Square Enix USA Releases New Murdered: Soul Suspect Gameplay Video

Just a few days ago Square Enix released a teaser trailer for their upcoming game titled Murdered: Soul Suspect.  Today, Square Enix USA has tweeted an IGN video that shows actual gameplay for this new title.

In the trailer for Murdered: Soul Suspect, the game’s protagonist Ronan is killed by a mysterious, hooded figure, but awakens in the afterlife with the purpose of solving his own death and bringing the killer to justice.  What we’ve been dying to know is how exactly this would be done.

In this new video, we are told that Ronan can’t physically interact with the world. This makes sense, after all, since Ronan is now a spirit wandering in the afterlife. But with the help of Ronan’s new found supernatural abilities, he will be able to do a number of other things in the game to find answers.

The video explains three different things the player can execute.

1. Ronan can inhabit the bodies of living humans and use this ability to obtain information.  In the video, we see Ronan approach a police officer holding a notepad.  The camera angle then cuts to first person view when Ronan takes control of the man’s body, and it shows that Ronan can now see the world through the police officer’s eyes.
2. Eavesdropping on conversations. Gameplay shows Ronan walking up to crime scene police officers listening in on their conversation undetected.
3. The player will have the ability to drop subtle hints in order to jog someone’s memory

According to the video, these three things will be necessary to build an accurate recreation of a crime scene. This game seems to place emphasis on exploration of the environment as well as player creativity in finding ways to interact with the game’s inhabitants to obtain more clues.

Just like a detective, after you’re able to collect some clues, you will have to piece them together in what looks like a stream of thoughts that appear on screen.  The gameplay from the video shows the words “Analyze the object and select the relevant terms [that] best describe what you see.” There are several words that pop up on the screen, and as you begin to select some, the other words begin to disappear.  The video shows the words shot, stabbed, uninjured, fell, and buried. 

This is further evidence that you will need to pay attention to the details in this game in order to piece together the correct nouns and adjectives that describe the crime scenes. Makes sense; after all, this is a game focused on solving your own death!   

It was also revealed that Murdered: Soul Suspect will contain sidequests. Since there are other lost souls in the city, Ronan will have the opportunity to help them, but it is optional. 

Final video footage shows Ronan walking through the walls of an apartment building and the eerie shadows of a malevolent ghoul that will most likely serve as a conflict in the game.

With more content circulating, I’m definitely getting more excited for Square Enix’s new title as E3 approaches.  This concept is very original and it is going to be very interesting to see how others will react at the official reveal next week.

The video leaves us with a final question:

Why is Ronan given the opportunity to avenge his death and what is his connection to the murderer? 

What are your impressions?