Midnight Murder Club review – Chasing shadows

When it comes to multiplayer games, you might feel like you’ve done it all by now. Fortnite is the final battle royale destination for any pop culture icon, and there are only so many ways you can repackage a first-person shooter.

That’s why a game like Midnight Murder Club makes an impact: in a sea of live-service shooters, it’s refreshingly different thanks to its rock-solid core concept and impressive execution.

Midnight Murder Club’s key hook is that every match takes place in an opulent mansion where the lights have been turned off. You’ve got a sidearm and a flashlight, but aside from a giveaway beam of light or a muzzle-flash, you’re completely in the dark.

This creates a decadently tense experience, as you have to treat light like a double-edged sword. Do you turn your torch on and risk giving away your position, or do you hope that your trigger finger is quick enough to eliminate your fellow players when they close in on you?

It’s a fascinating premise, further expanded through several modes in this lethal game of hide-and-seek. Every shot counts—reload times are purposefully long to discourage spray-and-pray tactics—and teammates can be revived from the brink of death, further emphasizing the surprisingly tactical nature of the action.

Of course, Midnight Murder Club is best played with friends, as Guest Passes allow you to recruit them for free as long as you own the game. With near-instantaneous kills at the core of its design, a few rounds won’t take up much time either—a blessing in the modern age of trying to organise a digital get-together.

While Midnight Murder Club can feel a little anemic in its mode selection, Wildcards make up for the sparse offering by ensuring each match feels uniquely chaotic. These range from vending machines stocking powerful submachine guns to torches with a wider beam.

Or, if you’re feeling brave, there’s the option to remove all barriers from the murderous mansion, shrinking yourself down while keeping your firepower intact, and cursing everyone with oversized heads.

At the time of writing, the new PvE Graveyard Shift mode has also been added, which is a decent way to sharpen your skills against AI-controlled enemies while completing various objectives. Other modes include the tried-and-true Team Deathmatch, Thief in the Night—which turns the game into a sweaty-palmed treasure hunt—and Headhunters, which tasks four players with destroying three hidden totems guarded by two others.

One other thing to point out is that Midnight Murder Club is also playable in VR, and while I don’t have a PlayStation VR2 headset currently, I can only imagine how my heart rate would spike dangerously with every match. Developer Velan Studios—best known for the brilliant but short-lived dodgeball title Knockout City—has delivered one of the most unique games of 2025.

Released on 14 August, Midnight Murder Club is currently playable on PC and PlayStation 5.