Yeah, see: It was a dark and stormy night. I could smell murder in the air. I had questioned all the suspects and made my conclusions. "Alexa," I said feeling sure of myself. "I accuse Doctor Welker of murdering Rupert Lyle with a pistol." "Good work Detective," my sassy Assistant replied. "The doctor did it."
X2 Games has announced a new board game that uses Alexa to tell an immersive story as you play. The game is called St. Noire and pits players as rival gumshoes to solve a murder mystery before the time runs out.
St. Noire was created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell and Hollywood creative director Zai Ortiz. The pair will be showcasing the game at Comic Con in San Diego on July 20 hosted by Kevin Smith.
How it works is players have seven (in-game) nights to figure out who killed whom and with what. Think Clue but with gritty voice acting. There are 12 different characters with professional actors voicing over 1,200 lines of dialogue.
Players must explore the town of St. Noire and question suspects, some of whom are liars.
"Not everyone will give an honest answer when asked where they were or who they saw the night of the murder," the game's description reads. "Compare suspect's answers and look for inconsistencies to figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying. Be careful --- liars will always lie, but not all liars are the killer! Nothing they say can be trusted!"
The first player to identify and accuse the correct suspect before the end of the seventh night wins the game and saves the town. The game randomizes the killer and victim every time you play, so it is not just a set script.
The game is up for pre-order now exclusively through Amazon for $40. It does require an Alexa enabled device, which is not included, but if you already have one of the spying devices in your home, the game sounds pretty fun. St. Noire begins shipping August 15.