Killer Inn preview: A Wolf in Lamb’s Clothing

Killer Inn is still in development, but ahead of the Closed Beta I had a chance to join influencers and members of the press to get hip-deep in this Asymmetrical Murder Mystery Action Game. That’s a mouthful, I know, but I have to tell you, I had way more fun with this game than I initially thought I might. It’s not Dead by Daylight, and it’s not Deceive Inc.. It’s something fascinating between those two concepts. Instead of running away from a killer, players are grouped into two teams, each with their own specific goals.

While Killer Inn still needs some polish and work, it’s really got a lot on the ball right now. I’m not usually into these huge PVP games, but I had so much fun, and if you’re looking for something new in the world of multiplayer games; perhaps something more cerebral, this is going to be right up your alley.

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Killer Inn is a Battle of Wolves and Lambs (and cosplayers, and gangsters)

What exactly is Killer Inn, anyway? It’s not the sort of title I think of, when I think of Square Enix, and perhaps, that’s to their benefit. This is a 24-player game, where there are two teams: Lambs, and Wolves. The Wolves all know who each other are, whereas as a Lamb, everyone looks like a Lamb.

Killer Inn lets players take part in a truly unique murder mystery, where they're in on the murder! (Image via Square Enix)

Before it’s too late, the Lambs have to work together, discover who the Wolves are, and kill them. That, or they need to get to the boat, cross the bridge, raise the anchors, and sail to safety. There aren’t many rules outside of that, though. There are “safe havens” — anywhere there is a staff member — but the wolves can violate that rule if they wish. It will make a global announcement, so they really have to be careful in this 7 vs. 16 Murder Mystery.

You get plenty of character archetypes to choose between, each with their own powers and abilities to help them succeed. It doesn’t matter which you pick, though; each one could become a Wolf or a Lamb. That gets determined when the match actually starts.

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What is the gameplay loop of Killer Inn?

Players will get dropped into the titular inn, with a group of 23 other players. When the round begins, you’re assigned a role, and can start working. You can open up the map to track a variety of things, and you can also look at people’s hair/clothing colors, if you need a reminder. You’ll want to do simple quests, given by the various staff members, so you can make gold, and level up.

Complete quests, find clues (or snuff out clues), and make sure the other team doesn't survive! (Image via Square Enix)

This also gives you tokens to open chests, to pick up weapons, armor, assassination tools, and a variety of other items. You can then take the coins to vendors to buy supplies, ammo, or to a workbench to upgrade your armaments. I cannot stress enough how important that is for success in Killer Inn.

Then, you need to focus on the objectives of your faction. Lambs want to find the Wolves, survive until the bridge lowers, and defeat Guardians to collect keys. Wolves want to slaughter the Lambs before they can be discovered. It’s simple, but it’s got a lot of depth and strategy to it.

As you find dead bodies, you can investigate them for clues, which will give you some hints on who you need to be hunting down; but be careful you don’t pick wrong. Here’s a more in-depth look at the two factions.

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What can Lambs possibly do against the Wolves?

There’s so much interesting depth to Killer Inn, too. As soon as a match starts, you can get some clues, before a kill has even taken place, in the form of Sacrifices. If you get to a Sacrifice before a Wolf does, you can get a clue as to the identity of at least one of the Wolves. It will be a scrap of cloth, a piece of hair, something like that.

Just because you have one clue doesn't mean you can solve the case; don't guess wrong and shoot an ally! (Image via Square Enix)

It will then give you some hints as to “potential Wolves”. The people on that list aren’t all going to be Wolves, and guessing wrong is fatal. Should you, as a Lamb shoot and kill another Lamb, you are immediately removed from the game and turned to stone. There’s also a global announcement for it, to compound your shame.

This means you have to put real effort into finding clues; whether it’s checking bodies after a player is killed, or bribing a staff member of the Killer Inn for information, there are ways to learn more. For the majority of the time, the goal is to learn who the Wolves are, and either take them out, or stay safe from them.

Then, around the 7 or 6 minute mark, the bridge will come down, and Lambs can try for an optional win condition: Raise the anchors, and get out via boat. The wolves can show up here too, so you have to be careful, even now. They can camp corridors, pretend to help raise anchors, or even lower them.

The end can come at any time; even in a Safe Zone (Image via Square Enix)

If you have enough knowledge and clues in Killer Inn, you can simply kill the Wolves, and win that way, too. We played four games, and the Lambs won all of them, except the final game, where the Wolves turned things around. Coincidentally, that was also when I was a Wolf. I’m not saying the two are related, but it’s definitely an interesting coincidence.

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Wolves have it easy, but also very much don’t

Once a round starts, and you find you’re a Wolf, you know the identity of every other Wolf. That doesn’t mean you can safely start using voice chat to plan and strategize. This game uses proximity chat, so Lambs could be nearby, listening to you. You absolutely cannot do that, unless you know no one else is around.

Always upgrade your weapons! (Image via Square Enix)

Wolves have it easy in Killer Inn, since they know who their friends are, and know all their targets. However, if you don’t cover up your crimes, and hide evidence at sacrifices, players are going to start learning who you are quite quickly. That’s why you need to head to bathrooms, and other locations to find cleaning supplies. You can actually disguise the crime scenes, so you’re a bit safer from discovery; I learned that quickly on.

Your goal as a Wolf is simple; kill the Lambs, and don’t die. At first, you just want to blend in, completing quests around the house, “finding clues”, and taking your time. Kill only when it’s safe, and don’t stick around too long. When someone dies, a global notification is given, so if you can’t clean things up, get lost.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide! (Image via Square Enix)

The most important thing you can do in Killer Inn (and Lambs should also be doing this), is upgrading your weapons. This helps you deal way more damage, and eliminate threats quickly. You may not always find your dream weapon in the various chests scattered throughout the house, but when you do, focus on it and build it up so it becomes a killing machine.

When things get towards the late game, I found it’s much easier for the Wolves to start grouping up and taking people out; especially when the clues are in place and people know who you are. At that point, drop the pretense, and start bringing the Lambs to the slaughter.

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The State of the Game so far

Killer Inn is such an intense, fun mystery game (Image via Square Enix)

I love Killer Inn, and honestly, I wasn’t so sure if I was going to. I’m not really into these PVP games like I used to be. However, the sneakiness, deception, and clever gameplay it offers really changed my mind. I admittedly enjoyed being a Wolf more, but there’s a lot of really fun stuff you can do as a Lamb too. It’s more dangerous, sure, but there’s a lot of thrills in that, too.

It’s so satisfying to successfully pick off the Wolves, whether through deduction, or by dumb luck. One thing I think the developers should consider though is some manner of fall damage. It didn't seem like I took any, no matter how high I dropped, but maybe I didn't fall from far enough.

The Closed Beta for Killer Inn is coming soon, running from July 25 through July 28, 2025 on PC. You can join by Requesting Access on their Steam site, and I cannot recommend it enough. This is definitely a game that Murder Mystery junkies, and multiplayer PVP fans are going to quickly fall in love with.

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Edited by Jason Parker