**Midnight Murder Club Review: A Unique, Tense FPS Experience With a Catch**

*Midnight Murder Club* is a bite-sized first-person shooter with a unique premise that makes it worth trying out. Set in a pitch-black mansion, this PS5 exclusive (well, console exclusive) challenges you to track other players using only the light from a small torch and audio cues such as muffled footsteps, the creaking of doors, and overheard conversations through proximity chat.

When you have a full match of six players all using their microphones, the atmosphere is absolutely electric. There’s serious tension as you creep around, which always gives way to pure chaos once the shooting starts. If you’re looking for something to try on your next night of gaming with friends, you can certainly do much worse than the modest $9.99 / £8.99 asking price. There’s even a Guest Pass feature that lets your buddies join in completely for free, which is appreciated.

Unfortunately, the experience falls apart when you don’t have a dedicated group. Finding online matches is almost impossible thanks to a tiny pool of players just a few weeks after launch. The few offline modes, while a decent starter course, won’t keep you entertained for long.

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### Lights Out

*Midnight Murder Club* offers a total of five player-versus-player (PvP) game modes. While they follow the same general format, a few unique mechanics keep each one interesting.

The main mode, called **Wildcards**, features three teams of two players competing for the most kills. At the start of the match, every player selects a titular wildcard from a deck, each boasting a unique effect. These range from simple bonuses like faster reload speeds and more effective flashlights to wackier options like a card that turns every gunshot into a loud jazz trumpet toot or one that gives everyone massive heads.

The chosen wildcards affect all players, leading to some enjoyably bonkers combinations. More cards are unlocked with each completed match, giving you at least a small reason to keep coming back for more.

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### Game Modes and Gear

Other modes include a standard free-for-all and team deathmatch, as well as the more exciting **Thief in the Night** and **Headhunters**. In these, players scramble to collect valuable skull fragments or destroy evil totems, respectively.

You start off each game armed with a basic revolver, which has unlimited ammunition in most modes. Vending machines scattered around the map provide access to more powerful machine guns and deadly traps like falling chandeliers. Getting gear from these vendors doesn’t cost money but produces a huge amount of light and noise, forcing you to weigh whether the gear on offer is worth exposing your position.

Your flashlight presents a similar risk-versus-reward dilemma. Levels are completely pitch black without it, so it’s necessary to navigate unless you want to spend most of your time running into walls. Beams of light make it easy for others to track your location, and blindly shooting toward a light source can often net an easy elimination.

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### Dead Silence

Voice chat is a key part of *Midnight Murder Club*, and coordinating with your team is almost vital for success. The game uses a proximity chat system, where your DualSense Wireless Controller or PS5 headset constantly broadcasts your voice to nearby players, friend or foe.

Turning off your flashlight and following the sound of player voices for a sneak melee attack is a constant source of devilish satisfaction—especially when you get to hear their panicked screams as you strike.

Although proximity chat can be a lot of fun, its inclusion does present some risks when playing with strangers. I was particularly impressed by the **Auto Scramble** feature that automatically distorts the voices of anyone not on your team. You can still decipher general emotions, but individual words are impossible to make out—an innovative and practical addition that I’d love to see in other online games.

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### Online Issues and Accessibility

Unfortunately, there are few opportunities to use these voice chat features due to a dire online matchmaking situation. I’ve been trying to find matches every day for weeks, but it’s borderline impossible to find a full lobby. To make matters worse, players frequently drop out of matches, and the peer-to-peer hosting results in massive lag spikes.

There are some single-player options such as playing Wildcards against bots or mowing down computer-controlled enemies in the usually two-player **Graveyard Shift** mode. However, these modes are limited, and to truly enjoy the game, you need a large group of friends.

While *Midnight Murder Club* supports cross-platform play, PC players must log in with a PlayStation account in addition to a Steam account. Given that this is a PlayStation-published game, this requirement makes some sense, but it’s still incredibly annoying in a game that would otherwise be easy to pick up and play.

Several friends I had lined up to join did not have PlayStation accounts and were unwilling to share their email addresses with Sony for what might have been a one-time night of gaming. This hurdle ultimately led them to choose other titles, which is unfortunate when the matchmaking pool is already so small. It seems like the developers may have inadvertently hindered their own community growth with this decision.

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### Final Verdict: Should You Play *Midnight Murder Club*?

*Midnight Murder Club* can be a fantastic time—provided you manage to find a full lobby, which is almost impossible if you’re not playing with friends. It’s mostly worth picking up if you have a group of five buddies eager to squad up.

**Play it if:**
– You have a dedicated group of friends to play with.
– You enjoy tense, audio-based FPS games with unique mechanics.
– You want a cheap, bite-sized console shooter with an innovative proximity voice chat system.

**Don’t play it if:**
– You plan to play solo or rely on public matchmaking.
– You’re put off by limited offline modes.
– Complex account requirements and small player pools bother you.

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### Accessibility Features

*Midnight Murder Club* includes a few accessibility options:
– Customizable colors for in-game teams to improve visibility.
– Invertible camera controls.
– Most button inputs can be remapped on PS5 for personalized control schemes.

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### How I Reviewed *Midnight Murder Club*

I played *Midnight Murder Club* for nearly four hours on PS5, using the DualSense Wireless Controller and Final VR500 gaming earbuds. During this time, I engaged in a variety of online matches and explored all the single-player modes. For communication, I relied on the microphone built into the controller.

*First reviewed August 2025.*
https://www.techradar.com/gaming/midnight-murder-club-review