I'm going to be up front with this: Town of Salem is a great game. That's not why this is a negative review, because everyone should play Town of Salem right now - in their browsers. The Steam version of this game is strictly inferior to the browser version, the only advantage I can possibly think of being that you'll know when your friends are playing without needing to login, assuming they ALSO have the Steam version, which is a $5 investment more than the browser version. As for what makes it worse?

Each time you boot up the game, you are asked for your username and password. The browser version will properly save your username, but even then, why do I need to input either for the Steam version? The client already knows it's being launched by Steam. It should let me link my accounts and automatically log me in as soon as I start it the way APB does.

Window settings are not saved when you close the game. It will launch in full screen each and every time. If you want to go into windowed mode, you either need to hit escape, or enter a game and press the full screen button. Upon entering windowed mode for the first time on a fresh launch, the window will be unimaginably tiny and must be manually resized to something functional. To go back to full screen, you MUST enter a game and press the fullscreen button. It cannot be done from the menu.

There is no way to back out of a game, even if you have no chance of winning (e.g. died during the night as a jester, lynched as an executioner). There is also no way to return to the login screen if you timeout.

There is no log out button. The only way to change clients is to exit the client and log back in.

The only instance I would recommend grabbing the Steam version of this game is if you were already planning on buying $5 worth of town points. Seeing as its a browser game to begin with, there's no particular convenience of having it on Steam right now, and the Steam version feels like it was rushed to meet a deadline without any actual attention given to justify its presence here.

Luckily, the devs ARE working on fixing these issues, and I'll be editing this review as they come, and once I feel like the Steam version is a worthwhile buy, I'll change the review to be positive.

Best free browser game i've ever paid for

Fun challenge: Name yourself "Justin Bieber" and see how long you live.

11/10

Play a good few games in the browser version before you consider purchasing this, the game may not be for you so no point wasting £4.

At first it may look identical to the browser based game but there are definite improvements and differences:
+ The game is faster, loading screens has been cut down a lot
+ You get $5 worth of points which can be used for customisation
+ The game is less glitchy and won't randomly stop working like the browser version, forcing you to leave the game
+ The Steam version links to your current account and all your achievements are carried over
+ You can play with people on the browser version

- It's still the same game at it's heart, don't buy unless you want to actively support the developer
- There's no graphics options such as resolution
- The window can be very buggy and get stuck either in windowed mode or fullscreen
- STILL NO VOLUME CONTROL, the music is ridiculously loud as always

"Santa Claus was stabbed by a Serial Killer" - 10/10

A game where the trolls, liars, deceivers, gullibles and trusty folks are met in a town full of deceptions.

Who will win?

Who will lose?

Who will lie?

Who will die?

Town decides.

10/10 an awesome game, you can name yourself as you want in every game, and they dont last more than 10 minutes, its good for playing a bit when you are bored or waiting for something, overall a very funny and interesting game

If you've EVER played Mafia at a party, I recommend this game wholeheartedly. It's brilliant if you enjoy strategy and deception. Sure, some of the players have been jerks, but most often, they're pretty pleasant people; sometimes only after they die and drop the role they'd been maintaning. Honestly, it's a great game to kill time.

Town of Salem is both a great game and a bad game. Your overall enjoyment of the game all depends on the group you are playing with. Sadly the game is filled with cheating Skypers, trolls, leavers and random lynchers but if you manage to find a game without any of these elements it is truly a very enjoyable experience.

I'm also a little annoyed that the steam version is basically no different from the browser version, I paid 5 dollars for something I could just play on my browser and I must admit I felt rather cheated after discovering this. I'm going to recommend this game, but you have been warned.

Microtransactions are all only cosmetic from what I know, which is good.

This game is pretty fun, especially if you've played ttt on gmod.

But more importantly, this game is good if you want time to go by REALLY fast because the 30 second waits from day to night, to hang voting add up.

Gameplay is casual, no theres not a ton of competitive play, but the variety of classes and customization keep it interesting. Its a nice social experience.

I'd give it a 8/10.

Great game, but sadly this version really is a step back from the online version.

Let me tell you what bugs me about this version:
- In a web browser you close the game by closing the tab, and since the game is a direct port from the website version and offers no new buttons like e.g. a close button, you CAN'T close the game without killing it! I mean c'mon, why do we HAVE to close the game via Alt+F4?
- When you get asked if you want to share an achievement or a won game on facebook this works perfectly fine in the website version. However, in the Steam client version the window doesn't pop up, which denies one 25 gold per share.
- Only Full Screen mode.
- Updates have slowed down already since the release of this version.

Conclusion:
This version has it's problems, but I'm not here to rate the version, I'm here to rate the game.
The game itself is pretty darn funny and enjoyable, I can only recommend you to play it, but preferably for free on the website. If you'd like to support the team go ahead and purchase ingame coins or donate, but I wish I would have waited to buy the client since it just looks clunky and unfinished.

EDIT:
Exit button was added, seems like they solve problems now :)

I stream on twitch with this game and if you are a streamer that needs a game that can interact with your chat, this game is for you. You can have up to 14 people from your chat play with you. It is a fun game that at the beginning you are friends with everyone, and at the end trust none. The game has an amazingly high replay value. If I had to say a negative about the game is that it runs on a flash player. If that is the biggest negative that should tell you something.

Great game. Based on murder, mystery, and deception. I've played it more on my browser but the game and the developer is awesome. Requires a lot of thought, and commuinication. Definitely worth the buy. Get it.

As many have said before me, this is an excellent game. If you enjoy Werewolf or Mafia, then this is one of those perfect games to sit back and relax to. Money has become signifigantly easier to obtain recently even though its still pretty hard to make quick cash but to be honest, it's not like cash provides anything non-aethstic. Also the creators are very dedicated and have been continously updating and improving the game since I've first joined it months ago and hold their players in very high regards. Each game should take about 20 minutes, so plan accordingly. Remember that if you leave a game early, you dont get the smaller loss reward which is better than no reward.

Now, what's different about the steam version?

The main thing that you get with the steam version is simply the $5.00 town points for buying the game and the lack of advertisements for owning the game. One VERY noticeable difference is that the Steam version runs much faster and much more smoother than the browser version and has little to no lag which has been very beneficial to me and has prevented me from returning to the Browser version. Some people are asking how to leave a game early and it's almost the same way as the browser version, click ESC to get out of full screen mode, close the game client, and load it back up. The creators do not have a back to home button in either version and it is something they are working on. The game should be adding a few more roles after it's recent kickstarter.

I shot the doctor...
Then myself...

Worth it!

Note: I have much more playtime on the browser version.

Town of Salem is a multiplayer party game taking place in the Salem Witch trials era of the late 1600s. At the start of each game, players can pick a roleplaying name and are then randomly assigned a role to carry out. Each role has a "win state" that the player must try to reach, and available roles depend on the gamemode that the player chooses to play. For example, the classic mode has a Serial Killer who wins by eliminating every other player. Classic mode also has a Mafia team that can cause havoc for the innocent townspeople and the Serial Killer.

Players can die in two different ways:
1) They get killed at night. The turns in Town of Salem are split corresponding to a day/night cycle, where everyone can talk to each other during the day but roles are generally carried out at night. Classes that are able to kill, such as the Serial Killer, will do so at night.
2) They get lynched (hanged) during the day. Lynching happens by majority vote of the townspeople if they deem someone suspicious. The accused are given a set amount of time to prove their innocence before a final vote of either innocence or guilt is carried out.

All players, regardless of roles, are able to write a will. A player's will is shown to all players upon his/her death. These add an extra layer of fun to the game, especially when wills contain useful information that can be confirmed by the death of the corresponding player. For example, the Sheriff could state in his will that Player X was identified as a Serial Killer in his investigation. The Sheriff could also try and get Player X lynched the next day. However, since roles are hidden until death, there is no guarantee he will be believed. Additionally, the Sheriff may seem suspicious and get himself lynched if he calls out another player too early in the game. If the Sheriff dies with the information in his will, the townies will almost always know for sure that Player X is the Serial Killer.

There are many different roles in Town of Salem, each with special abilities that clash and complement each other. For example, one can disguise as other players. Another can prevent a particular player from typing anything in chat, therefore silencing them for a round. The best way to learn about all the mechanics and roles is to dive right into a game and try them out. You can play the browser version for free. Unfortunately, the Steam version does require a small pricetag which includes a pack of in-game currency.

While there are microtransactions, it is not pay-to-win. The in-game currency can also be earned by winning games and completing achievements. You can use it to buy cosmetics and such if you want.

Overall, it's a neat game to play with friends.

Town of Salem is presented somewhat in the style of an animated board game, pitting fifteen people against each other in a clever roleplay battle of wit, perception, strategy, and deception.

A quick recount of a fun session I played.
In a recent game, I was the serial killer. That means I can kill at night and can not be killed. All I have to do is keep killing people, keep deceiving them, and not leave any clues for them to suspect me. I won this specific game, because there was a player named Snoop Dogg and every time I killed someone, I would leave a "death note" with a vague dog-related reference on the victim - even some as obtuse as "Bow down before the Lion". This made people increasingly suspicious that this other player was the serial killer, without focusing any suspicion on myself. Yet, I (feigning to be a good guy) kept raising questions about yet *another* player, so that the town never had enough votes in agreement about Snoop Dogg to have him put on trial. Keeping Snoop Dogg alive meant I could keep killing with impunity. Until there were so few townsfolk left that I was able to kill Snoop Dogg, get away with it, and win the game.

So what is the gameplay?
When you start each game, you can pick new name. Some people choose generic and some are clever. It's the internet, so plenty are offensive. When the game starts, all fifteen players will be told what their role is. Each role comes with certain abilities, traits, alignments, and limitations. The goal is to play your role, while supporting your faction. Each role has different faction alignments. Some are aligned with the mafia and the town. Some are aligned with the town and witches. Some, like the serial killer, are aligned only with the survivors.

The game is broken up into rounds. Your activities are performed at night. If you're the serial killer, you kill at night. If you're the investigator, you investigate one person's information each night. If you're the mafia, you communicate privately with the other mafia and the godfather at night, about who to kill and then you kill them. If you're the jailor, you put someone in jail overnight. If you're the escort, you distract someone overnight.

Then there are limitations. For example, the serial killer can not kill the mafia's godfather. So if you choose to kill someone overnight, but are not able to, there's a good chance you (as the serial killer) have just identified who the god father is.

When the night is over, you get a tally of the dead and how they died. You can read their will (each player can write a will, which for some is just a clever or insulting quip, but for others is an on-going ledger of information they've gathered while playing, so that upon their death, other players are informed as to what that player knew).

Still in the day phase, everyone votes on who to execute, if anyone. If enough votes are tallied for an individual, that person has to plead their defense to the town (in their own words). The town can then determine if they find him guilty or innocent. If he's guilty, he is hung. After his death (as with all deaths), his name goes up on a visible list for all to see, along with their role. (As an aside, there are also mediums - who are the only players who can communicate with the dead players in chat, using their information for themselves or to share with the living to inform future judgments).

It will often play out something like this: Someone accuses a player of being the godfather. Everyone votes for that person. That person swears they are the sheriff and the town needs them. Nobody buys their lies. They hang him. Then the name and role appears on the grave sites... they were telling the truth! They were the sheriff! Uh oh!

And then night comes again and we carry out the rounds like this, until almost everyone is dead and the town, mafia, serial killer, or other faction is left alive and declared the winner.

There are a few small hurdles that may trip some up. They are worth dealing with.
First, this is a free-to-play browser-based game that is now also on Steam for $5 USD. Those $5 are converted to ingame currency to buy cosmetic items like death animations or houses. There is no pay-to-win aspect to the game; only cosmetic items. You also accrue currency simply by playing, so you could play with no disadvantage whatsoever without ever paying a dime.

Second, the game requires you to install Adobe AIR, so if this isn't already on your system, it will direct you to install it before the game runs. You'll also need to create a game account. Click "register" from the game's interface to be taken to the web page where you do this. The page it takes you to is a sign-up for a forum account, which may seem confusing. Just do it, as the account is directly tied to your game login. When you're done, login to the game with those credentials.

Third, when you go to play a game, you'll have the options "invite friends" and "solo". This is very misleading, but if you click "solo", you will actually be entering the online multiplayer, which is what you obviously want.

Overview.
The game is addictive and allows for a lot of role playing and deception. Even with fourteen other total strangers. Depending on the mode you are playing, there are also somewhere between 15 and 30 different roles to be played. Vigilante, veteran, doctor, mafioso, framer, godfather, spy, jailor, sheriff, escort, serial killer, witch, werewolf, arsonist, executioner, survivor, amnesiac, forger, vampire hunter, vampire, janitor, disguiser, consort, consigliere, blackmailer, bodyguard, investigator, lookout, mayor, medium, retributionist, transporter, jester...

The game becomes a clever meeting of wits, suspicions, piecing together what you know about roles and how they interact with each other, lying, determining truth, banding together, and backstabbing. It is absolutely unique and so compelling that I played six hours straight the first time I launched the game.

The game is a no-brainer at the price of zero dollars, if you play the web version. Frankly, it's worth $5 USD for the Steam version, too. If you're unsure, try the web version and decide if you'd like to support the guys behind this game by kicking in the $5 on Steam and getting this version. It also doesn't seem like there are a lack of players. Even past midnight, there were more than 300 ongoing games being played by almost 4,000 players. I never waited to get into a lobby and lobbies are filled and launched into the game within about one minute.

I can't implore you enough to give this game a shot, if any of this sounds even remotely compelling to you.

Played the free browser version since four months. Ever seen one of those forum mafia games that were confusing as heck? Well this is that, except more detailed and fast-paced. The edges are smoothened and it's one heck of a lot fun. There's a bit of learning involved, but for the rest it's an extremely fun game.

The graphics and music might be a bit okay-ish, but don't let that discourage you from buying the game. Many games have gotten away with bad graphics like Dwarf Fortress just because their gameplay was over the top.

Town of Salem: where lynching racists is a thing.

Named myself John Madden and proceeded to murder everyone as I monolouged my 'thoughts' about it, no one suspected a thing.
10/10 would broadcast again.