Murder by Choice

## System requirements

iOS 10 or later
Android 4.4 and up
Windows 10 version 14393.0 or newer

**Murder by Choice** is a free-to-play mobile hidden object and murder mystery game, developed and published by Nordcurrent.

## Description

Experience a fully interactive murder mystery adventure set in the present day! Journey through a mysterious tropical island filled with hidden objects, secrets, and MURDER!️‍ Put your detective skills to the test by hunting for clues, gathering evidences, and figuring out who’s behind the horrific crime!

The adventure begins when Carla Page, a young journalist, receives an unexpected invitation from billionaire Ruben Navarro to join his yearly private party on a tropical island. When Carla gets there, she finds herself surrounded by some of the world’s wealthiest, most influential people... and right in the path of the worst storm of the year. But being unable to escape the inclement weather will be the least of her problems as a mysterious murder occurs moments after she sets foot on shore. Carla puts on her detective’s hat and dives into solving the crime, but each new clue just raises more questions. Carla soon finds out that murder isn’t the island’s only secret.

## Gameplay

The game is played from Carla’s perspective. There are many different types of tasks in the game.

### Hidden object scenes

Throughout the game, the player needs to investigate different scenes, by looking for objects in them. In each scene investigated, there is an object which progresses the story. Unlike other hidden object games, there can be multiple objects of the same kind (like rings), and it's possible that another action is required to be done before an object is found (like opening a cabinet, or collecting another object). Those objects are marked back-screen. When looking for objects in the same scene again, the objects which have been collected previously are removed.

### Comics

When bigger conversations and events take place, they are represented by comics. Like with the rest of the game, the comics are available in multiple languages (currently English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean), but voice-overs are only available in English.

### Mini-games

Whenever some more complex action is supposed to be completed, it's presented as a mini-game. Mini-games can range from fixing wiring, to exiting a maze, to playing blackjack. They aren't obligatory, as they can be skipped, but that takes away from the player's Energy.

### Choices

In the heart of the story, you will have several choices to make. For example, it may be which character will accompany you or what you will do first. These choices influence the rest of the story on some points but the final scenario remains the same.

## Chapters

* Chapter 1
* Chapter 2: Wedding Bells

## Accolades

* This game has won the 2023 NYX Game Awards for the "Mobile Game - Best Narrative" category. It was especially praised for being a "masterclass in interactive storytelling" with its branching story, natural puzzles, and immersive art style.
* This game was also nominated for the 2022 LT Game Awards in the "Game of the Year", "Best Mobile Game", and "Best Art Direction" categories by the Lithuanian Game Developers Association.

## Trivia

* Although this game is not promoted as such by Nordcurrent, it is effectively a spiritual successor to Murder in the Alps. Both feature similar gameplay with different UIs with Murder by Choice taking place in the present day unlike Murder in the Alps taking place in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
	+ An Energy Bank feature was added connecting the two games where if the player spends 1000 Energy in Murder in the Alps, they will earn 100 Energy in Murder by Choice.
* There was an initial release of Murder by Choice around 2020 or 2021 according to the app's update history (specific details remain unknown), which only included Chapter 1 up to the cutscene where Ruben Navarro shows the rest of the characters Freddie Wolf's notebook, ending with "To be continued..." text. It featured no voice acting, ultimately scrapped character emotes and music, slightly different dialogue, fonts, character animations, and artwork for the comic cutscenes, and no achievements nor collectibles.
	+ This can be seen in playthroughs of this initial release, like Vld Vlad's playthrough.
	+ The only noticable major narrative difference between the initial release and the full release is that Carla Page's little cousin watching Dr. Kat's TV show was changed from Carla's little stepsister.
* Artists behind this game have posted behind-the-scenes and finalizations of their work online, which you can view yourself. They include Kateryna Shatokhina, Vladislav Loboyko, and Eugene Napadovsky.

## Gallery

* App
* Promos

The full release's app logo.The initial release's app logo.The game's logo.

Official Screenshot 1Official Screenshot 2Official Screenshot 3Official Screenshot 4Official Screenshot 5Official Screenshot 6Official Screenshot 7Promo featuring Carla, the Admiral, Ruben, Portia, and MargotPromo featuring Carla, the Admiral, and Ruben under a purple sky from the flare gun.News promo from Murder in the Alps.Continue promo from Murder in the Alps.
## References

1. ↑ Murder by Choice Winner Description - NYX Game Awards. May 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
2. ↑ LT Game Awards Nominees - LT Game Awards. March 4, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.