Square Enix is no stranger to greenlighting interesting side projects while maintainingsky-high expectationsfortheir AAA titles. They’re an enigma of a publisher sometimes, but when they offered ScreenRant the chance to test outKiller Inn, their newoddball hidden role murder mystery game, I took it. This is the sort of PS2-era fun I can get behind.
While it’s still early yet forKiller Inn,I can see a lot of potential here, mostly due to the depth of the role/character system. you’re able to take on the persona of anyone from a ninja to a con-man, and utilize thematic bonuses to either take down all the lambs as a Wolf, or escape with your life as a Lamb.
Killer Inn Shoves Multiple Genres Into The Among Us Formula
There Are Two Roles: The Murderous Wolf, And The Innocent Lamb
If you’ve never played a hidden role game before, the idea is very simple. You’re placed on one of several teams at the start of each round (in this case, either a Wolf or a Lamb), and each team has a core objective they must meet. The Wolves need to kill every Lamb, and the Lambs can either escape via a boat at the end of each matchor correctly identify and systematically eliminate the Wolves.
That ability to defend yourself is arguably the best element ofKiller Inn.Lambs might be innocent, but they can pick up weapons(including guns) like everyone else. The action-based foundation forces everyone to be on their toes, and master a separate set of mechanics on top of the meta aspect of the hidden role portion of the game.
All players can complete quests from NPCs, which typically involve going to a location and hunting for an item or solving a small puzzle. Quest completion grants seals, which are then used to open upCall of Dutyzombies-style chests, with random loot. It’s a gameplay loop that keeps everyone constantly active, sinceKiller Innsends players across the massive property to gear up for conflict.
Of course, while you’re off on your own finishing up a quest, you might get picked off by a wolf. In that case, don’t fret:your corpse will leave behind several clues, which other players can then inspect to help whittle down the identity of one or several Wolves. It might be a hair sample or a piece of clothing that matches the randomly generated outfit and hair color for each match.
If People Buy In, Killer Inn Could Be Fun To Watch & Play
There’s More Refinement To Be Done
I spent several hours withKiller Inn,playing infull game lobbies of 24 players, and was able to test out both the Wolf and Lamb roles extensively. There wasn’t one I liked more than the other, per se; they’re just different.Wolves are less plentiful in each match, and therefore have more of a camaraderie about them, as you’re able to see who else is a Wolf and spot all Lambs openly in your UI. Lambs are fun because of the sheer chaos involved, especially when a few go off on their own and are picked off; then the panic sets in.
One thing I am worried about is that the general audience won’t have the patience for the game’s many systems. Characters can level up and earn XP in a match, and stats can impact combat efficacy and health. Given how quickly players can get taken out (either from behind by surprise or with a few well-aimed shotgun blasts), it might take the community time to understand thatyou need to stock up on armor/defensive gearjust as much as you need weaponry.
There’s also the common hidden role pratfall that players need to fully buy into for any given match to work. In one game, I was in a team of Lambs, andanother Lamb shot me, unprovoked, before anyone had been murdered. As I went down, they also died, punished by the fact that they had killed an innocent Lamb.
If the playerbase is unwilling to engage in the game’s mechanics, any given match ofKiller Inncould end up as a dud. It’s a risky venture, but one I hope will pay off. There’s still time to refine the game’s intricacies and naturally lead both the Wolves and Lambs to water, to create more organic gameplay that will be a ton of fun to both play and watch on a stream.
