Synopsis:
An eccentric FMV murder mystery with a twist: someone has poisoned Uncle Marcus. Uncover the truth in the yearly family quiz and try to save him before it is too late.

Publisher: Wales Interactive
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5 (PS4 game)
Also available for: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Cast: Abigail Hardingham, Andy Buckley, Eileen Davies, Susannah Doyle, Gabrielle Glaister, Robbie Kay, Georgia Small, AI Weaver

Developer: Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media
Directed by: Steven Sheil
Written by: Dan Kiss

With obvious inspirations from Agatha Christie novels, Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus? the latest FMV game from Wales Interactive is a whodunnit taking place over a Zoom call. It’s a step-up from their last FMV game I checked out, Night Book, but it still leaves a lot to be desired, especially in how tedious replaying the game can be. 

Abby (Abigail Hardingham) is getting ready to jump onto a Zoom call with her family for her mother’s birthday when she receives a surprise call from Uncle Marcus (Andy Buckley). He informs Abby that he’s been poised at the family meeting Abby didn’t attend, and he needs to find out which family member used poison on him to save himself and wants to find who has attempted to murder him. Abby agrees as Uncle Marcus is her favourite relative, and so she dives into the Zoom call with her Mum, Aunty June, sister Lottie, Nan, and two cousins, Toby and Bradley. 

The rest of the family absolutely suck, except maybe Nan. They’re made up of over the top stereotypes that make it easy to assume they could be the killer. The best choice Wales Interactive made was making sure it’s easy to want to help Uncle Marcus and never side with anyone else in the family. Abby’s Mum is a pompous rich asshole, Lottie is an influencer obsessed with her phone and self-image, Aunty June is a bitch of a drunk, Toby thinks he’s better than everyone else, and Bradley is in love with serial killers. Nan is oblivious to most things happening, and it’s hard not to wonder how she brought up such a family. 

For Mum’s birthday, she wanted to play a quiz; different family members will take turns asking questions as Abby pairs off with others between rounds. You can choose to try and get the questions right and hope the information about the family meeting comes out naturally or push for information, which may make some family members tight-lipped. Some of the family will be more open to talking if you pair off with them in certain rounds, while others require specific information to have already been learnt by Abby so you can push them more on it.