Demo just the ticket for Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville 

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Timed anthropomorphic animal murder mystery aboard a luxury train coming from the creators of Chicken Police

It seems that mammals are just as capable of great feats of detective work as birds, as the creators of the Chicken Police series have announced a new anthropomorphic animal-themed mystery with a different breed of protagonist in the upcoming Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville. 

The titular duo – Moses Wildflower the fox and Plato Palladias the cat – are assigned to escort an ambassador of questionable character aboard a luxury train, the Clawville Express, to some highly important peace negotiations. Tragically, the ambassador is murdered en route, and his guardians become the main suspects! To clear their names and bring the real killer to justice, the "clueless detectives" will need to (literally) "sniff out clues, eavesdrop on conversations, and interrogate passengers." But everything the duo does takes time and the clock is ticking, so they have only until the train reaches the next station to solve the mystery. Fail to identify the culprit in time, and they may just be responsible for war breaking out "between the two biggest powers of the Wilderness!"

Like the Hungarian developer's previous game, this one stars a cast of anthropomorphic animals from the World of Wilderness universe in a "story-rich investigative adventure" that blends visual novel-styled dialogue and traditional point-and-click gameplay. But while the Chicken Police titles are steeped in gritty, black-and-white film-noir atmosphere, Moses & Plato is presented in a vibrant hand-drawn art style. The setting, time period and rich cast of twelve diverse characters are immediately evocative of Agatha Christie's classic whodunit Murder on the Orient Express – if Poirot had an animal's enhanced sense of "smell, sight, and hearing" to find otherwise imperceptible clues – while the time element calls to mind another fan favourite train mystery, The Last Express. Every room and cabin conceals something of interest, and of course your fellow suspects all have secrets to hide. To separate truth from lies, players will need to use Moses' "mind garden" to collect and connect as many clues as possible. You won't be able to learn everything in the allotted time, however, so you'll want to plan your strategy accordingly. Rest assured that even if you don't get the optimal outcome right away, the game is meant to be replayed, as "the more you play, the more you uncover," and different approaches will reveal "a new point of view every time."

There is no target release date for Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville just yet, but there's already a playable demo available on Steam for Windows PC to tide you over while you wait, offering a "slightly altered snippet of the final experience."

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