If someone were to ask you, what are some of the greatest mystery stories in the world, how would you answer? What if they asked you, “What are some of the greatest detective stories of all time?” Some would say Sherlock Holmes, while others would say The Maltese Falcon.
In the world, there are a variety of interesting detective and mystery stories that can be found no matter where you are. In video games, there are only a few that can be considered great mystery stories. If you asked a gamer which ones come to mind, they’d most likely say The Wolf Among Us, L.A.Noire, and Disco Elysium.
Two years ago, I was introduced to a franchise called Chicken Police from The Wild Gentlemen. At the time, they were showing off the game, Chicken Police: Into the Hive.
Now, two years later, they had a new game to show off, Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville. Although we got to meet with The Wild Gentlemen at PAX East 2025, we did not have enough time to play through the whole demo. Instead, we got to play through the first half of the demo and speak with the developers.
During this discussion, they stated that Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville is an extension of the Chicken Police story, but will revolve around the side characters Moses and Plato. Unlike the two chicken police games, Last Train to Clawville has new mechanics that make the game feel different than its predecessors.
While playing through the demo, we quickly noticed what those mechanics were and how they make the game stand out. Both Moses and Plato can use their carnivorous senses to detect things that might go unnoticed by their fowl feathered friends.
When talking to different characters, you can use your ears, nose, and eyes to detect any scents, sounds, or movements the characters might be making. These tells and observations can help you tell if a character is lying or telling the truth.
The second new major mechanic we noticed was the time system. While on the train, in between key events, a time indicator is shown, limiting the actions you can make between key events.
In the demo, we were able to talk to three of the guests before the murder mystery started. During each discussion, our characters are able to ask questions and figure out if the individual is lying or telling the truth.
Based on their responses, we can use clues to figure out the answer and then accuse them one way or another. Depending on how well the interview goes, you will be graded on a star scale.
Overall, it felt like Moses & Plato: Last Train to Clawville had refined a lot of the gameplay elements and mechanics that Chicken Police: Into the Hive had introduced and made them easier to use.
The new mechanics made the detective work more interesting rather than tedious, and the mindspace allowed us to put together key pieces of information and show the different relationships each character had with one another.
Since this is still a demo, we expect that there will be more twists, turns, and surprises before the game is released. The characters within this story feel a bit deeper than in the prior games, and the subtle nods to other things going on in that world add nice depth to the story.
We expect that a new demo will be available at PAX West in August of 2025, so keep an eye out for more news; additionally, we expect that the game will release sometime in 2026 if there are no delays based on how polished the demo was. If this game sounds interesting, make sure to wishlist it on Steam.
