The Ship: Murder Party

2006 Outerlight Ltd. Action, Indie, RPG

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxGold

Steam DeckPlayable

Gamicality score

Metacritic 764

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 831

How it’s combined

Playability today

Runs today3.5/5

Design today2.5/5

Steam user reviews

Very Positive

86%

5,950 reviews1

Get it on Steam Watch the trailer

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does The Ship: Murder Party run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxGold

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Gold, runs perfectly after tweaks.3

Steam DeckPlayable

Playable, as rated by Valve. May need some setup.1

Played The Ship: Murder Party lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get The Ship: Murder Party running today

The in-game server list no longer works. In Steam, open View > Servers, filter for The Ship, add the servers to favorites, then join them from the favorites tab in the game (PCGamingWiki).
Friends can still connect directly by IP through the console, or host a dedicated server from the Tools section of the Steam library (PCGamingWiki).

Synopsis

The Ship is a first-person multiplayer murder game set aboard 1920s luxury liners, built on the Source engine by Outerlight. Each player is secretly assigned a quarry to kill while another player hunts them, all while avoiding guards and cameras and tending to Sims-like needs such as hunger, sleep and hygiene. A short single-player mode and a tutorial come as separate library entries.

Developer: Outerlight Ltd.
Released: 2006
Genre: Action, Indie, RPG
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics at release called the concept fresh and clever, and the game holds a Metascore of 76. Reviewers and a 2015 retrospective faulted dated graphics, awkward controls, a needs system that often feels pointless and a dull single-player mode. Steam players still rate it Very Positive and remember it as a great party and LAN game. Recent reviews warn that the official servers are gone and that most public servers are filled with bots.

Trailer from Steam

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3.5/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
Some content no longer works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
The official master server is gone, so the in-game server list is broken and matches must be found through Steam or direct IP (PCGamingWiki).
Supports modern resolutions and widescreen
Widescreen, ultrawide and 4K are supported natively (PCGamingWiki).
No full controller support and no remappable controls
There is no controller support (PCGamingWiki).
Steam Deck Verified or Playable
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
PCGamingWiki lists no open crash issue, though a few players report crashes on launch (PCGamingWiki).

Design today

2.5/5

Controls feel awkward on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
The game uses both mouse buttons plus about eleven keyboard commands spread across the keyboard, and the door opening mechanic is clumsy. There is no controller support. Source: gamespew.com, pcgamingwiki.com.
Menus, text and interface are clear on today's screens
Widescreen, ultrawide and 4K resolutions work natively, and menus are fully mouse-driven. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
Saving is harsh: few saves or checkpoints, progress gets lost
Multiplayer matches have nothing to save, but in single player getting caught by guards means jail time and a restart from a checkpoint that is often far back. Source: gamespew.com.
It teaches itself: no guide needed to make progress
A separate tutorial walks through the needs system and basic play before matches, though it runs long and says little about killing. Source: gamespew.com, pcgamingwiki.com.
Pacing drags: grind, filler or forced backtracking
Needs force regular trips to the few places that serve food and drink, single-player tasks are repetitive, and jail sentences add dead time. Source: gamespew.com.
Camera or movement fights the player
Tight corridors let other players block movement, players can get stuck on bugs, and the field of view cannot be changed. Source: gamespew.com, pcgamingwiki.com.