Virtual Escaping - "Murder in the Alley"
- Matthew Lui
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Photo above is property of Virtual Escaping
Company: Virtual Escaping
Game: Murder in the Alley
Country: Netherlands 🇳🇱
Language: English, Dutch
Type of Game: Point-N-Click 🖱️
Genre: Mystery, Detective
Date Played: March 25, 2026
Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10
Size of Team: 1-6 ppl
Time: 75 Mins.
Price: $40.00
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈
Frank Calloway was an investigative reporter who was on to something big that involved everyone from crooked cops to top businessmen. Unfortunately, before Frank could expose them, he was found murdered in an alley. The official story claimed it was a mugging gone wrong, but you know better. Can you follow the trail and find out what Frank discovered?
Video above is property of Virtual Escaping
🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈
At the start of the game, I was given the option to view the tutorial explaining the navigation as well as the choice to set a 90-minute time limit, which is great for those with a competitive spirit. The game also included a built-in video conferencing feature, which having used it in the past, is a great in-game addition.
The gameplay was a point-n-click experience, exploring the alley where Frank was murdered, just outside his office in the dodgy part of town. The navigation was straight forward and intuitive. Though I played solo, one thing I like about Virtual Escaping games is that everyone can explore independently. Depending on your preferred style of play, teammates can solve puzzles elsewhere that would then unlock for you, which means you might not see everything.
The game had some high quality and satisfying intro and outro videos, as well as some video elements during the game. It offered more storytelling than I expected with narrative woven into the documents that were scattered around, where I learned more about Frank and what he discovered. The final puzzle required me to deduce the killer, their motive and how they killed Frank, which was a key motivator to reading everything.
Photos above are property of Virtual Escaping
🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂
This game focused more heavily on searching and collecting items then figuring out where they fit rather than more traditional puzzle solving. I did have some difficulty with the lighting and having trouble spotting some items against the dark backdrop of the alleyway. That said, there were some strong connection puzzles.
The hints were helpful and thoughtfully tiered, giving me the opportunity to solve the puzzle on my own without ruining the “aha” moment. At the end, you receive a tally of your hints and to make the leaderboard, you will have to use 3 clues or less.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
"Murder in the Alley" was a solid point and click experience with puzzles that would test any gumshoe’s deduction skills. The video cutscenes and voiceovers were well done, which was enough to draw me in at the start and wrap the game up. I did play solo but would have benefited from a few other teammates to help with the searching. Armchair detectives would find plenty to enjoy here. Overall, it was a fun point and click game to play with friends over distance, whether you’re seasoned escape room players or newcomers to the genre.
(If you do decide to try this game, please remember to let them know that you heard it from"ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
Disclosure: We thank Virtual Escaping for providing us with a sample of the game. Although complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
Comments