During today's Summer Game Fest showcase, Square Enix stole the spotlight with an announcement of Killer Inn, a brand-new social deduction title.
Developed by Tactics Studio, Killer Inn is a murder mystery where participants are split into two factions—lambs and wolves—and placed within a sprawling mansion. The wolves aim to eliminate all lambs, while the lambs must identify their hidden adversaries to halt the killings, despite not knowing who their teammates are at the outset.
As players navigate the estate, they gather survival tools, gear, and weapons from chests and merchants located throughout the map. Completing quests earns tokens that can be spent to unlock specific chests for superior equipment. The game features over 20 unique characters, each with distinct abilities that level up during matches. These characters can equip a wide array of weaponry, including guns, knives, and grenades, to defend against opposing team members.
When a player falls victim to murder, their body reveals clues pointing to the culprit. These hints—such as hair, skin samples, fingerprints, blood, or clothing details—help narrow down the wolves' identities. Fortunately, the game tracks these clues automatically, using UI markers to indicate which players are growing increasingly suspicious of specific individuals.Once a lamb identifies a wolf, they must eliminate them before more victims fall. Killing another lamb results in automatic elimination for that lamb, encouraging strategic play over chaotic murder sprees. Safe zones scattered across the map prevent wolves from killing lambs within their boundaries; if a kill occurs nearby, staff members immediately reveal the killer's identity to other lambs. Additionally, there is an alternative victory condition: lambs can unlock and use a boat at the harbor for escape, though doing so presents a significant challenge.
Killer Inn is scheduled to enter closed beta on Steam in the near future, although a specific release date has not yet been announced.
