Murder in the Abbey Critic Reviews

I highly enjoyed the story of Murder in the Abbey. It was well written and the dialogue is pretty good and the graphic blending of cel-shading, 2D and 3D graphics really make this title stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Inspired in one of the most beloved games produced in Spain, La Abadía del Crimen for Spectrum, The Abbey is a really good graphic adventure with great production values, excellent animation and a noteworthy sense of humour. It can be a bit short for the faster players, but the extras and quality of the content compensates for it.

Because of the simple handling, the witty dialogues and the catchy story, the game is interesting for people of all ages.

Murder in the Abbey is almost exactly the type of game I most like, with great atmosphere and storytelling. I really enjoyed the cartoon animation, too. However, the conversations can get a bit lengthy and even I got tired of the endless talking sometimes.

A perfect example of a game I would recommend only to adventure fans. It is not polished enough, and it’s too formulaic to take someone away from their favorite genre to spend some time in the abbey looking for a murderer. However the likable characters, the great voice work and the unique atmosphere will no doubt be sufficient reasons for many to pick this one up.

We have immediately loved The Abbey for it's cartoonish look, that contrasts with the dark theme of the game.

Murder in the Abbey may not be entirely original, but it's an adventure with a lot of personality.

Considering the current drought of the genre, The Abbey is a title which can satisfy adventure lovers, but also those that have had enough of frantic shooting and want a calmer game.

Dark middle-ages feel, excellent dialogues and stylish graphics would not put The Abbey above average adventure games. But The Name of the Rose-inspired story makes this experience remarkable.

Murder in the Abbey is a classically-structured third-person adventure game with an intriguing setting, a strong story, quality music, and generally excellent graphical presentation. Unfortunately, it’s also got problems that undermine whatever potential fun there is to be had.

Alcachofa Soft managed to produce only a half of a potentially great adventure. And I mean it literally - the two opening chapters are so different than the last two that you won’t believe your eyes.

Murder in the Abbey is ultimately one of those games that is fairly enjoyable to play through yet leaves you with the feeling that something is missing.

At the beginning it looks like investigating, secretly rummaging the abbey and questioning other characters could be fun, but the game turns out to be made of pointless little riddles and requires searching through the same locations over and over again. Why somebody did something doesn't seem to matter at all. The Abbey is not about playing through a story, it's about forcing the player to solve riddles. At least the music by Emilio de Paz is well done.

Murder in the Abbey shines due to its unique graphics, stirring soundtrack, and the care given in telling its somewhat-familiar story. The clunky gameplay has too many problems to make it feel as if it were worth the effort, though, even with the occasional fun moments that manage to creep in.

And so, obviously, Murder in the Abbey (or just The Abbey, as it is known in Europe) is an adventure game to skip.

It's not so much art design and premise that ultimately brings Murder in the Abbey down; the gaffe rests on the gameplay.

The back of the box promises 40 hours of gameplay. You do not want 40 hours of gameplay here.