The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
The game is for one to four players and leans towards TV murder mysteries such as Agatha Christie's Poirot, Midsomer Murders and Jonathan Creek with "witnesses, alibis [and] motives" rather than being a logic puzzle like Cluedo. The game sees the player investigate murders and interrogate residents in the country village of Little Riddle. Aspects of the game have been compared to the Professor Layton series of games, regarding its setting and puzzle solving game mechanic, but it differs from the Layton games in that the puzzles in Blue Toad are more closely linked to the game's storyline. At various points the game questions the player about their investigation and key plot points to check that they were paying attention. Actor Tom Dussek voiced all the 22 characters (+dog) in the game.
Reception
Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle received moderately positive to mixed reviews.
Eurogamer awarded the game 8 out of 10 (all six episodes), commenting that "..the important elements, like the character, charm and challenge necessary to make episodic games worth sticking with, are all in place."
