As someone who has gotten way too into in-person social deduction games in recent years, Killer Inn truly couldn’t have come at a better time. The delightful world of bluffs, social reads, mechanically obtained evidence leading to hidden baddies, and dramatic tension moments before all hell breaks loose is one of the most rewarding experiences in gaming. For this reason, it’s always been a wonder to me that we don’t see more of the genre despite the insane success of games like Among Us, but I have high hopes Killer Inn will be another powerhouse in this underutilized space. By smartly combining core social deduction philosophies with third-person combat and RPG mechanics, this murderous game of investigators and madmen carves a unique niche that had me cackling wildly in a matter of minutes. It might not have the most crisp gunplay or be the most intuitive game in the world (at least in its current beta state), but for a genre that’s criminally underappreciated, this could very well be quite the game changer.
Like any good social deduction game, Killer Inn divides its players into an uninformed majority (in this case, called Sheep), who work together to uncover the baddies, and a malevolent, informed minority (called Wolves), who attempt to kill all the good players before being found out. Wolves succeed when the Sheep fail to work together to solve the puzzle and allow themselves to be picked off, while the Sheep win when they trust one another and use their superior numbers to root out the evil players before the noose closes around them.
The main way this game of cops and robbers differentiates itself though, is in just how much depth there is to that familiar blueprint, as Killer Inn pulls in the design sensibilities of an action game to replace the more traditional sleuthing process. Instead of voting to decide which is the most untrustworthy player to be killed off, players must take it upon themselves to pull the trigger on or bury the hatchet into their fellow player. If they guess correctly, they can take an evil player off the board and make the good team that much more likely to succeed, but if they guess wrong they’re immediately punished by turning into stone and removing themselves from the match for good. This makes for a really neat dynamic, where you either need to gather enough evidence to know for sure that someone is a cold-blooded killer, or risk it all to take someone out before they get the chance to stab you in the back, which makes for a really tense dilemma.
On the other hand, if you’re playing as a Wolf, every time you kill another player you’ll leave behind a clue for the Sheep to find that will narrow down the pool of possible suspects, and if you intend to take out all the goodies in the match, then your unmasking is almost an inevitability. But you can also go for a more discrete approach and blend in with the Sheep, aiding in their efforts to complete quests and, ultimately, to take the one ship off the island, hoping to turn good players on one another and wait for your time to strike. In one match where just three players remained, I watched as a Wolf convinced the last two living Sheep to fire at one another, while he waited to pick off the loser. It’s moments like that where the magic of Killer Inn really shines, and the proximity chat, where players can make social plays to make a foe think them a friend, allows silver-tongued agents to walk away with a victory in the coolest possible way.
Before you turn on one another though, you’ll have to loot gold, find consumables and weapons, and level up your character, and that’s where Killer Inn’s clever use of RPG mechanics really give it a unique flavor. Whether you’re good or evil, you’ll want to take on quests around the hotel given by NPCs and build up a respectable loadout before taking the figh t to your fellow players, because even if you unmask a Wolf, there’s little you can do if he’s got the bigger gun. This adds a compelling layer to the game of cat and mouse, where you’re rushing arou nd to acquire gear, but might drop whatever you’re doing once a body is discovered, as you’ll want to rush to the scene of the crime to gather a clue left behind as to who the culprit might be. As an evil, you might find it appealing to take down good players before they’re properly leveled, but subject yourself to scrutiny pretty early on that can be quite dangerous, like that time I killed four players with grenades right at the start of a match and was immediately an outed evil player for the rest of the game. Worth it.
The actual quests you’re sent on aren’t anything special, as most just require you to go from point A to point B to collect an item, or complete a simple minigame here and there, but these minor chores serve as a great excuse to break up good players and baddies alike into various parts of the map, which offers lots of room for murders to take place. Good players will also want to focus on destroying mean little floating orbs that guard certain areas of the map as each contain a key that can help the Sheep escape the map before getting killed – an alternate win condition that requires quite a bit of cooperation on the good team’s part. Meanwhile, as an evil, you’ll be doing everything to cover your tracks, including one clue leading to your identity that spawns on the map right at the start of the match, which can be concealed if you managed to get there before a Sheep discovers it…but getting caught in the act of destroying evidence carries its own risks.
With all I loved about my time with Killer Inn, one area that could probably use a bit of polish is the actual third-person combat, which felt a bit wonky at times. I wouldn’t expect a game so squarely focused on social deduction to be the next Marvel Rivals, but there was definitely a bit of sloppiness to the gunplay and melee shenanigans that could not feel great – then again, I only had a few hours to hone my skill, so it’s quite possible I just need to git gud. There’s a handful of weapons to find out in the world by completing quests, or buying from a vendor by collecting gold, plus armor, consumables, grenades, and more to help you on your way. Not only that, but equipment can be upgraded at workbenches scattered throughout the map to make your gear a bit more effective and give you an edge when things go sideways. It was a bit tough to figure out the best builds and strategies during the demo (I didn’t get to try out melee or stealth based builds, for example), since I was too busy learning the systems while frantically looking over my shoulder, but it did seem to have a bit of depth to it and a variety of playstyles to choose from, including preset perks depending on which character you chose to bring into battle.
I only got to play a few short hours of Killer Inn, but it’s already won my heart. I can’t wait to betray all my friends and loved ones in the near future, and hope it turns out as good as this early build seems to indicate.
