Murder on the Disorient Express Review: A Flawed Mystery on Rails

If you have ever wanted to play a digital version of a classic "choose your own adventure" gamebook, Murder on the Disorient Express offers a compelling, if slightly clunky, template. While it captures the spirit of a high-stakes whodunit, the experience is held back by uneven writing and questionable presentation choices. For those looking for a quick, logic-based puzzle, it is worth a look, but don't expect the depth of a traditional detective sim.

Scheduling Your Way to the Truth

The game casts you as Robert, a bystander who steps into the shoes of an amateur detective after the death of William Magnus. With a cast of suspects ranging from the victim's daughter, Olivia, to his business partner, Geoffery Chamberlain Snr, you have until the train reaches Istanbul at 6am to pin the crime on the right person.

The standout feature here is the time-management system. The Disorient Express is a busy place, and suspects follow their own schedules. If you miss an opportunity to engage a specific character at the right time, you might miss the clue you need to build your case. This "Groundhog Day" approach to detective work is genuinely rewarding; mapping out your route to be in the right carriage at the right time is the game's high point.

A Narrative That Struggles to Stay on Track

Unfortunately, the immersion shatters once you start talking. The writing often feels like a collection of disjointed fragments, and the characters can be difficult to take seriously. Seeing a father and son who supposedly hate each other enough to commit murder spend the entire journey together is just one example of the game’s thin logic. Worse, you are often forced to simply note contradictions rather than actively confronting suspects, which removes the agency one would expect from a detective game.

The presentation is arguably the biggest hurdle. The choice to use robo-voiced dialogue gives the entire experience a budget feel. It is hard to keep a straight face when a serious investigation is punctuated by a robotic "uh, meow" because your character is trying to hide in the shadows. Furthermore, the inability to actually inspect crime scenes or search for physical evidence—relying instead on characters to provide information—makes the process feel far too passive.