| Blue Toad Murder Files | |
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| Developer(s) | Relentless Software |
| Publisher(s) | Relentless Software |
| Director(s) | David Amor, Andrew Eades (executive directors) |
| Producer(s) | Darren Tuckey (senior producer) |
| Designer(s) | Paul Woodbridge (design director) |
| Writer(s) | Iain Lowson |
| Version | 2.0 |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, Windows |
| Release date(s) |
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| Mode(s) | Single player, (offline) Multiplayer, (offline) co-op |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Digital download |
Blue Toad Murder Files is a murder mystery puzzle video game developed and published by the British game company Relentless Software. The game is episodic and the first instalment was released for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Store in December 2009.[3][4] The entire "season" of the game, Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle, includes six separate episodes.[5] PC-version was available to download from online games distribution sites as well as from the official website in November 2010.[6] Support for PlayStation Move was added in December 2010 (update 2.0).[7]
The game is for one to four players and leans towards TV murder mysteries such as Agatha Christie's Poirot, Midsomer Murders and Jonathan Creek[8] with "witnesses, alibis [and] motives" rather than being a logic puzzle like Cluedo.[9] The game sees the player investigate murders and interrogate residents in the country village of Little Riddle. Aspects of the game have been compared to the Professor Layton series of games, regarding its setting and puzzle solving game mechanic, but it differs from the Layton games in that the puzzles in Blue Toad are more closely linked to the game's storyline. At various points the game questions the player about their investigation and key plot points to check that they were paying attention.[10] Actor Tom Dussek voiced all the 22 characters (+dog) in the game.[11]
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Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle received moderately positive to mixed reviews.
Eurogamer awarded the game 8 out of 10 (all six episodes), commenting that "..the important elements, like the character, charm and challenge necessary to make episodic games worth sticking with, are all in place."[12]
GameSpot UK reviewed the first three episodes of the season with a score of 6.5 (episodes 1-2) and 7.0 (episode 3) out of 10, commenting that "..with the right group of friends or family members, Blue Toad is definitely good for a few giggles. Just be prepared for a short and expensive ride."[13]
IGN also reviewed the first three episodes of the season with a score of 4.5 out of 10, commenting that "..the execution of the entire affair is poor and even the occasionally clever puzzle fails to entice when the pacing and structure is so frustrating."[14]
A review in Edge described the game as being "too irritating to satisfy as interactive fiction and too gentle to evoke competition". Edge awarded the game 4 out of 10 (first two episodes).[15]
Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle has gathered over 250,000 paid PSN downloads as of April 2011.[16]