Mens Rea

In this completely open-dialog game, enter the town of Salem and unspool a murder mystery in the 48 hours before a young woman goes on trial. Where discussions are bound by your cleverness alone, open more of the town when you build social credit by solving Conversational Puzzles and extracting conversational clues.

You have received a letter from a dying woman who claims her daughter, handed away as a baby for a chance at a better life in the new world, has been falsely accused of a terrible crime. In charging you with saving her child, you are told "her baby is as innocent today as she was when handed away."

Some people will lie, some don't know the truth, and some lack the capacity to tell the difference. Explore the town, hunt for clues around every corner, and assemble your evidence board from the convoluted threads that you pull from the suspicious townsfolk. Once at trial, plead to the biased jury the facts you've uncovered, make emotional appeals based on what you've learned, cast doubt and aspersion, or maybe just make loud demands.

But always remember: every sad town hides solemn secrets - be careful not to become one.

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