New Agatha Christie mystery detected on the horizon from Microids

Written by Jack Allin — July 21, 2021 at 12:11

First Sherlock Holmes, now Hercule Poirot. Exploring the younger years of famous detectives seems to be all the rage these days. The former from Frogwares we've known about for quite some time, while the latter was just revealed by Microids in the form of Blazing Griffin's upcoming Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases.

Poirot is still just a young detective when he finds himself unexpectedly swept up in a homicide case in pre-war Belgium. He's been invited to "a reception by the influential Van den Bosch family, for the announcement of their daughter's engagement." Celebration turns to tragedy, however, when a snowstorm traps everyone in the luxury manor, causing tensions to run high. Just how high because all too apparent when one of the guests is later found murdered. With the perpetrator stuck somewhere in the mansion, Poirot begins to investigate this heinous crime, little suspecting "what buried secrets and deadly rivalries of the Belgian upper class" he might uncover in the process.

In this original story that seeks to emulate Christie's "intricate plotting," The First Cases sees players perform the typical detective duties of exploring the grounds via a bird's-eye perspective in search of evidence, and interrogating fellow guests, servants and family members. In a house "full of buried mysteries" and potential suspects with something to hide, it soon becomes clear that "uncovering the murderer won't be the only puzzle you'll have to solve." Fortunately, helping you focus your "little grey cells" is a mindmap that will "allow you to visualize and link the elements of the case in order to draw your own conclusions ... and shed light on the culprit in a surprising denouement." 

Normally there's a long wait between first announcement and final release, but that is not the case here, as Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases is due out on September 28th on Steam for Windows and Mac, along with console versions for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch, with backwards compatibility on next-gen platforms.