In a time when the market is flooded with repetitive shooters that bring little innovation, Midnight Murder Club from Velan Studios stands out as a different experience as we’ll find out in our Midnight Murder Club review. Mixing the dread of darkness with chaotic multiplayer action inside a haunted mansion, the game has officially left Early Access and is now available on PS5 and PC for just £9. Despite its low price, it leaves a stronger impression than you might expect.
Concept and Gameplay in Midnight Murder Club
The core idea is simple but clever: you and five other players are trapped inside Wormwood Manor, a pitch-dark mansion. Armed only with a pistol and a flashlight, your survival depends on balancing vision and stealth. The flashlight is vital for seeing, but it also reveals your location to enemies.
This mechanic turns every match into a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game. One moment of hesitation can mean survival—or death. Once spotted, chaos erupts with bullets flying, echoing gunshots, and frantic shouting. What begins as tense survival often devolves into accidental comedy—bumping into another player in a dark corner, or mistakenly shooting your teammate.
Multiple Game Modes Add Variety
Midnight Murder Club doesn’t settle for a single core mode. Instead, it offers several creative game types:
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Wildcards Mode – introduces around 40 unique cards that dramatically alter gameplay. Chandeliers may suddenly crash down, players’ heads can inflate to make them easier targets, or certain weapons might transform into over-the-top destruction tools.
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Graveyard Shift – designed for solo or duo play, this mode pits you against waves of demons and monsters with increasing difficulty, adding a PvE flavor.
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Thief in the Night – three two-player teams compete to collect valuable skulls and deposit them in vaults around the mansion. The team with the highest score wins.
These modes expand the experience, turning the game into much more than just a simple shooter.
A Strong Social Experience
One of the game’s biggest strengths is its social nature. Velan Studios added a brilliant feature: when you buy the game, you can invite up to five friends to join for free. This clever move guarantees an active community and makes multiplayer sessions far more fun.
Even better, the game supports proximity voice chat, meaning you’ll hear your friends’ voices as they shout from nearby rooms or panic during firefights. This adds a cinematic layer to the experience that external apps like Discord can’t replicate.
Technical Performance and Visuals
On the technical side, the game runs smoothly most of the time, though occasional connection drops do occur. Graphically, it won’t compete with AAA titles, but its visuals effectively deliver the haunted, shadowy atmosphere of the mansion.
Gameplay itself is extremely simple: run, switch the flashlight on or off, and shoot. Personally, I wished movement speed was a bit faster to enhance the sense of chaos, but even without it, the experience remains tense and entertaining.
On PS5, the game makes smart use of the DualSense controller. Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers add extra immersion—whether when pulling the trigger or colliding with furniture.
Midnight Murder Club Review Final Verdict
Midnight Murder Club isn’t a big-budget production, but it delivers a fresh and fun concept built on the tension and humor of playing in the dark. With its low price and strong social mechanics, it’s an excellent pick if you want a unique online experience with friends.
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