5 Detective Games to Play if you Love True Crime

Obsessed with YouTube channels that discuss morbidly interesting true crime stories? Can’t stop listening to murder mystery podcasts? Still recovering from a Sherlock addiction? Then you’re in luck, as I’ve compiled a list of 5 crime or detective games you’ll enjoy.

Danganronpa

“Hope’s Peak Academy is home to Japan’s best and brightest high school students—the beacons of hope for the future. But that hope suddenly dies when Makoto Naegi and his classmates find themselves imprisoned in the school, cut off from the outside world and subject to the whims of a strange, murderous little bear named Monokuma. He pits the students against each other, promising freedom to anyone who can murder a fellow classmate and get away with it.
It’s up to you to find out who Monokuma really is, and why you’ve been taken from the world you once knew. But be careful what you wish for—sometimes there’s nothing more deadly than the truth…” (Steam)

Danganronpa is a series well known for its gripping murder mysteries. Spend time investigating crimes and putting the pieces together before starting one of several trials, in which you must present the evidence. To succeed in a trial, you must make sure you have a good understanding of the crime and accuse the right people with the right proof. The characters in are very well developed and unique, but be careful not to get too attached as anyone might be out to kill you.

Paradise Killer

“Paradise is an island that regenerates every few millennia. The psychic power that the alien worshipers within release into the universe is meant to feed and eventually resurrect their fallen deities. But this force also attracts undesired interest from demons, who eventually corrupt each island — until a new alternate reality is birthed by the Council.

The system isn’t perfect, but it will be one day — on Perfect 25, the next island-to-be. But on the eve of rebirth, the Council is murdered and Paradise is killed. In the aftermath, the “investigation freak” Lady Love Dies is summoned from exile to find the culprit. This is the crime to end all crimes.” (Steam)

Paradise Killer is a uniquely styled game that follows our beautiful detective, Lady Love Dies. Similarly to Danganronpa, Paradise Killer employs investigations and trials, but Paradise Killer focuses more heavily on the investigation. It involves a lot of exploration and talking at your own pace to various different fascinating and comical suspects. There’s a lot to explore, and it’s up to you to discover everything before the climactic trial.

Heavy Rain

“Experience a gripping psychological thriller filled with innumerable twists and turns. Spanning four days of mystery and suspense, the hunt is on for a murderer known only as the Origami Killer – named after his macabre calling card of leaving behind folded paper shapes at crime scenes. Four characters, each following their own leads and with their own motives, must take part in a desperate attempt to prevent the killer from claiming a new victim.

You need to think fast and act even faster, as every choice and move you make can result in dramatic, game-changing consequences – and even determine who lives… and who dies.” (Steam)

I would describe Heavy Rain as a movie that you’re in control of. Although not like other traditional detective games, Heavy Rain will keep you stuck to the screen the entire game. Each character you play as has their own story that inevitably intertwines with others–assuming you make the right choices. Each has their own personality and motivation to solve the crime, whether an FBI agent or a grieving father. The course of the story–and finding the Killer–depends entirely on your decisions.

AI: The Somnium Files

“One rainy night in November, a woman’s body is found at an abandoned theme park, mounted on a merry-go-round horse. She had been stabbed repeatedly, and her left eye was gouged out.
Kaname Date of the Metropolitan Police Department arrives on the scene. He recognizes the woman. Suddenly, he hears a noise from inside the merry-go-round.
He breaks into the merry-go-round’s central column to find a young girl. And in her hands, she grips a bloody ice pick…” (Steam)

Created by the same developers as Danganronpa, AI: The Somnium Files is a sci-fi murder mystery. (Chunsoft is also worth checking out for their other detective games, such as The Nonary Games.) The game is set in a technologically-advanced Tokyo and follows Kaname Date, an investigator who works for ABIS, a top-secret police squad. ABIS investigates crimes through a method called “psyncing,” a process which allows investigators to explore the dream world of suspects in a case.

Although the game sometimes leans towards being comical, it is an interesting concept that I’m sure you’ll enjoy if you’re a sci-fi fan looking for a mystery. (Also, check out this article on other games that will make you feel like you’re in Japan!)

Roman’s Christmas

“You play as Roman, a detective who wishes to have a decent vacation at a small tavern in the suburbs. 13 travelers gathered here because of the heavy storm, and mysterious cases happened one after another… In order not to spoil the hard-earned vacation, you must solve the cases and bring harmony back to the tavern.” (Steam)

Roman’s Christmas is a cute detective game that uses a point-and-click investigation. Since you play as fluffy animals, you can even sniff out clues. Use those clues to build a case against your suspect and accuse the right person before more animals die. The game rewards critical thinking and doesn’t hold your hand. The story is good and you may find yourself getting attached to characters who will be taken from you before you know it. Just be careful that you don’t also get killed!