Murder by Numbers Review | Backlog Battle

I've been on quite a visual novel kick lately, and the latest one just happens to be this cute and quirky game from the people who did the international port of Hatoful Boyfriend! This also happens to be my first Picross game too, as it turns out! Join me as we team up Honor and Scout to find out whether or not this game's up your alley, in my review of Murder by Numbers! No, not the movie with Sandra Bullock!
► FEATURED SONGS
0:05 - Honor’s Theme
0:41 - The Unbeatable Duo
2:02 - On The Right Path
4:42 - Eccentrics-R-Us
9:02 - Close to Home
► SUPPORT BACKLOG BATTLE!
SPONSORED
Buy some coffee from Grinding Coffee Co!
Save 15% with the code MYBACKLOGBATTLE
grindingcoffee...
Patreon
/ mybacklogbattle
Donations
paypal.me/myba...
Amazon Store
amazon.com/sho...
► FIND US ELSEWHERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Twitter
/ mybacklogbattle
Instagram
/ mybacklogbattle
#MurderByNumbers #Mediatonic

[@omdhdk]

It's 30% off on Steam via Steam summer sale if anybody is interested :)

[@BacklogBattle]

Thanks for the heads up!

[@omdhdk]

@@BacklogBattle You're welcome :) It's a steal for the price of about 9 euro!

[@angeltanner7863]

i guess it is quite off topic but does anybody know of a good website to watch new movies online ?

[@damonholden8572]

@Angel Tanner Lately I have been using flixzone. You can find it by googling =)

[@arcanathe4th823]

As someone who hasn't been able to play Ace Attorney games in a while and is constantly disappointed by Capcom apparently forgetting the franchise aside from relaunching the original trilogy collection everywhere as if it was their Skyrim, and where both Danganronpa has an unknown future and Zero Escape is finished, this game was something I was really needing since the mystery visual novel genre seemed to be dying.

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm really disappointed that Capcom's stuck to releasing higher budget games for release in the West, leaving us fans of the Ace Attorney series hoping for it to get a second chance. Conversely, I'm looking forward to seeing how Murder by Numbers can elaborate on its inspiration and where it can go from here! Truly loved this game.

[@Istreakilaz]

Topic: The Name "Murder by Numbers" | Me: So uh..... Nonary games? Topic: Picross puzzles | Me: huh. Detective Gameplay x Picross Gameplay Mashup. that's kinda new Topic: Shares some Members from the AA Devs | Me: THAT Totally explains the goofy charm and atmosphere of the game! Well, it's definitely a standout title, despite being indie. and i think i had been hearing about the game quite a few months ago

[@BacklogBattle]

So are you picking it up? 😉

[@Istreakilaz]

@@BacklogBattle "well..." _brings out purse, fiddles through it a bit, does some BIG BRAIN TIME thinking and_ "As much as i would have shilled out an unhealthy amount of my savings on wishlisted games already, my savings are nothing really to brag about. and with lockdown having severely drained my income department, my stomach will refute my desires to purchase eye candy for my brains with their hardest evidence" "That you are still ONE STEP FROM Poverty... if you screw up now" But thanks for all the reviews still. as much as my rig is near collapse, just gasping to play some old games even, my notepad works fine at listing off games to keep in mind for the future. thanks again!

[@sachitechless]

Just finished the game and gods it was amazing. There was enough emotional weight behind each case to get me invested, the characters were all fun and quirky and damn do I love me some Picross. Also I find the meshing of Picross with Murder Mystery really clever. Both are strongly about not assuming anything until you have proof that your solution is correct, as with Picross if you just assume you can fill in a tile because it feels right you are likely to end up with something completely wrong later down the line.

[@MrDarksol]

I'm playing through the game myself and while I suck big time balls with the picocross puzzles, at least there is easy difficulty so I will mainly be using that. However I am enjoying the story from what I have been playing of it and I do love scout and honors friendship to the point were it definitely reminds me of Phoenix and Maya's friendship from the Phoenix Wright games. Speaking of the series I was wondering why the soundtrack at least from what I've heard of it sounded like it definitely fits into the Phoenix Wright universe along with the characters. You just confirmed my thoughts on both accounts and all I can say is holy crapp that is a really cool use of the composer from those games as well as some of the writing which definitely sounds like it can totally fitted to the Phoenix Wright universe minus the fact that this takes place in the nineties. Also since it does take place in the nineties it makes me a little low key happy being a nineties kid myself and that means that there's a good amount of references that I can instantly figure out lol. Lastly considering the state in which the world is in right now and since I'm playing 2 strategy RPG's that are a little bit on the ridiculous side but in a good way, I am glad that I'm playing through this as one of those chill games as opposed to what my 2 friends have been playing as of now which is another strategy RPG but this 1 is a lot more annoying on normal mode. Over all the issues this game has seemed to be a little bit small but it doesn't sound like it detracts your enjoyment of the game and I agree. I never personally came across those problems myself but the story is interesting the characters are likable and if Phoenix Wright was able to get a bunch of other games in the series then hopefully this game will sell well enough to also get the same treatment. Fantastic job with the review as always though your reaction to finding out that the guy who did the art also did a game with birds was hilarious lol I had to rewind the video a couple of seconds because of that. Oh and I would love for there to be DLC just for some reason honor and scout team up with Phoenix and Maya. I can only imagine the hilarity within that team up.

[@BacklogBattle]

I was really surprised how much of Phoenix Wright was in this game, but I was very careful not to alienate people who haven’t played them in my review. I think I struck a good balance here!

[@MrDarksol]

@@BacklogBattle I believe you have struck a pretty good balance.

[@Oburi7]

I'm usually not a great fan of reviewers I usually just go to them to see some gameplay But you made me like your reviews, I liked quite a lot the way you present the games you review and the way your reviews don't just end in "this game is bad" or "this game is great" I never thought I would like a game like Murder by Number Keep up the great work, I will subscribe

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you for this wonderful comment. This genuinely brought tears to my eyes. I’ve been working on making reviews a lot different than what’s out there and what you said touched my deeply. Thank you 🙏

[@EriesAston]

I didn´t like this game at first, but I gave it another chance and now I´m hooked.

[@BacklogBattle]

Eries Aston that’s awesome to hear! What case are you on?

[@EriesAston]

@@BacklogBattle I´m currently on case 3 and I really like the story and characters. I went from not knowing how picross works, to thinking it was boring and now I like picross, but I still suck at it.

[@BacklogBattle]

There's some weird math-ness to it that at first, doesn't sound like fun. But the more you play it, the more it kinda gets its hooks in you. It's like Sudoku for me lol

[@meeetoo9314]

Great review ! Don't tell me you discovered this game because I mentioned it in one of my comments ? :)

[@BacklogBattle]

It was actually! I'm happy that I played it! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@meeetoo9314]

@@BacklogBattle Another recommendation from my side: 2064: Read only memories. The graphics are very basic but great storytelling and the most awesome 8-bit soundtrack I know. Actually Scout reminded me a lot of Turing from 2064.

[@BacklogBattle]

I've had that game for a long time, but it's taking me a bit to get into it. Maybe I'll revisit it at some point!

[@DrLevelUp]

I love the art style and animation.

[@BacklogBattle]

It's on sale on Steam, as one of our community members have pointed out!

[@johnnymind4151]

If I remember correctly, I've already purchased it on the Switch during the sales or, if I didn't, it's still in my wishlist. I love picross, I love visual novels that also have some other gameplay styles - the Ace Attorney series, the Zero Escape games etc. - so, when I saw that this existed, I put it in there instantly! If I've already bought it or as soon as I do, I'll try as soon as I can, because it really intrigues me. ...by the way, I've yet to play my copy of Ghost Trick and I really should, I've heard only good things about that game and I really liked what little I saw of it when it released.

[@BacklogBattle]

I have Ghost Trick on iOS and I really loved it! Very different game than PW and MbN by a mile!

[@Zabasu]

I like the aft style but i am not a picross fan^^ And by the title i could also be a murder mystery in a jrpg xD

[@BacklogBattle]

I understand! What don't you like about Picross, out of curiosity?

[@Zabasu]

@@BacklogBattle over all i guess i think its just boring to play, it not my type of "puzzle game"

[@Road_to_Dawn]

I’m sold! Huge Phoenix Wright fan, and I love puzzles of this sort. You don’t often get a ‘90s theme, unlike ‘80s, for instance. This also reminds me, I bought Ghost Trick years ago and still haven’t even opened the shrink wrap. I’m ashamed of myself... I appreciate you mentioning the LGBTQ bit too! That sort of thing is important to me too, as it is very much a part of me.

[@BacklogBattle]

I was super, super surprised about the detail about LGBTQ! Really happy that they took the time to get that part right! Also, this has been a pleasure to play! I spent so much time on it that I still have fond memories of playing the puzzles and the jokes. The cast is truly incredible!

[@Road_to_Dawn]

@@BacklogBattle I'll be picking it up as soon as I get my next paycheck :D

[@Road_to_Dawn]

@@BacklogBattle I finally got a chance to buy it yesterday, and I finished the entire first case in one 8-hour sitting. I just started the second case and I am absolutely loving this game! It's such a good balance of story and picross gameplay, never going too long on one without the other, and the difficulty scales SO well too! It really does a fantastic job of slowly teaching you how to get better and better at it, and the optional "hypothetical" challenge puzzles are such a great test of your skill too. Thank you so much for talking about it on your channel!

[@ultramegahyperbeam]

Watched Dodger play this and the music is so damn good that I had to buy the soundtrack

[@BacklogBattle]

The soundtrack is so freaking good!

[@HomeroSantosThe_Terrible_Kiten]

Very nice review man!

[@BacklogBattle]

Thanks! What do you think of the game based on the review? Have you played it?

[@HomeroSantosThe_Terrible_Kiten]

@@BacklogBattle you convinced me man! I love the art style, but I've only ever dabbled in visual novels. This looks right up my alley and your mention of the picross elements really put my mind at easy. I thought it was more math based. My only question is this; is there Voice acting? Regardless, because of this review man, I'm buying both digital and physical releases!!

[@BacklogBattle]

No voice acting sadly. It’s a pretty low priced indie, so the lack of voice acting helped with keeping the price low I figured!

[@falcommaster]

I already play this game and it's good

[@BacklogBattle]

Glad to hear! I hope more people check this game out!