Loco Motive Review

Game: Loco Motive
Genre: Adventure, Indie
System: Steam (Windows, macOS)
Developers | Publishers: Robust Games | Chucklefish
Controller Support: Yes
Price: US $TBC | UK £TBC | EU € TBC
Release Date: November 21st, 2024

A review code was used and many thanks to Press engine.

Loco Motive is a 2024 point-and-click indie adventure developed by Robust Games and to be released by Chucklefish.

The Premise of Loco Motive

In Loco Motive, we take on an unusual role – the prime suspects in a murder on the Reuss Express. We start playing as Arthur Ackerman, Lady Unterwald’s estate lawyer. Arthur is on the Reuss Express because Lady Unterwald will announce her new heir. During the announcement, the train passes through a tunnel, and in the darkness, the lady is killed. Now we have a murderer to catch and a whole train full of suspects and secrets.

Loco Motive steam train crossing fields in the night — The Reuss Express

Gameplay

Loco Motive is a point-and-click adventure game in the style of LucasArts’ Monkey Island games and Revolution Software’s Broken Sword games. The controls are minimal—the left mouse button is for interactions and collecting items, the right mouse button is for inspecting items, and the keyboard tabs are used to highlight interactable items.

Our characters move by clicking where we want them to go. Double-clicking means running. On the lower left side of the screen, we have an inventory where we can inspect collected items and combine them if needed. The inventory can also be accessed by clicking I on the keyboard.

Loco Motive A man in a pink vest on a red background — Herman Merman, a detecting writer.

We have three main characters—Arthur Ackerman, a somewhat bumbling but friendly estate lawyer with whom we start the game; Herman Merman, a famous crime fiction writer who is so cowardly it’s almost endearing; and Diana Osterhagen, a young and ambitious woman with a mysterious past. Each of these characters has its own way of interacting, its own inventory, and its own versions of the events surrounding the murder.

If we get stuck, we can always call Dirk Chiselton, a real detective and Herman Merman’s archenemy, for a hint.

Loco Motive a man in a blue suit holding an umbrella over his head in a police detective office — Arthur, not dancing, detecting

Style

Loco Motive feels like a classic 1930s detective adventure—from the style of the title screens to the setting, costumes, and speech of the characters. The story is a clear nod to Agatha Christie’s famous novel “Murder on the Orient Express,” a Hercule Poirot murder mystery set on a train. It’s a fun spin on the story, certainly different from Microid’s adaptation last year.

There’s a lot of humor here, and it rarely feels forced. The writing is great, and the characters each have their own personality. Voice acting and the soundtrack are also on point with the rest of the game. What’s more, the world of Loco Motive feels alive—we have non-playable characters interacting with our characters and the world, doing normal things in the background, like eating dinner and gossiping.

While the game is a pixel art adventure, it’s beautifully detailed. You’ll never have to resort to squinting at the screen, wondering what you are looking at.

Loco Motive black and white scene with police detectives and an empty stage — The noir mode.

Some Other Things

Loco Motive has Steam achievements but no Trading Cards as of yet. The game has basic audio and video settings and more extensive gameplay options, such as camera sway, turning blood effects off and on, distortion effects, and noir mode, which turns the game black and white with more muted sound and music.

In terms of accessibility – the controls are simple but not remappable. We can change the font, subtitle speed, backing, size, hover text size, and dialogue choices text size. We can also choose whether or not to see the speaker’s name displayed.

In terms of performance, I didn’t encounter any bugs, lag, or other issues. The game plays smoothly, and I foresee a replay sometime soon. Loco Motive has a demo you can try right now while waiting for the entire game to be released next week.

Loco Motive a man in a blue suit looking at a safe — Arthur discovers a hidden safe.

Conclusion

I’ve been waiting for Loco Motive for quite some time, and I was not disappointed at all. It’s a great game, a welcomed return to classic adventure games, and hopefully, a first in a series.

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up: