Still Life 2
Still Life 2
Game
Game2011
Post Mortem
Developer MC2
Post Mortem is a murder mystery adventure game by Microids, released in 2002. Its sequels are Still Life and Still Life 2. The game was also released in French, Italian, German and Spanish. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
214 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 27, 2026 · last updated Oct 28, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
45
Mixed
84 positive · 104 negative
95% range 38–52%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 84 | 104 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
105 of 222 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
45% recommend · 86 yes, 105 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 191 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (259 of 452 positive).
Players praise the intriguing story and dark atmosphere, but note dated graphics and technical issues. [1][2][3] Many reviewers complain about frustrating puzzles, poor dialogue system, and game-breaking bugs. [4][5][6] Some players recommend it for detective story fans despite flaws, while others find it too broken to enjoy. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [2]
If you’re into detective stories and the occult, this adventure game is definitely worth checking out. It actually makes you think and expects real effort from the player it’s refreshing to play something that doesn’t treat you like an idiot for once. The atmosphere is great too dark, eerie, and immersive. The storytelling is rich and demands your attention, which makes it all the more rewarding. That said, the user …
- [5]
pros + an intriguing story about serial murders has to do with an esoteric sect. apparently, the story was inspired by Lovecraft's stories. + many mysterious and interesting characters + dark atmosphere + well made cinematics and cut scenes + some fun puzzles + mostly good voice acting + nice musics + there are 4 endings cons - a poorly designed dialogue system causes conversations to make no sense most of the time …
- [6]
The characters are all interesting and you can become easily consumed with trying to understand what is happening. Unfortunately, I noticed who was doing the crimes in five minutes. Then you become stuck with making sure you do everything in order or some actions will disappear completely leaving me to start a new game. Plenty of bugs in the game. More bugs outside of the game especially with trying to use it on …
- [8]
TLDR: The game is just too broken, and lacks too many QoL features, to recommend. General Thoughts/Overview: Post Mortem is an ancient point and click from Microids, a venerable French publisher I actually thought was long dead, but apparently is still going. You are a former PI, given a case that’s just too juicy to ignore. Investigate the double murder to uncover the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of it all. Pros: It could be an …
- [9]
I really liked the still life games and I am so glad I played post mortem last. Because if I played it first I would have never played still life. I've hardlocked this game once ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ over my entire save file and I've softlocked it another while actually following a guide to avoid repeating my early mistake. If your game is designed in a way that just playing it and making certain decision breaks it you've made a …
Summarised from 34 of the 214 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
45% of the 191 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Post Mortem. The complaint that keeps coming up: dated graphics and no resolution options. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. The Cincinnati Enquirer gave it a favorable review about a month before the game was released Stateside. According to Microïds, the game and its successor, Still Life, were commercial successes. The publisher reported combined global sales for the series above 500,000 units by September 2008.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 214 · most liked firstI feel like the Post-Mortem 2XKO discussion is unironically going to last longer than the games entire lifespan as a real game.
neutral · AI labelView post →For those who don't know, our audio drama series' sole purpose in life is to make video games. The Concierge: Post Mortem has received video game prototyping from the Canadian Media fund and we're excited to finally share what we've been working on over the summer.
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a decent adventure game. At first, you will be turned-off by the dated graphics and no video resolution options. OK, I cut them some slack cause its a 2002 release. What drew me over was the game's storyline. Here, you play as a Private Investigator and hired to solve a Murder Mystery. I get to use my detective skills, in a manner of speaking, and try to solve a crime. In order to catch the murder suspect, you have to arrange the questions you pick in order to extract more vital…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Allow me to convince you to listen to The Concierge: Post Mortem by @northmiststudios.bsky.social via Tilda, Queen of Diamonds (aka my future wife when I play the full game)
neutral · AI labelView post →Post Mortem is an Adventure game from the French maker Microids. They’ve been in the Adventure game business since 1985. Post Mortem was released around 2002 and is the prequel to the Still Life series but, it is rather dated now. After looking through the other reviews of this game, I see a few people have had some problems running this game. I have a Windows 7 64bit Gaming Machine and everything runs fine. Yea, I know, why am I using a Gaming Machine for an Adventure game? I have plenty of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You are gonna need a walkthrough son. Alt + Tab crashes the game. Good luck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The characters are all interesting and you can become easily consumed with trying to understand what is happening. Unfortunately, I noticed who was doing the crimes in five minutes. Then you become stuck with making sure you do everything in order or some actions will disappear completely leaving me to start a new game. Plenty of bugs in the game. More bugs outside of the game especially with trying to use it on windows 8; before starting the game it had an error saying something about a 3D…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wrote a Post Mortem article on my second indie game Trinket Bag Maker, don't hesitate to check it if you're curious about the backstage! ✨🌸🎮 medium.com/@celia.margo... #indiegames #indiegamedevs
neutral · AI labelView post →I'll be speaking at GAME CAMP about THRESHOLD. The talk shall be slightly different from the Post Mortem I did at the Indie Game Lyon, more focused on the challenges of releasing an Indie Game while working full time in AAA AND having baby. 🥵
neutral · AI labelView post →Was interesting at first, but it's a little frustrating when you have dialogue options about things that haven't come up yet. Some puzzles are rather unclear in my opinion, for instance the lock-picking. Uninstalled before finishing because the game glitched out, and when I'd open my save I'd just have a black screen and an infinitely multiplying cursor. Not a huge loss, as I got it in a heavily discounted bundle. For those of you who have trouble with the game window minimizing (and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off... reason that I do not recommend this game comes from the fact that: - this is an old game which means it's not compatible with Windows 7 64bit. You can make it run, by changing settings on exe to run as admin, also you can choose compatibility mode (Win NT was ok). But to be able to recommend I would have to be certain that any player will be able to make those adjustments, and that you will be able to bear other issues (like random freezing on loading game, or crashing after…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So....I've poured about 5 hours of my life into this game, so far. I rather enjoyed the interface, the way the environments are presented, and the voice actors are pretty good. Getting lured in by a good old fashioned murder mystery was pretty much all I needed to want to try it out, and I suggest the same to anyone that wants something different from a hidden gem of a mystery game. HOWEVER. For anyone that wants to play it, you should totally read a FAQ walkthru for the part where you try to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A kind of Post Mortem from one of my favorite podcast's (there are two) involvement on the FromSoft game library. There's a lot for me to personally unpack seeing as how I don't involve in any fandom for many reasons alluded to here. Essentially, fandom pedantry cannibalizes all good things.
neutral · AI labelView post →I just released my first game for the 'Making 24 Games in 24 Months' and the Post-Mortem is now available through my Patreon Patreon.com/Jestercraft #gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiegamedev #indiedev #sologamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Let’s start with the positives: Post Mortem is designed in a way that you can take different approaches to your investigation, for example, you can be upfront about being a PI when interviewing witnesses, or lie and say you’re at reporter or an insurance investigator. Different characters respond differently – one will jump at the chance to help a PI (so adventurous!) while another will distrust snoops, but help an insurance man, hoping to get a cash settlement. This will yield different leads…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THIS GAME IS GREAT BUT THOSE FFFFFFFFFFFKNG MINIGAMES FOR DUCKS SAKE WHYYYYYYYYYYYY Interesting characters, interiguing story, gloomy atmosphere... all for nothing, because there are some minigames that I can't pass, because it's always a great idea to have minigames in games. It's not like you buy a game for the game, no, you buy it to have many games, including the ones you hate and are terrible at, but you have to pass them to continue with the main game. Minigames are a cancer. Don't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Making a game for the toxic yuri game jam was a wild ride, but I enjoyed the experience a lot. I've updated my game a coupel times, and I have now also made a post mortem. Enjoy :) #TOXICYURIVNJAM POMLY Post Mortem - Part Of Me Loves You fisheranimal.itch.io/part-of-me-l...
neutral · AI labelView post →Today I updated Purge Repurpose Destroy! Added in Discord Social support and also wrote a semi Post-Mortem discussing the game and my overall thoughts on the project after all this time #gamedev #indiegame #horrorgame #indiedev stickguy101.itch.io/purge-repurp...
neutral · AI labelView post →Game idea: “Post-Mortem” where you play a mail carrier of the afterlife who’s sole job is to deliver final messages from the deceased to the world of the living
neutral · AI labelView post →Movement isn't perfect, but workable. Multiple endings make the game interesting to play a few times, but there are difficulties in finding a walkthrough for my specific playthrough if I get stuck. The way to choose your responses is not ideal, I like to see all of my options at once, and choose one from there, this method of tabs leads me to accidentally say things, changing my intended storyline. The graphics arent perfect, but the story overrides that. Drawing the sketch of the suspect is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wrote a Post Mortem article about my first cozy game Magical Greenhouse, don't hesitate to check it if you're curious about the backstage! ✨🌸🎮 medium.com/@celia.margo... #indiegames #indiegamedevs #cozygames #gameart
neutral · AI labelView post →This is has to be the worst designed point and click i ever played to this day. Story is your standard B-movie like mystical thriller, nothing special in that regard. VA are atrocious, listening to americans pretending to be french physically hurts. Narrative presentation is... also atrocious. Developers tried to create non linear game and failed hard. Often dialogs make no sense, as character start to blabber about things that did not happened at that moment or protagonist had no clue at that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My game Only Way is Down has reached $41,000 net revenue (after steam's cut) after roughly 10 months: onlywayisdown.com/post-mortem/ #postmortem #indiedev #gamedev #indiegames
neutral · AI labelView post →If you’re into detective stories and the occult, this adventure game is definitely worth checking out. It actually makes you think and expects real effort from the player it’s refreshing to play something that doesn’t treat you like an idiot for once. The atmosphere is great too dark, eerie, and immersive. The storytelling is rich and demands your attention, which makes it all the more rewarding. That said, the user interface could’ve been better, and character interactions are one of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ghost Master remains an one-of-a-kind scare-'em-up, and a game I deeply love. Also, here's part one of the Ghost Master Post Mortem (from 2005) by Chris Bateman: www.ihobo.com/p/ghost-mast...
positive · AI labelView post →I love this article, because it is full of interesting lessons for #gamedev that wants to launch their #VR game on #PSVR2 Sweet Surrender: A PlayStation VR2 Post-Mortem www.uploadvr.com/sweet-surren...
neutral · AI labelView post →Game Jam Post Mortem vid drop tomorrow
neutral · AI labelView post →A Fascinating, Deeply Flawed Relic Post Mortem is a relic from a bygone era of point-and-click adventures, and it carries all the baggage that implies. Its gameplay is built on a foundation of obnoxious puzzles and "adventure game logic" clearly designed to artificially pad the playtime. Be prepared to either follow a guide or spend hours trying to figure out why your character can't perform a simple action without triggering a specific, unrelated line of dialogue first. The story begins with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"As a dated adventure game you could suggest that Post Mortem is a dying practice." Post Mortem has this weird habit of uncannily providing almost the exact amount of things to enjoy and things to frustrate, leaving me in a weird perpetual sense of indecision. It reaches its hodgepodge of sporadic highlights when it decides it wants to be a Noir game; to that end, retired private ♥♥♥♥ Gustav McPherson is lured back into service for just one more job by a seductive, mysterious woman. The crime…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →GAME DEV FEED INCIDENT POSTMORTEM I promised a post-mortem, so here we go. 🧵
neutral · AI labelView post →I bought this game because it is the Daddy to the Still life Series which I adore & let me tell you, a whole lot of possibilities are wasted in this game. Let me start off with the Pros - Puzzles are decent & made me think just a bit! - Despite the horrible acting I found one character entertaining which was Hulot. The rest of the character's voice acting is monotone and garbage. - This game is a decent click and point game despite it's flaws. - the story does fit a chessy 1920s detective…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm reviewing only due to the fact that this game suddenly appears in my game list lol.. I don't know how but i never purchased this game before.. Is it just me or every user got it too? Anyways since its FREE so i'll recommend it =) I do like point and click games too.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Snake vs Mines Post-Mortem is now live on Itch! ⛵🐍 Join me closing my first game jam project by looking at the results, my perspective, and learn what and what not to do for the next game jam... or new project! Link in the first comment 👇 #GameDev #IndieDev
neutral · AI labelView post →Much like Dr. Frankenstein's creation, this game possesses too many flaws that are hard to ignore and that prevent from appreciating the enigma it offers. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3616629220
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: The game is just too broken, and lacks too many QoL features, to recommend. General Thoughts/Overview: Post Mortem is an ancient point and click from Microids, a venerable French publisher I actually thought was long dead, but apparently is still going. You are a former PI, given a case that’s just too juicy to ignore. Investigate the double murder to uncover the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of it all. Pros: It could be an interesting story. I’m not sure, my experience was so out of sync that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This adventure game has some issues like mediocre dialogues & voice acting,bad interface and not very clever puzzle design but with gr8 art,cut-scenes,dark atmosphere and an interesting story you will play it to the end.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →New blog post - Selatria: A Retrospective/Post-Mortem - Part 1: Profit/Percentage-Sharing vs Commissions, Game Production, and Scope Creep #GameDev #Postmortem #IndieGameDev www.groverwhim.com/2025/02/sela...
neutral · AI labelView post →Post Mortem is a point-and-click adventure game and the prequel to the Still Life series. You play as Gus McPherson, who used to work as a New York detective but became an artist instead. He gets pulled back into solving crimes when someone hires him to investigate a gruesome murder. The graphics do a great job showing post-war Paris. You'll visit dimly lit back alleys and smoky nightclubs that have an authentic feel. Both the jazz music and voice acting fit the game well, but the latter isn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In my Steam library chock full of adventure games, from a strictly gaming standpoint, Post Mortem is probably the worst of the bunch. Despite, it has some strengths that should be commended. The horror story is strong and the graphics, while dated, do much to support the atmosphere. The exploration feels paced and open ended enough to give a real sense of private eye work; I found myself going back to talk to NPCs with new information and going back to locations for clues/objects I must have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an older 2D point and click adventure game with a French crime/mystery/horror theme. An okay game concept but it simply doesn't work under Windows 10, crashing in an unceremonious heap with a DirectX error. The developers know about this, but they want you to pay them $11.50 anyway, instead of fixing the game. That's amoral and unethical, so I'm gonna give this a thumbs down.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game to bring back a childhood memory, used to watch my friend play it, we would try to solve stuff together. I agree comments regarding user interface, it is not the best. However it works and that's better than a buggy interface. I've encountered crashes when I tried to Alt+TAB the game every time. There was also a small bug with documents. I'd recommend this to people who like point and click adventures, it may not be appealing to other players though. The story is not bad at…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are some interesting things going on here, but unfortunately the game as a whole hasn't aged well. There is some serious effort required of the player to even get the thing running on a modern machine, and then once that has been dealt with you still risk the numerous soft locks and dead ends. Various puzzles become unsolvable if you haven't spoken to an unrelated character earlier on and so forth.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Post Mortem for the recent game jam is up! A bit of a spicy one! bluepinstudio.com/blog/2025-02... #indiedev #gamedev #gamejam
neutral · AI labelView post →I really liked the still life games and I am so glad I played post mortem last. Because if I played it first I would have never played still life. I've hardlocked this game once ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ over my entire save file and I've softlocked it another while actually following a guide to avoid repeating my early mistake. If your game is designed in a way that just playing it and making certain decision breaks it you've made a ♥♥♥♥ game. In both these cases I could still run around but I could not progress…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know those nostalgia glasses, that make everything from the past seem better? More vivd? Remarkable and memorable? I have played Post Mortem shortly after it first came out and, like most other Microids games at the time, it had a bug that made the game unplayable - the animations were going in absolute slowmo. Much later, but still years ago, I found a patch for it, played it again and... I think I've finished it? Now, almost 20 years later (yup, it came out in 2002) all I could remember…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →good story, but it's dated. If you can get past the clunky UI and controls, then it could be worth it. Also some of the dialogue options are buggy and give away stuff you haven't uncovered yet.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pros + an intriguing story about serial murders has to do with an esoteric sect. apparently, the story was inspired by Lovecraft's stories. + many mysterious and interesting characters + dark atmosphere + well made cinematics and cut scenes + some fun puzzles + mostly good voice acting + nice musics + there are 4 endings cons - a poorly designed dialogue system causes conversations to make no sense most of the time - dated, blurry and dark background graphics - puzzles getting frustrating…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was in the middle of playing a game called Still Life when I read that it was spiritual sequel to this game. I was curious so I decided to put Still Life aside for a moment and power this one and I have to say its rather dull. You play as a wannabe artist who used to be a detective now living in france, he gets vague visions of a murder via some weird cognition. Not long after he's hired by a mysterious woman to investigate that exact same murder. Only to soon discover there's more to it then…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Black Screen + 3D error/Windows 10 Don't buy this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →6/10 - Older but good. Dark investigation style horror. Take on the role of a dectective out of retirement. Great graphics and dialouge. Worth $5 or less on sale. Will not likely play again, but it's in my play later tab... So I don't hate it. Accidently Reviewed Was this review helpful or maybe even not helpful? Either way join this group for more. Free Keys and Reviews weekly! [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/Accidently] Steam Group: AccidentlyReviewed
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the Frenchiest and Gayest Game I played so far. Some of those characters act like pretty nice gentlemen. But despite the characters the game starts pretty interesting but to the end It feels boring and with the options of dialogues you have to choose to finish the game It feels pretty overwhelming. It isn't game for everyone and especially not for me but If you enjoy searching for clues that might be helpful in run then this game might be for you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Note to self: Just because a game is super cheap and old, doesn't mean that it is good. 1.6 hours into the game, I've decided not to waste time and just watch it in Youtube.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hassle to get the game to run/
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For all the things I enjoyed about Post Mortem I still find it hard to recommend. I picked it up for next to nothing in the Microid sale so if you really really like your detective point and click adventures, then there is definitely value here if it's going cheap. PROS + I loved the 1920's parisian setting + Cast of characters are well voiced, not many attempt a french accent but it was decent enough + Story is somewhat cliche but also really engaging, all the twists and turns you want from…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a pretty game, didn't see much polish, but definitely seen love while being developed. It's a detective story that takes place in the mid 1920's France. The game has an interesting plot and the story pleases you while you are slowly unfolding it. In the end, you just connect the dots like a real detective and it gives you the sweet satisfaction of figuring all the things out. The game can be boring sometimes due to the dull and uninteresting dialogues but the real deal is its compelling…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →does not run on windows 10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If, like me, you played the Still Life games and felt like they were pretty good games with some flaws. If like me, you wanted to experience a little more. And if, like me, you enjoy a good adventure game with good voiceover and pretty scenerry, this game is NOT for you. There is an interesting story somewhere within this game. But it's buried beneath: - a voiceover that can't decide between american, british and french mannerisms; - backgroung that were CG and then blurred to give an air of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept seems fun. First-person point & click adventure game featuring a private eye who is investigating a murder. However, the execution from both a gameplay and writing standpoint are really poor. The dialogue is very obviously translated, and it comes off as stiff and robotic, with odd grammatical quirks here & there, and even some odd lines that seem like mistranslations. The voice acting is serviceable, but given the lines they're working with, it sometimes comes off a little wooden.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend this game, but with some reservations. tl;dr: A solid experience, especially for Still Life fans, but beware of the technical difficulties. My opinion is a bit skewed, because I first played the game when I was younger and really enjoyed it at the time. It was the first adventure game I had completed 100% by myself and felt very proud about it! I had found the story engaging and the atmosphere accordingly suitable. Fast forward 15 years later, it seems my mind spins in a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yes, this game is 14 years old, taking on a genre that was already starting to get outdated. I have an addiction to point and click games and have learned to accept clunky gameplay, frustrating puzzles, confusing stories, and comparatively poor graphics. But every point and click game I've played until PM had some modicum of immersion, atmospheric details, charm. Even the dime a dozen Nancy Drew games had lively cheesy voice acting. Post Mortem is not all bad - a few neat integrations of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
