Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile review: Promising but puzzling

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Agatha Christie is synonymous with elaborate mysteries, colorful characters, and carefully interwoven narratives. The latest homage to the legendary author in the video game world is Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile, coming out on September 25, 2025.

Below, you’ll find The Escapist’s full review of this intriguing mystery game, including everything from the writing and stellar voice acting to the setting and complex puzzles. There was a lot to love with Death on the Nile, but it did present some issues during our time with it. 


The Escapist recaps

  • Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile is the latest video game to pay homage to the legendary author, from the teams at Microids and Microids Studio Lyon. It’ll be coming out on September 25, 2025.
  • The detective game offers a fresh spin on the classic novel it takes its name from, moving the setting to the 70s for an extra pop of color and excitement. It feels lively and vibrant, with great music and voice acting. 
  • The writing was solid, and the puzzles were engaging, with plenty of collectibles to pick up while exploring both aspects of the game. 
  • Some issues did pop up during our time with the game – text popped up out of order, a menu started being unresponsive, and a puzzle soft-locked at one point. The soft-locked puzzle required a full game restart, which was frustrating. 
  • Despite this, the game still managed to feel rich and inviting, with plenty for Agatha Christie fans to get stuck into. It’s particularly enjoyable to play through as a completionist, as there are plenty of collectibles and detailed chapter breakdowns. 

Vibrant and charming, with plenty of puzzles

The 70s setting made for an upbeat and intriguing experience. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist

Death on the Nile isn’t an exact retelling of the classic mystery story, it’s a 70s take on the 1937 novel, giving players a new lens to look at the narrative through. Right from the get-go, it feels exciting and colorful, with Hercule Poirot stepping into the Chez ma Tante nightclub and being tasked with discovering a missing ring. 

There are numerous mysteries to solve in Death on the Nile, ranging from stolen items to attempted murders. They get increasingly trickier, with intricate puzzles interwoven throughout to keep things engaging.

Alongside the standard puzzles, there are additional brain-teasers that can reward players with extra collectibles. There are hidden golden mustaches and golden records in every chapter of the game, including the prologue, with some of them being tied to these bonus puzzles, rewarding a keen eye.

Character profile screen showing a woman with an afro hairstyle, wearing a colorful sleeveless shirt, with blank fields for first name, last name, activity, and secret.
The character profiles were an interesting piece of the wider puzzle. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist

Players will need to work through each mystery as Hercule Poirot and Jane Royce, swapping between the two perspectives throughout the different chapters. There’s an overarching story to uncover for both characters, making each chapter feel meaningful.

Information is shared between the two, with tabs like the character profiles and mindmap remaining consistent.

In terms of narrative appeal, Death on the Nile was a blast. There was just enough mystery and danger dotted throughout to keep things interesting, but plenty of lighter, campier moments too, enhanced by the quality voice acting and music. 

Difficulty felt balanced, with a decent level of challenge present in the puzzles to test seasoned mystery game fans. There were difficulty levels and a generous hint system on offer to assist wherever needed, though, to help players avoid getting stuck or feeling annoyed.

The amount of content to play through was delightful, too. With a detailed prologue and 8 individual chapters, it’s a game that’ll take several sittings to play through, especially if you’re someone who likes to 100% their games. Each chapter ends with a summary, too, marking each collectible, hint, mistake, and the overall time. 

Mostly enjoyable, but clunky in places

Player character in a retro-styled room, completing a mystery puzzle called “The Missing Engagement Ring” in the game Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile
The title cards for each mystery are unique. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist

For the most part, Death on the Nile performed well. The visual style was charming, and it looked good on PC without requiring intense specs. The world felt lively and rewarding to explore, particularly from the perspective of a completionist. 

There were some issues with the game, though. One of the key tools that Poirot and Royce rely on throughout the game is the mindmap, which is a tab for all of the current leads, details, and hints for an ongoing mystery. We ran into an issue where this tab stopped responding to inputs multiple times throughout, which hindered our progress.

Additionally, dialogue or key text appeared to trigger at the wrong time in some instances. Without spoiling it too much, one of the mysteries in a later chapter revolves around a missing item; this item is referred to as being fake by a character and the mindmap, well before it’s ever actually revealed to be a fake in the story.

Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile game title screen with palm trees, a hotel, and a swimming pool in the background.
Despite some quirks, this game was a lot of fun to play through. Image credit: Em Stonham for The Escapist

This happened with the character profiles, too. While reviewing the interactions with character A in the character profile history tab, character B was referenced, talking about their cousin, but character B had not actually been spoken to yet. It appeared to be triggering out of order. 

We also ran into a soft-locked puzzle, where we ended up having to relog due to a puzzle not being marked as complete despite it being finished. Thankfully, this was a one-off issue and did not present itself again throughout our playthrough.

Despite these issues, Death on the Nile was a lot of fun to play through. The story was engaging and felt like a great nod to the original book, and the world itself felt lively and fun to explore. If you’re willing to overlook a few quirks, it’s a worthwhile pick-up for any detective novel fans looking for a new game to play. 

Ask The Escapist

When does Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile come out?

Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile will be released on September 25, 2025.

What type of game is Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile?

Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile is a story-led detective game, with puzzles and riddles to solve in a chapter-based format.

Is Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile a difficult game?

On its highest difficulty settings, Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile is fairly tricky, presenting a decent level of challenge for seasoned mystery game players. There are hints available to support players who get stuck on puzzles if needed.

Is Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile set in the 30s?

No, Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile is a fresh retelling of the story, set in the 70s instead.

The post Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile review: Promising but puzzling appeared first on The Escapist.

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