Miss Fisher And The Deathly Maze Review

Sultry, stylish and sassy, Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze feels like a warm welcome to a swinging 1920's Melbourne that's condensed into a portable visual novel. Rather pleasingly, the charm of the ABC murder mystery series isn't lost in translation: iOS is a natural fit for Phryne Fisher's incisive detective skills, arming players with interactive screens and choice-based dialogue to unravel a ghastly murder mystery.

A night out at the opera quickly turns macabre when songstress Helen Silcox is found dead, forcing protagonists Phryne and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson to launch an investigation. The narrative is largely propelled forward by speaking with different characters, such as the Mrs. Bennet-like Prudence Stanley or suspicious art patron Wilhelmina Winters, and here Tin Man Games succeed with stellar writing, imbuing each lady and gentleman with well-defined personalities. Phryne and Co. look fabulous in 2D, and a frolicking jazz suite with smooth trumpet highlights and bittersweet accordion completes the atmosphere. The user interface has an ‘examine’ button which lets you investigate a given room hidden-object game style, and despite Phryne’s worldly and often humorous insights, tapping it after every object feels a tad cumbersome - especially after dragging the magnifying lens to various locations on the screen. In contrast, ‘Deducing’ feels much less taxing; it captures the essence of the series by allowing players to piece together collected evidence into a coherent whole, and is a constant source of perplexing fun.

New areas unlock as a reward for clever sleuthing work, and for the fashion conscious, there are also scattered fragments of Phryne’s outfits to discover and assemble. Ultimately, it’s an optional side quest, but it nonetheless works at igniting player curiosity and driving exploration. As for Phryne’s main quest, it’s sprawled out across real locations in Melbourne like the Princess Theatre (currently showing The Book of Mormon for those who are interested) and Turnbull Alley, which is an admirable documentation of Australian history within a game. Also impressive is Phryne’s spirited, cheerfully disobedient disposition, which strikes true with Essie Davis’ charismatic on-screen performance. Like the series, Miss Fisher and The Deathly Maze provides fans of mystery a well-paced adventure of generous length that is an absolute steal for its price.

A superb homage to the much-loved series, Miss Fisher and The Deathly Maze shines thanks to witty, cultured dialogue, an authentic jazz soundtrack, and a riveting murder mystery set-up Hercule Poirot would be proud of. A must-play for fans of the ABC series.

Miss Fisher and The Deathly Maze is out now via the App Store for $2.99 USD. Android and PC versions will follow soon.