Latest news with #KillerInn
CNET
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNET
A Murderer Is Among Us in Square Enix's Killer Inn
Announced during this year's Summer Game Fest, Square Enix's next game is a little different from its RPG hits. Killer Inn is an upcoming murder mystery that pits 24 players against each other in a game of deception. I went hands-on with the title for a couple of hours before the launch of its closed beta, which is releasing Friday. Square Enix The game is very reminiscent of the breakout pandemic hit Among Us, with players performing mundane tasks as they try to avoid getting murdered. Two teams consisting of 18 Lambs (prey) and six Wolves (predators) will be set loose on the grounds of a large and labyrinthian mansion. The Wolves know the allegiance of everyone and their goal is to eliminate every Lamb before the timer runs out. Lambs are left clueless of who is friend or foe and must be cautious when encountering another player. The Lambs win by either eliminating all six Wolves or by escaping the island during the endgame phase (more on that later). But players won't be idly waiting to hunt or be hunted. The game's core loop involves all players receiving short quests from the in-game NPCs. These NPCs are usually merchants who also sell useful items such as health recovery, crowbars (to access certain rooms/boxes), weapons/armor, etc. The quests are pretty mundane and often require you to follow a glowing trail (like a waypoint in a driving game) until you come across a key. These keys can then be traded into various glowing chests around the map to unlock random items. Chests can either be random or specific to a certain type, such as assassin (traps), armor, weapon, etc. Square Enix A lot of these quests feel like busywork to power up your character so you have more of a fighting chance against attackers. At the same time, Wolves are also doing the same quests to get better weapons and traps to use against other players. It's still early for Killer Inn but I didn't find any of these quests to be particularly engaging. Apart from the odd match-these-shapes or a shooting mini game, the quests are extremely low stakes and uninteresting. This might also be because we played on the one map for the entire preview so I got pretty used to the same scenarios and obstacles. The game is early so hopefully Square Enix has more maps and challenges to come. Square Enix Killer Inn gets a lot better when you encounter another player. It features proximity voice chat so you're able to talk to your friend/foe when close to one another to try to find out their intentions. This is a great feature because it allows you to hold secret conversations away from others. Keep in mind, I was in a preview event where everyone was trying to have a good time, so people may have been engaging in better faith than your average online match. Voice chat with random public people on the internet can be a crapshoot so your mileage may vary. When a Wolf kills a Lamb, everyone gets a notification on their screen and a waypoint to locate the corpse. A corpse always leaves two clues to the killer's identity. In my preview it was often a piece of colored fabric or hair that corresponded to a few players each. Collecting enough of these will help you narrow down who might be a Wolf. If the Wolf is fast enough to mess with the corpse after a kill, they can remove one of the clues, letting the Lambs only find a single one. There are also single-use items in the game that can help each side hide or find more when searching a body. Square Enix To make things more interesting, the Lambs can't simply start killing random players, hoping they get lucky and eliminate a Wolf. If a Lamb kills another Lamb, the mistaken killer will also be eliminated from the game. This means you really need to collect clues and watch how players are reacting before taking your, sometimes literal, shot. When the game timer nears the end, the game switches into its end state where the Lambs must head to a huge ship to board and hopefully escape. There are six anchors locking the ship in place and they must slowly lift each one before winning. It's a slow process that really makes you sweat because it leaves you in quite a vulnerable position. This is the Wolves' last chance to win and luckily it puts a lot of the Lambs in one smaller area. However, it also means a lot of eyes will be watching. In my previews this is where the largest gun fights broke out because each team was making a last-ditch effort to win. In fact, most of the murders I came across were pretty standard stabbings or shootings. I'm sure in future games, when the players have more experience, I'll see a lot more stealth attacks and traps being laid for more intricate eliminations. There's a lot to learn from Killer Inn and it will definitely take a few rounds before you even begin to get a grasp of when to strike and when to blend in. Square Enix I found playing as a Lamb to be a lot easier. Having a larger team of players working together to discover the enemy allowed the pressure to be shared. As a Wolf, you're juggling a lot and trying to play both sides. In fact, during the three games I played, the Lambs won every time. I'm curious if this will remain as the game matures or will being a Wolf just require more experience with the game to succeed. Much like the board game Werewolf, classic card game Mafia, or Among Us, Killer Inn is best played with a group of people who are all in character and really leaning into the deceptive nature of the game. You have the option of turning voice chat off but you'd be missing out on the most interesting part of the game: the lying. Square Enix While the social guessing game is Killer Inn's greatest strength, its humdrum quests are its biggest weakness, and I came away from it a little skeptical of its long term replayability. I enjoyed my time but am unsure if I could see myself coming back for more of those boring quests. I would love to see more interesting challenges that force players into unique scenarios where staying hidden or breaking character means life or death. Killer Inn's closed beta goes live on Friday, July 25, on PC and currently has no final release date.
CNET
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Square Enix's Next Game Blends Among Us-Like Murder Mystery With Bloody Carnage
Bet you didn't have this one on your bingo list. Developed by Tactic Studios in partnership with Square Enix, the game was unveiled during the Summer Game Fest livestream, and it's far from the famed RPG maker's bread and butter. Killer Inn, as it's called, is a multiplayer murder mystery that takes Among Us-like gameplay and ratchets it up by handing players knives, guns and many other weapons to kill or be killed while they search for the original killer. Killer Inn might be one of those games that is best understood after playing a few matches, but even from the reveal trailer, there's a lot going on. In each match, 24 players enter a sprawling castle-turned-hotel to determine who the real killers are as they're picked off one by one. There's deduction and mayhem aplenty. Killer Inn's play phases are patterned after detective-style games, from Among Us to Ultimate Werewolf to Mafia. A match begins with most players as cooperative participants ("lambs," in Killer Inn's parlance) mixed with a few secret killers ("wolves"). Players complete tasks to earn tokens redeemable for items and weapons, while the killers quietly go about their business -- until someone discovers a body. On the corpse are clues left by the killer, so the lambs can try deducing the true culprit (or culprits). Square Enix Then it's all about collecting clues and identifying the wolves -- but unlike Among Us, there's no group discussion to present evidence or vote them out. Killer Inn skips the parlor scene and dives straight into action: If you're sure someone's the killer, take them out. Use those token-bought guns and blades to put down the villain. Unless you accidentally murder one of your innocent teammates -- in which case, you're turned to stone for the rest of the match. Bummer. Lambs have another win condition: assembling four keys to escape on the ship that brought them to the murder island. There are other mechanics, too, like finding relative safety in rooms with hotel staff, who will identify any wolves that kill lambs in their line of sight. Players can choose between 25 premade characters that each have their own unique appearances and abilities, the latter of which improve as the match goes on, often reflecting the nefarious dark sides of the participants. For example, Winston is a surgeon who kills more efficiently with knives and, when leveled up, deals extra damage while covered in blood. The Otaku, by contrast, gains 25 HP from finding clues and eventually builds resistance to status effects. Levels don't carry over between matches -- everyone starts fresh at level one. Killer Inn doesn't have a release date, but the game will kick off a closed beta test over Steam in the near future.
Digital Trends
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
We uncovered more clues about Killer Inn's murder mystery gameplay
Summer Game Fest 2025 kicked off with a ton of surprise reveals and fresh looks at some highly anticipated upcoming video games. While it is always nice to get new looks at already announced games, one new IP from Square Enix and Tactics Studios took us all by surprise. Killer Inn was shown off as a new asymmetrical mystery game where a secret team of killers, aka Wolves, attempts to pick off the remaining 'survivors, 'Lambs' without getting caught. It gave off strong Among Us vibes on reveal, but we've gotten a deeper look into what makes this social deduction game worth checking out when it hits early access. What stands out most about Killer Inn compared to other games of this type is how action-packed it is. Instead of being all about sneaking and subterfuge, gunfights and brawls will happen often. Each time a player is killed, a clue will be left behind to help the Lambs uncover who the killers are. These clues feel like the freshest addition Killer Inn adds to the genre over pure social deduction. Finding strands of hair can tell you what color hair a Wolf has, or a scrap of clothing could tell you what color coat they are wearing, for example. But you need to be sure you're right because killing another Lamb will eliminate you from the game. Recommended Videos 24 players will pick between one of two factions and over 20 unique characters with their own appearance, skills, and abilities for each match. The range of characters includes classes like Otaku, Cosplayer, Pirate, Boxer, Gamer, and more, with two skills based on that class. 7 players will be assigned as Wolves, while the remaining 16 are Lambs. Besides the usual win conditions of Wolves killing all the Lambs or Lambs uncovering or killing the Wolves, Lambs also have the option of completing objectives to escape the castle as well. This requires them to gather four keys and raise all the anchors in the harbor. Loot will be distributed via colored chests, scattered items, and can also be purchased from NPCs in safe zones. Weapons include a range of melee weapons, rifles, SMGs, shotguns, grenades, and traps. These NPCs also hand out quests that give you tokens needed to open said chests. Safe Zones don't prohibit killing, though. Anyone can still attack another player in these areas, but will instantly be identified to the others. Of course, Killer Inn will feature full 3D audio proximity chat to let players attempt to deceive one another. For those who don't have a mic, emotes are available to do some basic communication. Killer Inn will have a closed beta test on Steam in the near future, but has no set release date.
Engadget
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Killer Inn turns Werewolf into a multiplayer action game
Killer Inn is a little bit murder mystery and a little bit third-person action game, and combined, it looks like a lot of fun. Square Enix and developer Tactic Studios revealed Killer Inn during today's Summer Game Fest kickoff stream. A beta for the game is coming to Steam soon and it's available to wishlist now. Killer Inn is a lot like the movie Clue , or the TV show The Traitors , or the social improv game Werewolf , or the video game Spy Party — it's all about uncovering players' true intentions and concealing your own, with a murderous twist. Each round includes 24 players, some of whom are wolves, while the rest are lambs. As a lamb, the players' goal is sniff out the wolves and survive their attacks, and the wolves are out to blend in with the herd, stealthily killing when they can. Each kill leaves behind a clue for other players to find. The game ends when one team has eliminated all members of the opposing group. It isn't pure social strategy — there are various weapons, traps, poisons, bits of armor and masks to use, and a range of characters to choose from. Killer Inn is playable solo or with up to four players.
The Verge
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Killer Inn is Square Enix's new ‘murder mystery action' game
Square Enix just announced Killer Inn, a new 'murder mystery action' game, as part of Summer Game Fest on Friday. In a Killer Inn match, 24 players are divided into two teams of 'wolves' and 'lambs,' and it's the job of the lambs to discover and kill all the wolves or for the wolves to kill the lambs. (Just to be clear, you play as humans, but with the title of wolves or lambs.) When wolves kill a lamb, they'll leave clues like a piece of hair or clothing that the lambs can use to try and identify the wolves. Killer Inn is coming to PC, and it will be getting a closed beta 'soon.' You can apply for the beta on the game's Steam page.
