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Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure

Game overview

Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure

Tex Murphy is the last of the hard-boiled gumshoe detectives living in dystopian post-World War III San Francisco in the 2050s. Tex is an honest and good-natured private investigator with a penchant for bourbon, cigarettes and getting himself into trouble.

FMV Adventure Detective Noir Cyberpunk
Last tracked players
0
All-time peak
4
24-hour change
Unavailable
Steam reviews
87.1% positive
1,293 reviews · via SteamSpy

Delayed observation · last tracked . Values marked unavailable are not estimated.

About this game Read the full description
Winner of Best Character from as well as 10 of their Readers Choice awards including Best Story and Best Adventure of 2014.

Tesla Effect is a cyberpunk noir detective mystery adventure set in a dystopian post World War III San Francisco.






Tex Murphy wakes up – disoriented and head pounding – on the fire escape outside his office atop the Ritz Hotel. Another typical morning for the last of the old-school detectives. Except it isn’t. What starts out as the worst hangover in history becomes a baffling nightmare: something – or someone – has erased Tex’s memory of the past seven years. Motivated by lost love, revenge, and the world’s strongest coffee blend, Tex must retrace his own steps into a maze of unsolved murders, hidden agendas, and lost technologies of Nikola Tesla. Only by solving the mysteries of his past can Tex hope to regain his memory in time to restore what’s been lost…and stop a terrifying future.



Tex Murphy is finally back after leaving loyal fans on a cliffhanger for almost 16 years, so come get acquainted in a world filled with dangerous dames, morally ambiguous characters, and lots of mysteries to be solved.

Tesla Effect upgrades the classic Tex Murphy experience with HD live-action -- that's right, for those of you not old enough to have played adventure games in the 90s, Tex Murphy embraces the lost art of green screen full-motion video as it interacts with fully modeled 3D environments. Players will be challenged with logic puzzles, interactive dialogue, branching storylines, and alternate endings.





  • Stunning full-motion video (FMV) presented in 2K resolution
  • Fully explorable 3D environments (no pre-set nodes, go wherever you like!)
  • Multiple story paths leading to 5 different possible endings
  • Unique dialogue choices and character interactions
  • Beautiful, moody, and immersive soundtrack
  • Two difficulty settings: play casually or as a seasoned detective
  • Built-in hint system to help guide you through challenges

Tesla Effect shines with an eclectic cast of actors, including:

  • Todd Bridges (Willis from Diff'rent Strokes. Ask someone older if you don't know)
  • June "TV's Greatest Mom" Lockhart (ask someone even older if you don't know)
  • Larry "Soup Nazi" Thomas (you've seen Seinfeld, right?)
  • Kevin "Tom Servo" Murphy (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
  • The original Tex Murphy himself, Chris Jones





Tesla Effect is 6th title in the multi-award-winning Tex Murphy adventure series.

Starting in 1989 with Mean Streets, Tex Murphy was already breaking new ground by presenting full-motion video and digitized speech and sound which redefined what computer hardware was capable of at the time. While Martian Memorandum (1991) continued this tradition of excellent, engaging, and visually stunning gameplay, it wasn't until Under a Killing Moon (1994) that the series really took a leap into the forefront of PC gaming.

Under a Killing Moon not only provided players with rich full-motion video but was also one of the first games to feature a true Hollywood cast. As for the gameplay experience: it was unparalleled. Utilizing Access Software's amazing "Virtual World" engine, the game provided players with completely explorable full-3D environments. Crouch under desks, rifle through drawers, or stand on your toes to glance at the top shelf of a cabinet. Nothing was off-limits, and no other game utilized such immersive technology. Under a Killing Moon would go on to win many awards, including "Best Fantasy Role-Playing/Adventure Program" at the Codie Awards.

The Pandora Directive (1996) continued this tradition of groundbreaking technology by being one of the first FMV adventure titles to feature multiple endings, multiple gameplay paths, and shipped on 6 compact discs. It also featured Hollywood acting talent and won "Best adventure game of 1996" by both Computer Gaming World, and Computer Game Entertainment.

Tex Murphy: Overseer (1998) would come next, and would be the first PC game title to be released on the very new (at the time) DVD format. This enabled the game's full-motion video to be presented at levels of quality never before seen in a video game. While the game was a re-telling of the original Mean Streets story, it also featured Hollywood acting talent, and a completely redesigned 3D Virtual World engine.

16 years would pass between Overseer's release and Tesla Effect's continuation of the series (thanks to a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign). It would once again maintain Tex Murphy's tradition of ground-breaking adventure game entertainment with 2K full-motion video, full 3D environments, and a dynamic cast of actors to help bring the long-awaited continuation of the Tex Murphy saga to life.

To learn more about the Tex Murphy series, visit .

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Tesla Effect trading cards have been released!
System requirements Windows · macOS

Windows

Minimum

Minimum:
  • OS *: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, or 10
  • Processor: Intel Core2 Duo 2Ghz (4th gen)
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 or AMD Radeon R5 430
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 17 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible device

Recommended

Recommended:
  • OS *: Windows 7, 8, or 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 Quad-Core (4th gen)
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 7770
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 17 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible device

macOS

Minimum

Minimum:
  • OS: macOS 10.6.8
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2Ghz (4th gen)
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 320 M
  • Storage: 17 GB available space

Recommended

Recommended:
  • OS: macOS 10.7.5
  • Processor: Intel Core i5 (4th gen)
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
  • Storage: 17 GB available space
Game details Languages, features & support
Publisher
Big Finish Games
Brazilian rating
12
Steam Germany rating
12
Content warning
Game features some revealing attire, use of tobacco and alcohol, mild or insinuated violence (fights and scuffles), and mild limited profanity/cursing.
Metacritic
68
Features
Single-player, Steam Trading Cards, Family Sharing
Languages
English*, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain
*languages with full audio support
Compatibility & accessibility Steam Deck, controllers & access features

Can I Play This?

Steam declarations and Valve's Steam Deck compatibility result. Missing data is shown as unknown, never unsupported.

Sources fresh
Native Steam builds
Windows: unknown
macOS: unknown
Linux: unknown
Steam Deck
playable
Valve compatibility test
The on-screen keyboard may need to be opened manually.
Input
Controller support: unknown
Structured language support (5)
LanguageInterfaceFull audioSubtitles
EnglishYesYesYes
FrenchYesNoYes
ItalianYesNoYes
GermanYesNoYes
Spanish - SpainYesNoYes
Steam store page fresh · checked 2026-11-02 PCGamingWiki technical notes External link only; SteamIQHQ does not ingest PCGamingWiki content.
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Game Insights

Buy Verdict

Watch — $19.99.

Decent deal at 0% off, but might drop further. Watch for better opportunities.

▲ ~14 days until next sale

Value Score

Fair Value — 47th percentile.

Price-to-player ratio ranks in the 47th percentile. Priced as Premium at $19.99.

▼ Premium pricing tier

Genre Benchmarks

Player Count Top 57%
Value Ratio Top 53%

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Developer Analytics

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure worth buying right now?
Watch — $19.99. Decent deal at 0% off, but might drop further. Watch for better opportunities.
When does Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure go on sale?
Decent deal at 0% off, but might drop further. Watch for better opportunities.
Is Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure free to play?
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure costs $19.99 on Steam.
What genre is Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure?
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure is a Adventure, Indie game.
Who developed Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure?
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure was developed by Big Finish Games and published by Big Finish Games.
What platforms does Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure support?
Available on Steam for Windows, macOS.

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