Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile Review - Denial is a River in Egypt!

Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile

PC/PS/XBOX/SWITCH

9/25/25

Microids Studio Lyon

Elementary my dear friends!

Agatha Christie is one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time. She’s crafted an absolutely staggering number of mysteries, including books with billions of copies sold and a record-breaking play in her portfolio. Throughout the years, her works have also been reimagined into video games—from a 2007 point-and-click adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express to 2016's ABC Murders. In more recent times, we've seen releases such as Hercule Poirot: The First Cases, The London Case, another adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, and now, Death on the Nile, the latest investigative adventure title to place players in the shoes of Poirot, alongside newcomer Jane Royce. That's right—this time you'll be alternating between characters. But does Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile spell the death of this franchise, or is it a mystery fit for a fabled detective? Let's investigate in our full review!

Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile is the latest sleuthing adventure game based on one of Christie’s classic mysteries. This version of Death on the Nile is a reimagining of the original story that transports Poirot and his lore to the groovy 1970s. This time around, players will also get the opportunity to play as up-and-coming private detective Jane Royce as both investigators work towards solving an entangled set of mysteries. What seems like an ordinary cruise towards the Nile for Poirot ends up being something far more sinister, and if that weren't enough, there are various other murders, deaths, and betrayals to be solved across the globe, which means you'll need to gather clues, interrogate civilians, and solve an onslaught of puzzles to get to the bottom of these cases. If you've played the previous entry, 2023's Murder on the Orient Express, you'll have a very good idea of what to expect from Microids' latest release in terms of gameplay. The core gameplay loop involves interrogating suspects, breaking down clues on the game's built-in Mind Map, and ultimately forming connections to crack cases. It's a simple game to play with a solid variety of difficulty options and even a hint system to ensure everyone will be able to solve the mysteries presented.

Sorry Agatha, but the writing in Death on the Nile is... acceptable (not the original book, just this retelling of it, to clarify). There's nothing outstandingly clever here, but the plotlines manage to be entertaining enough to keep players progressing forward, even if the mysteries themselves can be quite predictable. I was often able to guess the solution long before I could locate all of the clues or talk to the correct folks to solve the case.

I did find myself doing a wee bit of wandering, but that's mainly because I just hadn’t noticed a singular interactive point that would have progressed the story along, but other than that there isn’t a whole lot of time-wasting, as your goal is usually quite obvious. The puzzles present aren't particularly challenging and the game generally moves along at a relatively brisk pace. While clue collecting can be mundane at times, at least each case—of which there are many—does present a unique collection of clues and puzzles, which range from picking locks to fitting luggage into a trunk Tetris-style. There's nothing here you haven't seen in a million other puzzle games, but they serve their purpose effectively. To the game's credit, it also tries to offer further variety through small minigames, such as having to stand in the correct location of an area to eavesdrop on characters having private conversations without being spotted. And for the collectible enthusiasts among us, there are even collectible golden mustaches and vinyls, which can be used to unlock art and music respectively within the game’s museum.

With the dual protagonist system this time around, you might be wondering how that impacts Death on the Nile, and the answer is: it doesn’t change anything too dramatically. Switching between characters throughout gameplay more or less serves as a way for two different plot threads to come together, which, yes, are indeed interconnected with the same cast of characters. Outside of the plot connections, controlling Hercule and Jane is the same, with neither having any particularly unique abilities, only their own motivations. Even so, it was interesting to see how multiple perspectives ultimately converged. The fact that there are many unique locations to explore throughout this campaign also helps to keep the experience from becoming stale. There are hotels in Egypt with cocktail parties, bungalows in Majorca, disco parties, and, of course, that infamous cruise on the Nile. The game also features a confrontation system, where you essentially call people out on their BS and pinpoint which part of their statement has an obvious fallacy. It’s honestly pretty satisfying to call someone out and see them try to worm their way out of a half-truth, which quickly made this my favorite part of the game.  On the opposite side of this spectrum are the time-based reenactment segments where you have to figure out who was doing what during each increment along a timeline. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not challenging–it’s just not fun either. 

Death on the Nile presents pleasant visuals overall, though the characters can lean a bit too far on the uncanny side, often coming across as stiff and lifeless action figures with awkward animations. Some characters were given more love and care than others when it comes to finer details, but at least the environments look respectable—fleshed out with plenty of colorful set pieces and nature.  For what it's worth, the game runs well. I didn’t come across any major crashes in my time playing, with just a few small bugs involving audio dropping out at random times, which created a few impromptu moments of silence. I also briefly tested this game out on Steam Deck and didn’t run into any major issues. It’s certainly not the ideal way to play this title but is perfectly serviceable for those who prefer to take their mysteries on the go. 

There's plenty of voice work to fill in a lot of the gaps at least, most of which is quite well done. When it’s not awkwardly fading into obscurity, the soundtrack for Death on the Nile is surprisingly excellent—an eclectic mix of smooth jazz and '70s-inspired dance and rock hits. Each track fits its respective circumstances like a glove, making it one of the standout aspects of the entire experience. Overall, despite lackluster character models and some audio hiccups, the game looks and sounds pretty decent for a smaller-budget release, similar to my experience with the last Microids-published Christie title. 

While it is more of the same, Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile is a well-made product that has its quirks and can get a bit repetitive at times, but ultimately offers decent fun that fans of Agatha Christie’s classic will enjoy. The plot is merely a vehicle for the puzzles, which is understandable, and the puzzles, while generic, are mostly enjoyable to solve. Audio presentation is also impressive despite a few hitches. If you enjoy more casual detective adventure titles that aren't overly violent or complex, the game offers solid comfort food. It may come off as a bit shallow for more hardcore gamers out there who are looking for a challenge, but everyone else could do much worse. If you're a fan of the original story and liked the last Microids Agatha Christie game, consider investigating this one further! On our scale ranging as low as the dreaded Indie Krampus all the way to the elusive Golden Genie Lamp of Approval, I am awarding Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile the bronze genie lamp of approval.

GOOD