Murder on Space Station 52 Review: Charmer, Briefly

As I listened to the jazzy intro to Murder on Space Station 52 and took in its meticulously hand-drawn art style, I rubbed my hands together in anticipation, watching the opening cinematic of Edward Locke, the robotic and chatty protagonist, arriving at the titular Space Station.

You play as this replacement repairman, sent to Space Station 52 to replace the previous mechanic who’s gone missing. Edward’s first day on the job allows you to get used to the point-and-click controls, but things take a dark turn when he finds the body of the previous repairman wedged within the machinery. The repairman has been murdered, with his forehead split open and an old-fashioned key jammed into the wound, the signature of the Keychain Killer, who is still at large on the Space Station. With the local police seemingly unconcerned, Edward decides to take matters into his own hands and catch the serial killer.

The game's art style and charming musical score enhance the demo level, introducing the gameplay and puzzle-solving mechanics. Edward passes out upon finding the body, and you’ll need to solve a series of challenging puzzles to get clearance to leave the coroner’s office. This involves interrogating the local sheriff, repairing a mechanical doctor, and making sleep gas to knock out the guard in the morgue.

Murder on Space Station 52 presents puzzles that require both logical and unconventional thinking, but some felt overly convoluted in their solutions. Thankfully, the game’s beta-testing Discord channel was a helpful resource, providing answers to puzzles I struggled with.

One early puzzle involves replacing blown fuses in a machine, but the instructions are vague. The puzzle's solution is not where you might expect, and the button that appears to submit your solution isn’t actually where you need to click.

I appreciate the game's layered riddles. While the fuse puzzle got the machine working, it didn’t address Edward's robotic nature. He needed to find organic material to trick the machine into giving him a clean bill of health. It took time to understand how the game wants you to think, especially in the early levels. The game's tutorial, though meant to guide players, was more frustrating than helpful.

One of the game's most frustrating tropes is the inability to interact with objects until the game deems it necessary. When Edward landed on Space Station 52, I saw his toolbox sitting on his pile of belongings. Knowing I was playing a repairman, I tried to grab the toolbox. But the game wouldn’t let me.

I kept seeing the same sad message about Edward packing up his life. Tired of it, I moved on. The next screen said I needed a toolbox, so the game sent me to get it. I found the toolbox and could pick it up.

As you explore, Edward has a sarcastic comment for everything. It's fun at first, but gets old fast. He's clearly impatient and sarcastic, but his attitude wears thin quickly. While you're trying to solve puzzles, his snarky remarks about every object become annoying. What's amusing at first becomes unhelpful and frustrating.

If you can tolerate Edward's annoying remarks, the story of Murder on Space Station 52 is worth checking out. Puzzle fans who like to think things through will enjoy it. But, be prepared to get frustrated with some of the trickier solutions. The game's mystery and style are great, but I was happy to leave Edward behind for some peace and quiet after finishing the game.