The Best Detective Games

Update : Shadows of Doubt added at rank #50.
1

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

2

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

3

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes And Punishments (2014)

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95
Review score
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Playstation 3 Nintendo Switch Xbox One Playstation 4 PC Windows Xbox 360

Become the most celebrated detective of all time: Sherlock Holmes! Use your impressive talents as a detective to solve six thrilling and varied cases: murders, missing persons, spectacular thefts and numerous investigations that sometimes lead you into the realms of the fantastic.


  • detective
  • crime
  • mystery
  • adventure
  • puzzle

4

Cube Escape Collection (2020)

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95
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS Android IOS iPhone

Thank you for playing the Cube Escape Collection! We fixed a few bugs in this new version.


  • puzzle
  • detective
  • horror
  • point-and-click
  • mech
  • resource
  • dream
  • waves
  • real-time
  • endless
  • achievements
  • classic
  • bite-sized
  • buildings
  • experimental

5

Unheard - Voices of Crime (2019)

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95
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS Nintendo Switch Xbox One Playstation 4

What if you could hear every word spoken at the scene of a crime? “Acoustic Detectives” wanted for testing our new device! Return aurally to crime scenes and use the voices you hear to identify potential suspects and solve the mysteries. What is it that’s connecting these seemingly unrelated cases?


  • detective
  • mystery

6

The Painscreek Killings (2017)

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94
Review score
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PC Windows

Investigate an infamous cold case in the eerie, abandoned town of Painscreek. Search for evidence, connect the dots and uncover who killed Vivian Roberts. Can you expose the truth behind this town’s dark secrets?


  • detective
  • investigation
  • supernatural
  • mystery
  • walking-simulator
  • walking
  • open-world
  • atmospheric
  • conspiracy
  • exploration
  • story
  • narration
  • adventure
  • thriller
  • 3d

7

Judgment (2018)

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93
Review score
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Playstation 4 Xbox One IOS iPhone Android PC Windows stadia Xbox Series X Playstation 5

Fight for the truth and uncover the twisted crime running deep beneath the surface of Tokyo. In this legal thriller , the balance between justice and mercy teeters on the edge.


  • detective
  • crime
  • fight
  • drama
  • combat
  • spin-off
  • narrative

8

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

9

Labyrinth City (2021)

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93
Review score
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IOS iPhone PC Windows Nintendo Switch

Adapted from the bestselling children’s book series Pierre The Maze Detective, play as Pierre in this adventure/puzzle game and recover the stolen Maze Stone. Journey through breathtakingly hand-drawn illustrations, meet eccentric characters, and solve puzzles to save Opera City!

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  • book
  • detective
  • hidden-object
  • 2.5d
  • comic
  • collectathon
  • hand-drawn
  • maze
  • collector
  • creature
  • cartoony
  • colourful
  • adventure
  • stylized
  • casual

10

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

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