The Invisible Hours (a VR murder-mystery theatre)

[clyde]

I've only played this for a bout an hour, but I'm so excited about it. Please side on caution with spoiler-tags in this thread since little things and details of intrigue feel especially weighty in this game. Perhaps label the spoiler with the chapter and character or room like so:

[Early Chapter 2: Gustav] or [Late Chapter 2:Dining Room]

 

The game is basically a murder-mystery that takes place in a Victorian Mansion and you as the player chose where to be at any given time as the suspects move about, take actions, and talk with one another. You can pause, rewind, and fast-forward time as you teleport around the mansion examining clues and just generally being nosy.

So far, I think it is great. I love the characters and the performances. The animations aren't astounding, but they get the job done. Everyone is so friggin suspicious!

 

[Henke]

Picked this thing up since it was discounted to a tenner this weekend. With the whole thing sounding like a very hands-off narrative thingy, it's not the kinda thing I'd normally seek out, but it's getting such good reviews and word-of-mouth that I had to buy it. Haven't played it yet but I'll try to get to it later in the week.

[clyde]

It's got some huge flaws as a murder-mystery, but I've never been to a theatre performance that takes place throughout a house and I love the format.

[Ben X]

Not that I've played Last Express (yet), but this sounds like a comparable concept...

[clyde]

  On 4/9/2018 at 5:03 PM, Ben X said:

Not that I've played Last Express (yet), but this sounds like a comparable concept...

 

There isn't much puzzle solving at all except suspecting a particular person and following them. You are basically a ghost watching it all play out. Fortunately the characters are fairly interesting.

[Henke]

Played through this over the last week. Loved it! I certainly didn't see the end coming, but then again it's such an out-there ending that I have a hard time imagining anyone figuring out who the killer was.

 

I was expecting the big twist to be that

  Reveal hidden contents

you, the player, is Tesla's spirit, perhaps tied to the mansion by the Spirit Radio or something. But nope. Anyway, out of all the narrative threads here, I was most invested in the story of the Mundys. The most shocking moment was the one where Sara is alone in her room in chapter 1. In the later chapters I kept expecting Chekov's Nose to go off at any moment!

 

I thought all the characters were well-written and acted. I like how new facets of their personalities were revealed when they were alone with different people, or alone by themselves.