The Best Detective Games for Mac OS

Update : Duck Detective: The Secret Salami added at rank #5.
1

The Case of the Golden Idol (2022)

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92
Review score
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IOS iPhone Playstation 5 j Mac OS Nintendo Switch PC Windows Android Xbox Series X Xbox One

In The Case of the Golden Idol, you take on the role of a detective tasked to investigate a string of cases related to a mysterious golden idol. You must piece together evidence from the frozen tableau at each crime scene and solve puzzles in order to explain what happened.


What we like:
  • Innovative puzzles
  • Elegant execution
  • Trial-and-error approach and pure deduction available
  • Sherlockian texture that plays out in imagination
  • Captivating 18th century thriller
What could be improved:
  • Rudimentary artwork
  • Requires feats of deduction that may be difficult for some players

  • detective
  • mystery
  • conspiracy
  • point-and-click
  • crime
  • investigation
  • pixel
  • fiction
  • historical
  • thriller
  • narrative
  • puzzle

2

Hypnospace Outlaw (2019)

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100
Review score
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Nintendo Switch Playstation 4 Xbox One PC Windows Mac OS Linux

Hypnospace Outlaw is a unique game that takes you to the world of the early internet circa 1999. As an assigned moderator of the Hypnospace community, you have to investigate unapproved commerce, strike down images and links with copyright infringement and page through personal blogs and projects. You will explore a web browser as well as a customizable desktop with programs and documents, while having to scan for references and redirects.


What we like:
  • Unique game setting in the early internet
  • Investigative detective work
  • Engaging storyline
  • Eye-searing kitsch comedy
  • Built with consistent world elements
What could be improved:
  • Limited color palette
  • Grainy pixelated artwork

  • detective
  • alternate
  • conspiracy
  • simulation
  • parody
  • funny
  • online
  • puzzle
  • 1990s

3

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (2021)

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90
Review score
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Playstation 5 Xbox Series X Xbox One Nintendo Switch stadia Mac OS PC Windows Playstation 4

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut is a groundbreaking role playing game. You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.


  • rpg
  • detective
  • political
  • dice
  • isometric
  • skill
  • story
  • politics
  • crime
  • old-school

4

Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

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96
Review score
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Xbox One Mac OS PC Windows

Return of the Obra Dinn is an adventure puzzle game set in a supernatural maritime world. Players assume the role of an appraiser for a maritime insurance company and are given a pocket watch that reveals the fates of the ship's unfortunate passengers. The game features stunning foley work, voice acting, and score to set its tone. Players must use their deductive reasoning to unravel what happened to all passengers on board.


What we like:
  • Mystery elements require sound deductive reasoning
  • Brilliant foley work and voice acting
  • Innovative visuals inspired by early computer games
  • Supernatural angle adds intrigue and suspense
  • High replay value
What could be improved:
  • Simulated assistance may make some tasks too easy
  • Minimalist aesthetic can be off-putting to some players
  • Limited area surrounding each scene restricts exploration

  • detective
  • mystery
  • puzzle

5

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (2024)

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86
Review score
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Android) (IOS iPhone Xbox Series X Xbox One Mac OS Linux Nintendo Switch PC Windows Xbox Series X/s

Solving crime is no walk in the pond. You are a down-on-his-luck detective who also happens to be a duck. Use your powers of de-duck-tion to inspect evidence, fill in the blanks, and bust the case wide open, in a narrative mystery adventure where nothing is quite as it seems.


  • detective
  • mystery
  • noir
  • sausage
  • investigation
  • short
  • point-and-click
  • cute
  • puzzle
  • isometric

6

Chicken Police (2020)

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92
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox One Playstation 4 Nintendo Switch IOS iPhone stadia Playstation 5 Mac OS

Chicken Police - Paint it RED! is an off-kilter adventure game and visual novel that takes you to the city of Clawville as private detective Sonny Featherland and his partner, Marty MacChicken investigate a case. Follow them as they meet the denizens of the seedy underbelly, interrogate suspects and investigate crime scenes in this hard-boiled noir.


What we like:
  • Smoothly running game
  • Well-made
  • Excellent story supported by good voice acting
  • No-longer weird seeing animal heads on human bodies
What could be improved:
  • Initial weirdness of seeing animal heads on human bodies
  • Minimal action with only occasional minigames

  • detective
  • visual-novel
  • noir
  • mystery
  • point-and-click

7

Disco Elysium (2019)

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93
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS

Disco Elysium is an immersive detective RPG where you play the role of a belligerent drunk, trying to solve a murder in a Parisian style town full of creeps and drunks. With an incredibly deep character creation system, you can choose how to approach each situation as you interrogate suspects and follow clues. The game features excellent writing, skill checks, thought processes, conversations and beautiful visuals.

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What we like:
  • Depth of character development
  • Rich story and environments
  • Surreal conversations
  • Gorgeous visuals and voice acting
What could be improved:
  • Occasional bugs
  • Cumbersome inventory system

  • rpg
  • detective
  • dice
  • political
  • isometric
  • tabletop
  • mystery
  • skill
  • old-school

8

BROK the InvestiGator (2022)

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86
Review score
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PC Windows Playstation 5 Playstation 4 Xbox Series X Xbox One Nintendo Switch Linux Mac OS

BROK the InvestiGator is an adventure game set in a futuristic cyberpunk city where humans have been replaced by animals and robots. Join Brok, a former boxer turned private detective, as he attempts to uncover a sinister plot while struggling with parenthood and providing for his deceased wife's son. Experience the fusion of point-and-click adventure and beat 'em up gameplay styles as you explore your surroundings, talk to NPCs and solve puzzles.


What we like:
  • Fully voiced cast
  • Seamless fusion of point-and-click and beat 'em up genres
  • Relatable story with heartfelt moments
  • Sherlock Holmes­-esque interrogation sequences
  • Multiple endings for replayability
What could be improved:
  • Some puzzles are too simple to work out
  • Some sequences drag on too long serving little purpose outside of padding out the runtime

  • point-and-click
  • detective
  • beat-em-up
  • cyberpunk
  • dystopian
  • adventure
  • soundtrack
  • choices
  • investigation
  • futuristic
  • fight
  • mystery
  • cartoony
  • puzzle
  • post-apocalyptic

9

The Darkside Detective (2017)

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86
Review score
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PC Windows Xbox One Playstation 5 Playstation 4 stadia Nintendo Switch Linux Mac OS IOS iPhone

Join Detectives McQueen and Dooley as they solve six different cases full of humour and great references in the town of Twin Lakes. With beautiful retro-style pixel graphics, this is a must play for lovers of cats, coffee and all kinds of videogames!


What we like:
  • Crisp and clean pixel graphics
  • Variety in music
  • Sense of satisfaction when solving a case
  • Humourous atmosphere
  • Great movie references
What could be improved:
  • Cases are straightforward
  • Not super challenging
  • No tries to scare you

  • point-and-click
  • detective
  • supernatural
  • pixel
  • adventure
  • funny
  • retro
  • mystery
  • puzzle
  • comedy

10

Overboard! (2021)

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89
Review score
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IOS iPhone Nintendo Switch Android PC Windows Mac OS

Overboard! is an exciting mystery game where you play as Veronica Villensey, a 1930s femme fatale who throws her husband overboard on a boat eight hours away from New York. You must help her get away with her crime by getting her off the boat scot-free when it docks. With visuals and music that evoke the 1930s, and the ability to direct your own story with multiple endings, this game is sure to keep you entertained.


What we like:
  • Open world visual novel gameplay
  • Multiple endings
  • Replayable
  • Short playthroughs
  • Fun 1930s visuals & music
What could be improved:
  • Short playthrough times may be a con for some players

  • visual-novel
  • crime
  • mystery
  • choices
  • detective
  • narrative
  • fiction
  • comedy
  • novel
  • interactive
  • adventure
  • conversation
  • sailing
  • cover
  • puzzle

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