Murder in the Abbey is a throwback to the old-time adventure game genre. While there are some differences in the puzzle quantity and type as compared to older classics, there are more similarities than not. As a result, I had a distinctly pleasurable time playing Murder in the Abbey.

The game takes place in medieval times.  A monk and his novice are traveling to a remote abbey, located on a precipitous cliff. As they near the abbey, a large stone is suddenly loosed from above their heads. They narrowly escape death from the falling rock. The monk, Leonardo de Toledo, sees the culprit above them and gives chase on his horse. He isn’t able to catch him, but realizes that the man must be from the abbey, as it is the only place he could be.

Once Leonardo and his novice, Bruno, arrive at the monastery, they relate the strange occurrence to the Abbot. He, in turn, tells them about a mysterious death that occurred not long ago at the monastery. Fortunately for the Abbot, Leonardo is famously renowned for his mental acuity and discernment, similar to the mental traits possessed by the much later Sherlock Holmes. The Abbot asks Leonardo to undertake an investigation of the monk’s death, and Leonardo accepts the task.

The game is structured on the lines of a linear third-person adventure. Players guide Leonardo around many locations, conversing with various characters and picking up what isn’t nailed down. Conversations are branched in trees, with different choices garnering different branches of dialog.  However, there isn’t a right or wrong path, as in some tricky adventure games. Most of these conversations are easy enough to follow, although somewhat lengthy, but sometimes it’s not clear when a certain line of questioning has been exhausted or not.  A comment will still be available for choosing, even when the player has clicked through all the branches of that particular path.

The interface is fairly simple, but it would probably be a good idea for players to glance through the manual at least once before playing. Some things are a little different, as in having to double click to load a saved game, rather than using a single click. Left clicks on objects elicit comments from Leonardo; right clicks trigger actions or additional comments. Navigation is easy and straightforward, and can be hastened by double-clicking on the exit arrows.

The game is extremely linear. It’s easy to get stuck at various points, until a certain action takes place.  But, the game isn’t very difficult, so players won’t be stymied for long. For instance, I spent a lot of time visiting the same people and locations over again, until I happened to realize I could examine a rope more closely in the stable, which action then opened up more conversation with the Librarian. I was able to then advance in the game fairly quickly.

Murder in the Abbey is animated in a cartoon style, which works very well (don’t pay any attention to the box art; it’s not similar at all). The colors are muted and somber, suiting the tone of the game. The characters and locations are richly drawn. The voice acting is very good, and again, suits the story. The sound effects aren’t handled nearly as well and there aren’t very many.  The most prevalent sound effects are rather humorous, an odd “clip-clopping” type of sound every time Leonard and Bruno walk around.  It is very like the clapping coconuts in Search for the Holy Grail!

The puzzles are the weakest aspect of the game, and are sparse and rather easy. The bulk of the game is spent in visiting all the locations many times and talking to all the characters, often for long bits of time. It’s more like an interactive story, than a puzzle adventure game. Most of the puzzles are inventory based, although there are a few manipulative ones.

This is an interesting game, and one that features a great story with good voice acting and dramatization. I enjoyed playing very much, partly due to a slight sense of nostalgia for the old type of adventure game, but mostly due to good game design. Unlike so many mediocre adventure games that I’ve played recently, this game actually has a story that is intriguing, even if it has some pretty far-fetched themes toward the end. The only real drawback is the lack of challenging puzzles. However, for $20, it’s definitely worth the purchase for several enjoyable evenings. Best for those who don’t need a lot of action and enjoy lots of conversation in an adventure game.

Gameplay: 7.5
Murder in the Abbey is interesting and enjoyable, but the scarcity and overall quality of puzzles does bring it down a bit. More of a challenge is needed.

Graphics: 8.0
The game looks wonderful! I love the cartoon style, much more so than the popular 3D animations of people, which usually results in stiff and strange looking folks.

Sound: 6.0
The music is not memorable and the sound effects are minimal and sometimes strange.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
There isn’t anything that is particularly difficult except for the linearity of the game.

Concept: 7.0
This game is similar to most adventure games, but the execution is very good.

Overall: 7.5
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. It really needed more puzzles, as well. But still, this is one of the more interesting adventure games to come from The Adventure Company lately. A nice week’s worth of gameplaying.