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 Sherlock Holmes or 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 Return of the Obra Dinn, an anonymous insurance adjuster from an early 19th century trading company is tasked with exploring the Obra Dinn, a long-lost ghost ship that washed ashore with all the crew dead of missing. The player's goal is to discover the truth behind the crew's grisly fate, a task accomplished by exploring the ship from top to bottom and using a magical pocket-watch called the "Memento Mortem" to peer into the past. Clues are compiled in a logbook, where players examine certain possibilities and draw conclusions. In an interesting touch, there's no single perfect solution: Return of the Obra Dinn will accept multiple explanations of what really happened, as long as the theories fit the available facts. The game was developed by Lucas Pope, creator of the equally-brilliant 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 passionate) 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 Disco Elysium, players take on the role of a beat detective with a brilliant mind, mutton-chops straight out of the 1970's, and a lifestyle so self-destructive that their late-night bender wiped out all memories of their past. Gamers playing Disco Elysium must solve a murder mystery and uncover the mystery of who they actually are, all while exploring the gritty yet psychedelic (and thoroughly Disco) city of Revachol. The investigation process of Disco Elysium revolves heavily around interviewing witnesses with 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 joins 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.