Studio behind 80 Days surprise launches a whodunnit where youdunnit

There's been a murder on the high seas, and it's up to the passengers to work out whodunnit. Only, you're not trying to solve the case—you're the new-found widow with blood on your hands trying to keep anyone from finding out.

Announced and released this afternoon, Overboard! is a nautical murder mystery from Heaven's Vault and 80 Days developer Inkle. As the killer of your dearly-departed husband, you'll have to retrace your footsteps, remove all trace of your involvement, and set someone up to take the blame in your place.

All this happens in what Inkle is calling a "next-gen visual novel". You've limited time to explore this open ship, interacting with passengers and crew who themselves are roaming independently—keeping tabs on where you've been and what they've seen.

"Go where you want, when you want. But the other characters are watching and won’t forget what they see!"

In the space of eight in-game hours (30-45 minutes real-time), you'll be forging alliances, cheating passengers, and maybe committing a second bout of murder to escape the first.

You'll be replaying runs over and over, figuring out the perfect way to get away with murder. The idea of Inkle's narrative chops framing a run-based investigation is certainly very intriguing—and fortunately, you can give it a shot right now. Overboard! is out today on Steam and GOG for $13.71/£9.68.

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.