It’s the Christmas season at St. Joachim Academy, and Ranko and Astrid are pulled into a fresh mystery just as exams are ending. A new ally, Veronica Bell, asks for help tracking down the missing sheet music for the school choir concert. With the performance scheduled for the holidays, removing the scores would cancel the show—and the culprit would get off scot-free. Veronica suspects one of the “Seven Bad Apples,” a group of rebellious first-year students, has hidden the music. The race against time begins as Ranko and Astrid dive into a puzzle-filled investigation.

The Seven Bad Apples is a mystery told through pixel art that channels the charm of classic Japanese text-based adventure games. This short side story expands the world of Murder on the Marine Express, a kinetic novel from 2021, and brings a quirky cast of characters whose conversations add humor while you unravel the case.

Core gameplay emphasizes choice and exploration. The adventure follows a non-linear path—you can progress in the order that suits you, deciding whom to question and when to push forward. Seven suspects stand in your way, each with clues, alibis, and secrets that slowly reveal the truth behind the missing scores.

Key features include:

• Non-linear investigation with branching decisions that affect how the case unfolds.
• Seven challenging students to interrogate, each a piece of the puzzle.
• Retro-style pixel art that evokes early 8-bit text adventures.
• Character profiles accessible at any time, keeping everyone involved in the story.
• Integrated wiki containing background on the academy’s students and evolving topics.
• Customizable interface with different background images to suit your mood.
• Approximately two hours of gameplay for a compact, focused mystery experience.
• Text available in English and Spanish, with a Japanese version coming soon.

Solve the mystery through witty dialogue, careful clue gathering, and timely decisions—can you recover the sheet music before the concert and restore the holiday cheer?