series of games. Let's check it out!

Overview

Without any spoilers - this game is a bit hard to describe. Basically you play cooperatively with everyone as investigators for the Detective Society. You have been contacted about a murder that happens on the moon, funnily enough. As far fetched as this sounds, it is a good introduction into these types of games. So as long as you go along with that initial premise, what follows is a series of puzzles that lead to new questions. 

Throughout the game, you use a laptop to communicate with characters and to review websites created specifically for the game. Now we should caveat this review with the fact we have played all of the previous Detective Society crime games andour review will be a bit biased since we have had that experience.

Game Components

Overall, these are great! The game comes with a physical game board map of the moon and you have to construct the buildings out of the same cardboard used for the board. The game also comes with high quality dossiers of each of the inhabitants. There also plenty of documents for you to sift through. 

Our only complaint is that it looks too polished. One of the things we liked about the previous entries in the Detective Society is that it felt more personal, like you personally were being sent all the evidence. The physical game board of this new experience takes away that personal feel. We do understand that they are trying to move from a Kickstarter creator based model to more of a mass production model and that is understandable and natural growth, but it loses some of its charm. 

Game Set Up

The game takes place over three missions that build on each other. The setup is fairly non-existent. Which is a great thing! You start by opening the first mission pack and read the opening letter. Then you get a QR code to scan to take you to a website where you can "Interact" with the character. The reality is you are messaging a system that is looking for key words in your response. If you say the correct key words, you then advance the story. 

Overall, the setup is easy and it is best to have a place to set up this game so you can return to it as it will take 4-6 hours to finish all three missions.

Gameplay

We don't want to spoil anything in this game, but we want to get you excited to play. Mild spoilers ahead. The game consists of reading the initial letter, then "talking" to the character online. You get a recorded audio message from several characters throughout the missions. You also answer questions they pose by looking through the documents and websites.

The challenges in this new game are easier than in previous Detective Society games. We understand though that they need to cater to a broader market. The puzzles also seemed more generic in that you could easily replace the moon with another location. Previous games were heavily tied to their locations and while the moon location is interesting, its more difficult to relate to than the city of Manchester or a museum as in other mysteries. 

Overall Impressions

We don't want to diminish what the people at Detective Society have accomplished as a standalone game this is an immpresive achievement and if this is your first Detective Society, definately pick it up. If you have played the others, still get this version. It even has a prequel "Countdown to Chaos" we just want people to know we feel the other mysteries offered by the Detective Society are stronger and more engaging. 

If you are interested in picking up your own copy - click here

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