The Sexy Brutale
Agatha Christie without the racism
Developer Cavalier Game StudioS, tequila WorkS publisher tequila WorkS price $ 19.99 AvAilAble At Steam, GoG thesexybrutalegame.com
Most murder mysteries boil down to being a simple “whodunnit”, and a few focus more on the motive than the perpetrator, but The Sexy Brutale, the latest game from Tequila Works (the developer also responsible for our cover game this month) takes a different approach again. You see, there is no question as to who is responsible for the 10 murders in the Brutale as you can witness them all, and while the motives may only become apparent towards the end of the game, what prompted the murders isn’t the real question either. No - the thrust of The Sexy Brutale is how do you go about stopping a number of murders that have already happened? Through the spirit of Bill Murray, of course.
Lafcadio Boone, an elderly priest is invited to a masked ball at the mansion-cum-casino of a mysterious Marquis. Things are going swimmingly until the gasmasked staff of the Brutale start murdering the guests. A mysterious figure leaves a bloody handprint on Boone’s mask, leaving him immune to the greatest evils in the mansion and allowing him and only him to realise that at midnight the day starts all over again with the guests being brutally murdered one by one. It’s up to Boone to stop these murders, but with a constantly repeating day that’s not as easy as it sounds. Being an outsider to the repeating continuity of the mansion, Boone can’t be in the same room as any other character lest their masks fly off and chase him like some kind of horrific immune system, so he must observe and manipulate from behind the scenes,
things are going swimmingly until the gasmasked staff start murdering the guests
hopefully making changes that can save one life at a time.
It’s all but impossible to talk about the puzzles in any way other than abstract without giving away spoilers. The puzzles are both straightforward and extremely clever, and working out how to stop a murder is a wonderful feeling, no matter how many times you have had to witness a violent death beforehand. Paying careful attention to actions is key to solving each murder - taking note of what is being interacted with, where people are standing and more play an important role in deduction. Once a murder is solved, Boone gains powers based around the traits and mask of the person saved, such as the ability to pick locks or have more acute hearing. These abilities unlock new areas of the mansion to explore and new powers to help in solving murders, essentially adding new mechanics each time to organically increase the complexity of subsequent murders.
There is so much to like about The Sexy Brutale. The jazzy soundtrack is incongruously and appealingly upbeat, and the adorable Chibi figures belie the darkness of the setting. Over the seven or so hours it will take to solve all the murders you’ll find yourself drawn into the world of The Sexy Brutale, looking for any excuse to stay. It’s that good a game. In fact, it’s an early contender for one of the very best games of the year. Go play it. DANIEL WILKS