Anyone know any good mystery games?

Austin Manning

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So I'm on a bit of a mystery kick right now and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for good singleplayer mystery games. Specifically for the Vita/PSP, PS3 or PC, since those are the systems I have. Note: I don't mean games with an air of mystery like Bioshock or Dark Souls. I'm looking for games where the core gameplay is based around (basically) being a detective, finding clues and using them to solve mysteries.
 

FalloutJack

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Steam count? My girlfriend bought me Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments. There's at least another out there that looks like it's good, but I forget the title.
 

Kyrian007

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If you don't mind going very retro, the Police Quest collection is available on at least gog, probably more platforms. The one that name-drops Daryl Gates I really thought was tons of fun. If you want something newer (but have probably played,) I can suggest L.A. Noire. Other than being on a bad Rockstar game engine, and having some odd logic jumps from time to time, its a fun detective game with some action thrown in and a decent story.
 

DrunkOnEstus

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May 11, 2012
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FalloutJack said:
Steam count? My girlfriend bought me Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments. There's at least another out there that looks like it's good, but I forget the title.
It's a fantastic Sherlock Holmes game for sure, and I recommend it too. I got it as a free PS+ game, but being UE3 and all it ran like total and complete shit on PS3 and has been fantastic on the PC instead. There's other good Sherlock Holmes games on Steam, check the consumer reception to see which are the better ones as there's quite a few.

On the Vita, I recommend Danganronpa 1 and 2 but that depends on your tolerance for Japanese-ness. They definitely have the mystery angle covered though.

I also second L.A. Noire, the PC port is meh but it's a superior experience to the console versions.

I definitely recommend Deadly Premonition if you're okay with an open-world approach. The PC version practically requires DPfix, if you want to get it on PS3 its inferior to the 360 version and has an awful framerate so I say go with the PC version. Heavily inspired by the show Twin Peaks.

I've heard good things about The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief" on PC but I haven't played it personally. It sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

It's pretty old school, but http://studioeres.com/fedora6 Fedora Spade is what you're talking about exactly. It's a free 28MB download so there's no money on the line, I had a good time with it.
 

Mister K

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Okay, I did not play many, so I can't recommend a lot, but since you have Vita:

As DrunkOnEstus said, Danganronpa 1 and 2. The jist of the 1st one is that a bunch of kids got locked into a school with no access to the outside world. The bad guy tells them that they can either stay here forever or one of them kills someone else. In the case of the latter (which obviously happens), the death must be investigated and put on trial. If the killer is found out, s/he is punnished, if not, however, then everyone else is punished and the murdered can leave.

And just as DrunkOnEstus said, you won't enjoy the game if you aren't at the very least tolerant towards the common japanese tropes (MC who speaks about hope, dumb athlete, cool biker, etc.)

As for my own recommendation, I'd say Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward. The plot is the following: 9 people are trapped in some kind of a bunker and must escape. Sorry, nothing more, spoilers. While it is not a straight up mystery game (i.e. you yourself do not look for clues, you only solve puzzle rooms and make ally/betray decision), the characters do slowly yet surely find out everything while searching through the bunker. The story is great.
And if you will find this game interesting, then wait for the release of an announced sequel. Also, again if you are interested, do check out the first game by the name of Zero Escape: 9 persons 9 doors 9 hours. Yes, it is was released for DS (or 3DS), but there are many ways to experience it, Let's Plays for example. and if you do like VLR, I recommend you to experience 999 just for the story sake. You can play VLR without playing 999 (like I did) and you will understand ABSOLUTELY everything, but there are things that connect those games.
 

Auberon

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You could look at puzzle games in general, but they can get really absurd... ever looked at Myst?
 

Frezzato

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I've been waiting for what seems like forever with Hector: Badge of Carnage. I think they're still working on episode 4. I guess it's not really a mystery game as it is a point-and-click hidden object game, and a foul-mouthed one at that. And from what I've seen online, it's pretty funny.
 

DrunkOnEstus

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Mister K said:
As for my own recommendation, I'd say Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward.
I was going to recommend this as an ideal Vita game, but it didn't fit the criteria of being a detective, etc. But you're right, if you're into that kind of gaming experience at all then this game and 999 are a must. When I got Zero Escape, I absolutely couldn't put my Vita down the way that the best books get their hooks into you. It's the first game I've ever "platinum'd" (though I admit that isn't difficult), but it's one of the few games that I started and then devoured completely until there was nothing left. I should probably re-play it, knowing how it ends shouldn't undermine how well the journey there is structured.

Also, if OP could get their hands on a DS/3DS/iOS device or make that happen on their PC :)cough:which is something that totally isn't possible and I know absolutely nothing about:cough:), then Hotel Dusk, Ghost Trick, 999, and the Ace Attorney games are a must if you're into the games we've been talking about.
 

NPC009

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Gemini Rue (PC), maybe? Imagine a noir detective story with sciencefiction and dystopian elements made to look and play like an adventure game from the 90s. If that sounds bad, I promise it's better than it sounds. (It's on Steam, so if you aren't sure, you can always read a few of the bazillion user reviews.)

Also, I'm going to second everyone who said Danganronpa and/or Virtue's Last Reward (and Hotel Dusk, Ghost Trick, 999 and the Ace Attorney series).
 

The Wykydtron

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Sep 23, 2010
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If you like mystery, I have to recommend Umineko No Naku Koro Ni. Yes, it's a Kinetic Novel but I cannot overstate how key the mystery is to the story. Especially when you get to episodes 5-8, it's legitimately a love letter to the mystery genre at that point. I could explain more but this post would be a full essay on how good Umineko actually is.

Also Devil on the G-String. It has some of the best plot twists and reveals I have ever seen, even in other mystery stories.
 

Austin Manning

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Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone! I'll be sure to look some of these up.

The Wykydtron said:
If you like mystery, I have to recommend Umineko No Naku Koro Ni. Yes, it's a Kinetic Novel but I cannot overstate how key the mystery is to the story. Especially when you get to episodes 5-8, it's legitimately a love letter to the mystery genre at that point. I could explain more but this post would be a full essay on how good Umineko actually is.
I LOVE Umineko. It and Danganronpa 1 were what put me on this mystery kick in the first place.
 

Lufia Erim

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The Wykydtron said:
If you like mystery, I have to recommend Umineko No Naku Koro Ni. Yes, it's a Kinetic Novel but I cannot overstate how key the mystery is to the story. Especially when you get to episodes 5-8, it's legitimately a love letter to the mystery genre at that point. I could explain more but this post would be a full essay on how good Umineko actually is.

Also Devil on the G-String. It has some of the best plot twists and reveals I have ever seen, even in other mystery stories.
Im surprised you didn't say persona 4. Persona 4 for all intent and purposes is a murder mystery game. Hell they even ask you to name the culprit at the end. And if you guess wrong 3 times (out of the 3 pages of people who you've met throughout the entire game, it's game over for you.
 

COMaestro

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Going to second/third/whatever the Zero Escape series. Sounds like you have a Vita, so Virtue's Last Reward is available to you, and if you have a DS or 3DS, I recommend getting 999 as well and starting with it. I think it will feel like a step backwards if you were to play it second, but you could always watch a Let's Play, as someone said above.

I believe there is a demo for VLR that you can download on the Vita so you can get a feel for the game and see if you like it.
 

Cowabungaa

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You should get yourself a cheap-ass second hand Nintendo DSi or 3DS, those have a ton of good mystery games. Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, 999, that kinda stuff. Lots of high quality things to be found there.
 

The Wykydtron

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Sep 23, 2010
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Lufia Erim said:
The Wykydtron said:
If you like mystery, I have to recommend Umineko No Naku Koro Ni. Yes, it's a Kinetic Novel but I cannot overstate how key the mystery is to the story. Especially when you get to episodes 5-8, it's legitimately a love letter to the mystery genre at that point. I could explain more but this post would be a full essay on how good Umineko actually is.

Also Devil on the G-String. It has some of the best plot twists and reveals I have ever seen, even in other mystery stories.
Im surprised you didn't say persona 4. Persona 4 for all intent and purposes is a murder mystery game. Hell they even ask you to name the culprit at the end. And if you guess wrong 3 times (out of the 3 pages of people who you've met throughout the entire game, it's game over for you.
Holy shit, apparently Umineko's mystery is so good it made me forget that Persona 4 was even a thing and I say that as one of the biggest fans of Persona 4 ever...

I mean Persona 4's mystery is fucking godlike in terms of making a murder mystery game where you yourself actually NEED to solve the mystery yourself instead of just doing the boss fights and waiting for the mystery to solve itself (that roadblock of names was fucking amazing) but I think Devil on the G-String is better in terms of a straight mystery story (I mean the very first proper plot twist/reveal in Devil literally had me just going "what, no... what? That's... What? No way." for like 5 minutes straight staring at my screen like a retard, it was so brilliantly executed) and Umineko is just up in its own tier of godhood.

I don't even know how to describe Umineko really, I feel like it means different things to different people. Someone could say it's a game about love and is a really sweet, happy game then someone else could say its a psychotic, murderous, gory psychological horror game and they would both be right.

Also Bern and Lambda are the best double act ever created and I will not hear otherwise.
 

Ronald Nand

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The Ace Attorney games are excellent mystery games, you play as a lawyer solving murders, the game is split between investigating crime scenes and taking to people and courtroom battles where you reveal the true murderer. If you've got a phone/tablet which has access to the IOS appstore you can get the games on there, you can also get most of the games on emulators too.
 

Frezzato

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Austin Manning said:
So I'm on a bit of a mystery kick right now and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for good singleplayer mystery games. Specifically for the Vita/PSP, PS3 or PC, since those are the systems I have. Note: I don't mean games with an air of mystery like Bioshock or Dark Souls. I'm looking for games where the core gameplay is based around (basically) being a detective, finding clues and using them to solve mysteries.
I just bought Puzzle Agent 1 & 2 through the Humble Bundle end of summer sale. I can't remember how I got them for so cheap, but they were 99 cents and 1.99 respectively. I'm only an hour into the first one. It's just puzzle after puzzle, and the graphics are simple drawings, but it's good so far.
 

octafish

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He say you Braderunner.

If someone has the cd-roms lying around my favorite detective game is the 1997 Bladerunner. Good luck finding that one though.

I also have fond memories of the X-files game, you are probably boned there too, but I haven't checked out GOG yet.

Let's see. In Condemned: Criminal Origins you play as a detective working a serial killer case, bust mostly you just frantically beat hobos to death with steel pipes. There is also Fahrenheit, which is weird, but i liked it, pass on it if you are prudish because there is intercourse.