A few years ago, inkle came out with a phenomenal visual novel called Overboard, where the premise was that the game’s main character had just killed her husband and you had to figure out a way to help her escape. Apparently inkle got a taste for murder mysteries, because today they announced that their next game will be one as well.
Called Expelled, the game will feature a slightly more conventional take on the murder mystery genre: rather than trying to get away with murder, you’re trying to solve one. The twist here is that the game’s main character is the prime suspect, so you have to help her clear her name — or risk expulsion if you can’t do it.
We’ll find out in exactly four weeks if Expelled lives up to the very high standards that Overboard! set for inkle, but seeing as they’re also the team behind 80 Days, Heaven’s Vault, and Steve Jackson’s Sorcery — all very enjoyable visual novels/adventure games in their own right — it seems like you’d have to be a fool to bet against it. Expelled arrives on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and iOS March 12, but for now, here’s the video and some screenshots!
April, 1922. Verity Amersham (voiced by Amelia Tyler, Baldur’s Gate 3) is a scholarship student at one of England’s top boarding schools. She’s always tried to be good — making her the perfect patsy when a prefect is pushed out a window. Can you keep Verity from being expelled?
- A next-gen visual novel with a wicked twist. Choose every line and every action. Go where you want, when you want. But remember, your classmates and teachers are watching!
- Choices that really matter. Build and execute your strategy, but watch out: every decision has consequences.
- NPCs with their own agendas. Other characters move around the school in real time. Will you mislead them? Avoid them? Blackmail them? Silence them? It’s up to you.
- Massively replayable. Each run can be wildly different. What you learn in one playthrough gives you new things to try in the next.
- How bad will you be? Verity wants to be good, but dire straits can make anyone a little naughty. How low will you stoop to save your skin?