A murder mystery where you are the main suspect! An ambassador on a peace mission has been killed on board the Clawville Express. Time progresses as you sniff out clues, eavesdrop on conversations, and interrogate passengers. Can you solve the case before the train reaches the last station? Or else.
Developed by: The Wild Gentlemen
Played on: Steam
Length: 9 hours
A review key was provided by Toge Productions.
I love whodunnits. The intrigue, the suspense, the mystery… all of it just screams out to me for my attention. Whenever a game, an episode, or a movie has a whodunnit plot, I lock in and give it my full attention. That being said, I played Moses & Plato: Last Train To Clawville recently and I loved every bit of it! The game is a point-and-click adventure and a visual novel hybrid. Dialogue is heavy, characters stories are a’plenty, and there are lots of interactables to uncover and explore.
Developed by The Wild Gentlemen and published by Toge Productions, Moses & Plato is an expansion of the World of Wilderness that was introduced in the first Chicken Police game. Based off classic detective stories like Sherlock Holmes and Poirot, Moses & Plato also blends the developers’ love of classic animated cartoons. What we get is a diverse, colourful, and exciting cast as well as setting.
The Plot
As the main selling point of a whodunnit is the mystery solving, I’ll refrain from spoiling the plot. The game starts with you as Moses Wildflower, waking up from a daze, seemingly having killed the very person you were hired to protect. From here, you have to clear your name and find the true culprit before arriving in Clawville. All events of the game take place on the Clawville Express and sometimes at train stations. If this rings any bells, it’s because it’s a classic Murder On The Orient Express inspired tale!
The passengers aboard the train are a real treat. Their diversity and their colourful personas makes interviewing them really entertaining. On top of that, going through their backstories really adds to the worldbuilding and gives them nuance. You can read up on them and the world in Moses’ mind garden, essentially his mental notebook.
Their personalities can be a little cliche. However, that doesn’t really matter though as they are all brilliantly voice acted, making conversation fun. You can find out more about their voice actors here! I am particularly fond of Marco, Basil, Cunia, and Cassandra. Always fun to converse with them!
However, I do have admit I’d wish the story had a bit more freedom in who and how you can progress. I’m referring, of course, to railroading. Pun not intended. The story beats that happen are predictable because there’s a countdown to the next major event which is fixed. You have some agency in who you interact with before that, but when time is up, you just go along with it. This kind of makes it easy to guess who the actual mastermind is as well. So, for a mystery, it could use more subtlety and less hand-holding.
The Art
As I mentioned above, the game has an animated cartoon style to it. But don’t let that fool you as Moses & Plato has some really gorgeous designs for the backgrounds and the characters. The characters personalities are also highlighted through their clothes. The casts’ apparel really tells you who they are and the era the story is likely set in. Just look at the regal clothes of Ambassador Ignat and his daughter Cunia, or the flamboyant attire of movie stars Cassidy and Cassandra.
But that’s not all, the world itself is beautifully drawn and designed. However, what stands out to me is the consideration they put into explaining how life in different regions work to facilitate its own inhabitants as well as guests. This is more apparent in Nauticca, the underwater world with its aquatic residents. Tubes of water and oxygenated water chambers everywhere, Nauticca accommodates international as well as local residents, and it shows!
However, Moses & Plato could benefit from a content warning for one scene in particular. Those who can’t stomach images of blood or death might want to brace themselves, but those who are used to such sights can carry on with no issues.
The Gameplay
Point-and-click games and visual novels are pretty straightforward, but Moses & Plato does feature some varied gameplay. For starters, as a detective story, the game is bound to have a lot of backstories, news and other information to dissect from. Helping you is Moses’ mental notebook, his aforementioned mind-garden. You can later use all these information to form your own murder-map.
Another fun aspect of the game is how it accentuates that you are all animals. As you enter new carriages, or meet new people, you can use Moses’ animal senses to extract further information. This is done through Moses’ keen sight, smell, and hearing. You’ll know when something can be detected when the bottom right icon is highlighted. Sometimes the information can be fluff to add to character or world building, while other moments can help you do detective work. This a fun bit I always appreciate as it really helps with the immersion of being an animal.
What really tests if you’ve been paying attention and revising info is the interrogation mini-game. Every now and then, you can interrogate the other characters. This usually also ends their own personal story line and determines whether or not they are culprit. This is my favourite part because it really gives insight into the character’s themselves; their insecurities, their pasts, and their psyche.
Aside that, some mini games have you matching characters, items, and events to narrow down potential suspects. This is fairly easy to do. The mini game I particularly liked is the puzzle box. It’s tricky but not difficult, though I personally would prefer it to be a little more difficult! The latter part can also be echoed about most of the game, but otherwise, the variety makes up for it.
Verdict: A “Furry” Good Time
Moses & Plato: Last Train To Clawville is certainly a worthwhile way to pass your afternoon. Fans of whodunnits will have fun in getting to know the characters, the world, and the puzzles that come along with it. Although there were moments when I felt the game could offer more, it is sufficiently entertaining for those looking for a casual, low stakes mystery.
