Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases

The detective genre of adventure games is a nice sight to see. With its mechanics, tiny hints and very well hidden assistance features, it is a great game for new and experienced players alike.

Poirot’s latest outing is a better proposition than The A.B.C. Murders a few years ago, but it’s not quite perfect. With no puzzles to solve, evidence that’s easy to locate, and mind maps where guidance is closely at hand, there’s very little challenge for adventure genre aficionados. The story is entertaining, Poirot is represented very well, and what gameplay exists has been created competently, but it sometimes feels more like a visual novel than it does a genuine adventure mystery game.

Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot The First Cases is a mystery novel in the form of a video game. Structurally very linear and simple, it's a good adventure for fans of the genre who are looking for a contained work that doesn't distract with secondary elements or gameplay mechanics that have little to do with the genre.

While the similarities with Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments are clear in every aspect of the game, Hercule Poirot’s newest outing simply cannot reach the same standards as that game. There are interesting things here, but once more the Agatha Christie series stays on the same average levels as it has been since 2005, hampered further by a distinct step back on the graphics.

Amazing game! If you love detective stories with great unpredictable suspense, you're in for a treat! The gameplay allows you to look for clues and then link them all together to figure out more clues. The story is extremely well constructed and slowly unveals itself to you in the most brilliant ways! The music is also very amazing! Loved it!

The game is a well developed new iteration of the great Detective Hercule Poirot that just falls a bit short as an actual game. Although entertaining, there is no real challenge and no risk involved whatsoever. I'd say the general aesthetics of the game is subjective, as the graphics are perhaps a bit outdated for a game released so recently, but has a certain cozy charm to it. I myself am a huge fan of the detective genre, but this game took roughly 6 hours to complete (and I searched through every nook & cranny). I bought this on sale for roughly 35€, but at this length I'd say it's not worth that price at all. I was however smitten by the great voice acting (English language) and maybe because of that I'll still give it a generally favorable score. I'd probably wait for it to drop to around 15€ though to fully give it my stamp of approval.