I’ve been keeping an eye on KILLER INN ever since its announcement, as the idea of an online murder mystery experience aligns perfectly with my interests, particularly with detective-style games being my current preferred genre. Last weekend’s Closed Beta provided me the opportunity to dive in and see how the game is developing, and here’s how it unfolded.

To begin with, the concept of KILLER INN is rather straightforward: an initial corpse is discovered, and you, along with the other players in the game, must uncover the identity of the murderer and eliminate them. Players are separated into two factions: Lambs and Wolves. The Lambs are tasked with identifying the murderer and surviving, while the Wolves aim to eliminate all the Lambs. It appears to be a basic idea, and that’s mainly because it truly is. Each match features more Lambs than Wolves, suggesting a lopsided victory for the Lambs in every game, but surprisingly, the matches I participated in were evenly contested, with wins for both sides.

KILLER INN starts off with you selecting your character for the specific match you’re entering. There are 25 unique characters available, each with their own perks that players can obtain as they level up during matches. Characters have sub-types such as Detective, Gangster, Martial Artist, and others, offering perks related to their type. For instance, the character Autumn falls under the Thief sub-type and can acquire two perks at levels two and four respectively: Quick Hands (the pickpocket minigame has no gaps and the progress bar moves 25% quicker) and Lockpicker (enables her to unlock any door or chest without standard requirements, leaving no clues in her wake).

“In KILLER INN, it’s advisable to stay neutral around the Inn’s staff unless you wish to attract the rest of the populace to pursue you prematurely.”

Once you’re in the game, the initial minutes are spent completing minor fetch quests to enhance your level and acquire weapons, traps, healing items, etc., as well as gathering clues from various murders that have occurred while you and others navigate through the Inn. These minor quests are given by different Inn employees who maintain safe zones within their view. This means that any murder or violence occurring within their sight will mark the player for everyone to see. In KILLER INN, it’s advisable to stay neutral around the Inn’s staff unless you wish to attract the rest of the populace to pursue you prematurely.

As previously mentioned, players can discover weapons and gear scattered around the map by unlocking various chests found using tokens earned from completing quests. At times, the quest prompts you simply to reach a location and interact with the icon; other times, there’s a puzzle to decipher, but nothing too extreme. I must mention that you are vulnerable while interacting with the icon or puzzle, so proceed with caution when collecting tokens.

KILLER INN aspires to be a murder mystery at its essence, and there is clear evidence of this, particularly in the clue-collection aspect. This has easily become my favorite part of the experience so far, as everyone you encounter can be examined for clues or searched for their illicit possessions. Sometimes you might stumble upon a strand of hair that matches only a handful of players, or a fabric scrap from a shirt worn by just one individual. Once you gather this information, ideally, you should aim to eliminate them as discreetly as possible to avoid raising suspicion, but that doesn’t always transpire smoothly.

This is because, while the Lambs are gathering clues, the Wolves are busy dispatching the Lambs. Thus, it quickly morphs into a race of killing before you yourself are killed (again, this applies if you’re playing as a Lamb), and that’s when things can escalate. Numerous times in the matches I participated in, I could barely enter a room without two or more individuals firing at me.