Star Seeker is a mystical murder mystery with magical wit
A wizard lies dead in a city apartment cluttered with magical junk. All the usual suspects fill the room – a bottle of virgin’s blood, a half-finished pentagram, and a goat bleating mysteriously in the corner. Who better to solve this case than a self proclaimed ‘arcane professional’ Star Seeker?
Developed by Benedict Ide, Star Seeker in: the Secret of the Sorcerous Standoff is a one-room murder mystery inspired by classic point and click adventures, with a bit of Ace Attorney thrown in there for good measure. Become Star Seeker and use their puzzle-solving prowess, totally legal magical abilities and very useful one-liners to solve a murder case completely stumping local detectives.
Although the case may look simple on the surface, the murder scene unfolds and changes as you investigate – as with all magic, things are rarely as they first appear. Star Seeker has a keen, adapting hypothesis system which helps you shift what questions you’re asking to solve the mystery – and with a unique back and forth for every combination of evidence, it’s time to roll up your wizard robe sleeves and get to work!
“I really wanted to make sure players felt like all their guesses were taken seriously- or at least taken humorously – so the game will give you a unique dialogue for any combination of question and evidence.” explains Ide. “Of course, writing all that dialogue for the game’s 30-ish pieces of evidence on every single possible question took me like… over a year, so I’m excited to finally get it in the hands of players!”
Although Star Seeker themselves are a magical professional, this is a world where casting spells and enchanting runes is illegal – though that doesn’t matter too much to our mischievous protagonist – it’s worked well to create a setting in which magnifying glasses and magical mind palaces can work in tandem. “It can be tricky to include both fantasy and fair-play mystery in a way that feels satisfying to fans of both, but I think we’ve struck a good balance.”
For those looking to test their mystery solving abilities before taking the $5 plunge, Ide has also created a free prologue level set only hours before the main game. In it, you’ll be able to try out all the features available to our wizardly friend as they struggle with the tragic, haunting mystery of where they left their keys last night.
Star Seeker in: the Secret of the Sorcerous Standoff is available now on Steam and itch.io for £3.99 / $4.99.