If you’re wondering how many Murder, She Wrote games are out there, you’re at the right place! Today, I will list all the games in the series in order of their release, so that you can play them in chronological order.
Featuring Jessica Fletcher, novelist-turned-sleuth and available on PC and Mac, the Murder, She Wrote games manage to capture the awesomeness of the series and challenge us with solving some really cool mysteries.
Currently, there are just two Murder, She Wrote games released, with no known plans for more. Both were created by Legacy Games and we’re talking about them below.
Murder, She Wrote Games List
From: Legacy Games/Clayowo Games
Genre: Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA)
Murder, She Wrote 1
Plot: Help the world-renowned mystery author, Jessica Fletcher, solve murders! Piece together the clues and crack different cases in this exciting Hidden Object game!
Based on the hit TV show, Murder, She Wrote will take you on a fun journey, through multiple cases. Play in relaxed (aka untimed) or Timed mode for a bigger challenge.
This murder mystery game features all the main characters from the popular detective TV show. It also has solid voice overs, but unfortunately not by the original cast.
Explore crime scenes and use Jessica’s curiosity and wits to discover the true culprit. Solve perplexing puzzles and search for cleverly hidden items to catch the criminals!
There are actually 5 mysteries to solve in this game: A Deadly Catch, Murder in the Maples, A Garden to Die For, Secrets & Ashes, Final Curtain. Pretty awesome overall!
Game Play
You have a hint button (the typewriter in the bottom left-hand corner) which pings to let you know it’s recharged.
And for an immediate/free hint, find Jessica’s typewriter ribbon in each HO scene.
The HO scenes are replayed when new evidence comes to light and you need to re-examine a location for clues. But not too many times, so it doesn’t get boring.
There are interesting puzzles are interspersed throughout. Including ‘odd one out’ games and logic puzzles. You can skip these if you wish. But this will add 30 minutes to your time, in timed mode.
A map shows you all the areas to explore in each case. And there is a notebook which is automatically updated with your notes.
Murder, She Wrote 1 – Impressions
Overall this is a straight-forward, no-frills charming sleuthing game! There’s some good game play, not too difficult but enjoyable. And though I’d have prefered Angela Lansbury and the other cast to have done the voice-overs. I think that the actors they used did a good job though.
Murder, She Wrote 2: Return to Cabot Cove
Plot: Take on the role of beloved murder-mystery writer Jessica Fletcher and return to lovely (but lethal) Cabot Cove!
In Case 1, a prominent gallery owner is found stabbed in the back, and Jessica must distinguish friend from foe.
Intrigue abounds in Case 2 when the philanthropic president of the local charity is electrocuted to death. It’s up to Jessica to discover whether the motive was love, money or power.
Jessica decides that she needs a vacation after all the mayhem and murder in her hometown, but Case 3 finds her embroiled in a mystery involving James Joyce!
Game Play
Nice touches about in this second game in the series. For example, the game is opening with the TV show theme tune in the background. It also has nicely animated cut scenes, that can be replayed or skipped.
You have 3 mysteries to solve in this sequel: Masterpiece of Murder, Moose Lodge Murder and Finnegan’s Fake.
Play in 2 difficulty modes: Casual (1 minute to refill hint/skip button and interactive areas highlighted) or Expert (2 minutes to refill hint/skip button and no highlights).
From the bottom of the screen you can access the hint button, collapsible inventory and journal. The journal shows you important clues you’ve collected in your investigation, as well as objectives to complete.
As with the first Murder, She Wrote game, the HO scenes require you to find the missing typewriter keys (A, E, I, O, U, Y). This time though these are straight forward list HOGs. No iHOGs here. Clear the hidden object scenes to find important clues.
And as there is no task list in this sequel, you’ll need to remember tasks you’ve yet to complete. This can make things a bit more frustrating, going back and forth between scenes.
The puzzles (over 20 included) vary in type and difficulty. Click on the ‘Help’ button for instructions if needed, but any HOPA fan shouldn’t have any trouble here.
Murder, She Wrote 2 – Impressions
Another relaxing and simple HO detective game, though not as good as the first, in terms of the HO games and the overall experience.
This Murder, She Wrote game is still fun though, with nice graphics, subtle soundtrack and NO voice-overs (so you will have to read the dialogue). This is a quieter game and so also less atmospheric and immersive.
Wrapping up
As you can see, there are just two Murder, She Wrote games in the series and, based on the fact that the second wasn’t as good as the first, as well as the fact that the TV series itself is no longer that popular, I think this is all we’re getting from Miss Fletcher.
You might also like my Top Games Based on Popular TV Detective Shows! round-up. With 10 top hidden object games based on popular TV crime shows like Criminal Minds, Castle, Psych, Murder She Wrote and more!