Lots of video games on the market are inspired by the detective genre, putting players in the shoes of gumshoe protagonists, but which of these games actually make players feel like a detective? What titles will let players gather clues, interview witnesses, compile theories, and uncover the true culprit in a fashion that would make Scooby-Doo proud?
There are number of games where the player takes on the role of a detective trying to solve a mystery – Resident Evil 2 or Bioshock: Infinite being notable examples. After an initial, non-violent clue-gathering and exploration portion, the mystery-solving parts of these games too regularly get subsumed into a different genre like action or (quite often) survival horror.
The following video games in this article are true detective games from start to finish, a 'guilty verdict' proved by the following three clues: first, their plot revolves around solving a mystery, with the full truth not being revealed until close to the climax. Second, there must be gameplay mechanics for gathering evidence and talking to witnesses. Thirdly, the detective game should encourage and reward players for thinking through the facts of a case and drawing their own conclusions – with dramatic finger-pointing and exclamations of "For you see!" being entirely optional
Return of the Obra Dinn
In Papers, Please.
The Phoenix Wright Franchise
The Phoenix Wright series of games, at best, are a gross misrepresentation of how the modern legal justice system works, but it's surely a fun misrepresentation. Each Phoenix Wright game generally revolves around an eccentric (yet ionate) defense attorney who must prove their client's innocence, counter the arguments of cartoonishly ruthless prosecutors, and uncover the real culprit behind the crime. Gameplay in Phoenix Wright titles is split into two sections; an investigation phase, where players gather clues at a crime scene, and a courtroom phase, where they present evidence and poke holes in the testimonies of witnesses, often with a hearty cry of "Objection!" or "Take This!".
Disco Elysium
In Planescape: Torment-style dialogue trees, while cultivating a series of RPG skills that take the form of thoughts and split-personalities arguing in the detective's mind.
Unavowed
A richly detailed Urban Fantasy adventure by Wadjet Eye Games, Unavowed opens with a character creation sequence where a wizard dressed like a private eye grills you with questions about your character's name, gender, and job history – all as part of an exorcism rite designed to banish the demon possessing you. When the demon escapes, the player s a team of supernatural sleuths, exploring New York to track down the demon and discover what it did while possessing the main character's body. As the players investigate neighborhoods and make tough moral choices in Unavowed, they can bring along up to two partners with unique, supernatural mystery-solving skills – for instance, a medium who can talk to local ghosts.
There are other games, such as the Sherlock Holmes titles and Murdered: Soul Suspect, which have strong detective elements as well, but the ones mentioned above are sure to not only be entertaining but also make players feel like a detective themselves. Anyone looking to solve a crime, whether it be a death aboard a ship or a missing shoe on a rooftop, would do well to check out one of these games.