Deep down, almost everyone fancies themselves as an amateur sleuth. How many times have you watched an episode of Poirot or CSI, or read a book by Dickson Carr or Connolly and found yourself second-guessing the murderer and motive before the end? If you’re that kind of person, with a taste for the macabre - perhaps not without a little appreciation of Fawlty Towers-style British wit - then Blue Toad Murder Files could be right up your street.

An episodic PlayStation Network exclusive from the creators of Buzz!, Blue Toad casts the player or preferably players as members of the titular detective agency whose peaceful break in the quaint English village of Little Riddle is interrupted by the murder of the town’s mayor. Thus begins an inquisition which sees the quartet of investigators observe, snoop and query their way around Little Riddle in an effort to untangle the apparent web of lies, deceit and conspiracy.

The game will encompass six episodes in total, and the first two are currently available, covering the mayor’s murder and a burglary respectively. It’s clear that the problems in Little Riddle are far deeper and more complex than at first seems, but it’s hard to really get a grasp on wider events based on two short episodes; particularly when they don’t appear to be closely related. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how developers Relentless Software structure the plot over the next four episodes, and indeed whether the narrative and its inevitable twists are interesting or compelling enough to sustain the game as a whole.

Blue Toad boasts an impeccable production, and every facet of the game from the visuals, voiceovers and particularly the excellent ’40s-inspired music (think overly-dramatic early Hitchcock works) feels extremely polished and very well presented. The script is quite amusing, often with characters and the narrator breaking the fourth wall between gamer and game, to great effect. Some voiceovers can be rather annoying, but since they’re all performed by one man, much credit to Tom Dussek for his performance[s].

With so much to like about the game, it’s something of a missed opportunity that many of the puzzles feel superfluous or under-developed. Each episode has twelve puzzles as well as a few general interventions to ensure players are paying attention to the details. Puzzles are broken down by logic and maths, although generally follow the same pattern; listen to a monologue to identify something, work out the calculations to find the solution or perhaps spot the flaw in a moving pattern. While many of the puzzles in the second episode are compulsive and truly head-scratching, there are too many overall which feel like filler; presenting problems any seasoned gamer should work out without breaking sweat. Relentless have obviously tried to make it as accessible as possible for non-gamers, but unfortunately the result feels a little unbalanced.

Each episode’s climax also seems to lack closure or substance, not to mention - if these two are anything to judge by - consistency. Episode 1’s villain can be identified only by an unconvincing sentence which is easy to miss, but Episode 2’s is presented in such an obvious way that the four of us playing all assumed it was a red herring. It’s all very well keeping the players on their toes, Relentless, but it would be nice if it was done with a little more balance. Again, the culprit in each episode never changes, so once he or she has been discovered any notion of achievement is dashed.

Another issue is the comparative value. With each episode lasting maybe an hour, at £6.29 (or £10 for the two) they feel a little overpriced. This is compounded by the tangible lack of replay value, as the puzzles do not change whatsoever, meaning that in most cases, when players have seen a solution once, the same puzzle is unlikely to present a hurdle thereafter. It doesn’t help matters that even if the player chooses to skip a puzzle, its solution is shown regardless. There’s always the option to go back through for competitive purposes and perhaps it will be a fun game to go back to once a number of months have dulled memory, but in the short term its value cannot possibly compare to many of PSN’s better recent games such as PixelJunk Shooter, Braid or even Trine.

There’s a lot to recommend in the first two episodes of Blue Toad Murder Files, and in particular, it’s the kind of game which really comes alive in a group or family environment. However, there’s no hiding from the fact that the game has very little replay value (trophies aside), and despite the price, each episode has around an hour’s content for a complete run-through. With a little balancing it’s very likely that once the game shows its hand and all episodes are available, that it will be easier to recommend as a complete purchase. As it stands, the first two episodes in Little Riddle’s story are fun but not particularly essential.