Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure for Windows

The return of a cult classic franchise

When it comes to point-and-click games, the Tex Murphy game franchise is relatively well-known. Sure, it has its share of fans, but it doesn’t have the same level of popularity as games like The Longest Journey or the Ravenhearst series of games. Despite this, it managed to keep a small but loyal fanbase that rejoiced upon the news that the cult classic will be revived in a brand-new adventure. In 2014, this revival finally arrived with the release of Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure. Developed by Big Finish Games and published by ATLUS USA, does Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure live up to the nostalgia of the old games while giving new life to a dormant franchise?

Graphics and FMV 

The biggest gimmick of the Tex Murphy games is the full motion video cutscenes played by live actors. Even the earlier games running on old MS-DOS systems had this gimmick. Back then, the quality of the videos was undoubtedly quite poor and terrible.  The 3D backgrounds aren’t as sophisticated as they are now, and the green screen technology clearly has not been perfected yet during the earlier games. As a result, the live action characters look like paper cutouts placed on 3D backgrounds.

Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure is a massive improvement in this regard with its 2K full motion videos. There are still times when the game looks a bit uncanny, but compared to the older games, the live action elements combine much more seamlessly with the 3D backgrounds. There was clearly effort put into making the characters look like they are part of the environment by making sure the scale, perspective, and lighting are correct. One thing both old and new games got right is the acting. Although the acting is by no means Oscar-worthy, it has just the right amount of seriousness and cheese to make it perfect for its neo-noir aesthetic.

Plot and Gameplay

Both the plot and gameplay of Tesla Effect take much from the earlier games in the franchise. As in those games, you play as the eponymous Tex Murphy as he tries to uncover what happened to him and his lover, Chelsee Bando, after they were attached in Tex Murphy: Overseer. 

The gameplay doesn’t deviate too much from the established mechanics of the franchise. You explore and investigate your surroundings from a first-person POV. As a point-and-click adventure game, much of the gameplay involves interacting with your environment to find helpful items you can use to complete your quest. In addition to the investigation part, there are also puzzles and interviews that can affect your ending. The game has several endings based on your decisions through the game.

New and Nostalgic 

This game is enjoyable for both old and new players alike. There are a lot of homages to the old games that make it nostalgic to old players, but it also revitalizes the franchise with improved visual graphics and more streamlined gameplay. New players, on the other hand, can sink their teeth into the series’ interesting characters, intriguing plot, and funny dialogue without getting lost among inside jokes and references. It’s a great game to try out for fans of detective adventure games.