[code] This game is reviewed for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34470115/]TentacleBunny's Cozy Cottage [/url] who generously offered the steam-key for [i]Murder on the Island[/i] that was provided to the Curator [/code]
[h1] Background [/h1]
This is the first Visual Novel by the renamed [i]Forever Young Games[/i] which previously released Global Soccer Manager simulations under the same name. It is written by Márk Kovács as an experimental foray into this genre and it's purely a Kinetic visual novel where an holiday island owner interviews the remaining 13 holiday-makers after 1 is discovered murdered on the 1st day of a week's stay on the Island.
Readers will notice minor grammatical errors that Márk Kovács is keen to have mentioned to him so they can be amended since English is not the writer's 1st language. The Visual Novel can be completed in under 2 hours and has 7 achievements representing the 7 days spent on the Island solving the murder before a cruise ship returns. The game autosaves when you access the menu screen if you don't plan on completing this in one playthrough.
[h1] Impressions of Murder on the Island [/h1]
This being a Kinetic visual novel means there is limited interaction or involvement for the Reader other than the obvious... reading! Because of this, it needs the story, and its dialogue, to capture the reader's imagination early on and, hopefully, keep it enraptured until the finale which can be very challenging so, of all the variations of VNs, I believe a Kinetic novel is one of the most difficult to start off with as a writer/developer. With multiple choice VNs the writer 'invites' the reader to become involved in the story process which lessens the pressure that a Kinetic VN entails. As well as this, a multiple choice VN provides alternatives (branches) that not only keep the reader intrigued by the variations to the plot but also encourages multiple playthroughs.
I feel Murder on the Island would benefit and appeal much more to readers if it had some form of interaction outside of reading especially when the story is as simplistic as this one.
The characters, dialogue and writing in Murder on the Island is very impersonal in its style making it seem like you're part of an ongoing meeting process rather than reading a murder mystery, the conversations are direct and offer minimal chances to develop character 'attraction' outside of the obvious character tropes. This makes it difficult to immerse into the story and can end up becoming a skim-reading exercise especially for the achievement hunters who care little for the story!
The artwork is appealing with bright, attractive character designs but, as mentioned in another review, it doesn't have variety instead only one caricature is repeatedly used against the background locations. It fits well in a casual mobile type VN but it would've helped the appeal if there was more visual mix-up because, again, it only helps to create a disinterest in the story but it should be repeated that the artwork is well designed.
The music is a repetitive caribbean island theme which, at first time of hearing it, yes it fits wonderfully into the location and theme of this VN but, much like the artwork, it becomes too familiar and I think, in certain cases of the story, it could've benefitted from either using sound effects or another alternative music theme.
[h1] Conclusion [/h1]
Murder on the Island, while being Márk Kovács first attempt at a Visual Novel and a complete change from the sport simulations previously released, could benefit from a more relaxed dialogue rather than the polite tones used alongside the stereotype characterisations and, alongside this, even though the plot had some minor revelations involving the holiday-makers, it still felt too direct and repetitive.
Ways to mix it up more could be to make use of a mini-game or have more reader involvement as well as improving on the dialogues and story.
Overall, what this visual novel offers is too minimal and simplistic for its price tag and I think for lesser prices there are much more in-depth Kinetics out there. There is a variety of ways this story can be improved on and I feel for the price to remain as it is it does need those improvements.
