Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile (PS5) Review: Charming Detective Game

Building upon 2023’s Murder on the Orient Express, Microids is back with another Hercule Poirot adventure with Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile. The detective adventure game will have you visiting exotic locations as you solve a mysterious death. While those who have read the book or seen the movie might feel like they know everything, this has been significantly updated, so it’ll be fresh no matter how much you know.

Most of the gameplay sees you as Poirot putting together clues to solve mysteries and advance the story. What’s most interesting is that you can build your own character profiles for the key people you interact with, allowing you to really feel like a detective. Once you unlock different hints, you can connect them to make observations and then eventually come up with the whole story of what happened. It’s a complicated, yet surprisingly straightforward mechanic thanks to the game’s mind map feature, which conveys all the necessary information in an easy-to-digest way.

The game’s setting has been updated to take place in the 70s, which leads to a great disco soundtrack and a fun vibe for Poirot. There’s also a new playable character called Jane Royce, who is tracking down the murderer of her friend after a drive-by shooting. She allows for the game to feel fresher overall, as you aren’t stuck on a boat all the time, and it adds some fresh wrinkles to a well-known story.

There are some minor production issues with the game. The animations can sometimes be stiff, and there’s some funky audio mixing that is less than ideal. Some puzzles are naturally much more interesting than others — some can feel like filler — and the game feels slightly longer than it needs to be. However, it’s a very satisfying mystery when the story concludes, and adventure game fans will find a lot to like.

Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile (PS5) Review: Final Verdict

While it’s difficult to adapt a story that people already know so well, Microids has done a great job of making sure that it feels fresh with new characters, plot beats, and an updated setting. Whether you know the original Agatha Christie story or not, detective game fans will be in for a treat with Death on the Nile. Let’s hope Microids continues its Agatha Christie adaptations as it clearly has a winning formula on its hands.