10 Best Detective Games to Unleash Your Inner Sherlock [2023]

Are you a fan of Sherlock and always want to act as a detective? If yes, then you’re at the right place to find the best detective games.

Detective games have been one of the favorite forms of games for people of different age groups. Different detective, thriller, and suspense books or novels have inspired many detective games.   

Games can go beyond simple entertainment when they test our thinking skills and meticulousness. One such example is detective games, which, as you might anticipate, exist in various forms. 

In this article, we will discuss what detective games are and what features to look out for in a good detective game. We will also discuss some of the best detective games to unleash your inner Sherlock. 

What are Detective Games?

The gaming industry has its fair share of brilliant detectives and games that have had us take on difficult tasks to solve the most horrifying and exciting crimes, just like there are in films, books, and TV series.

Video games classified as detective games typically include fictitious detectives in their gameplay or storyline, simulating the process of investigating cases and catching criminals.

The gameplay of the majority of detective games includes a variety of stages and characters. Those who enjoy playing video games, especially those who are fans of the mystery and detective genre, hunt for mystery detective games.

What makes detective games different from other games?

Undoubtedly, all games are meant to keep users engaged and entertained. But detective games are games that not only keep the player entertained but also help to increase the person’s thinking capacity. Playing detective games also increases the intelligence quotient and situation handling. 

Also, since most games are based on novels or books, these games help users to get a rough idea about the plot of the book in an exciting way. We can take the example of Sherlock Holmes detective games.

These games have levels according to the different volumes of books published in the Sherlock Holmes series. Similarly, many other games are based on books, increasing the game’s thrill.  

What are the features to look out for in good detective games?

In the genuine style of best-selling crime literature, the finest detective games should have an exciting storyline that draws you into its narrative with red herrings, surprises, and spins and allows you to interact with its characters.

As a fan of detective novels, you would anticipate this, and since detective games allow you to engage with the plot, the experience should be even better.

A good mystery game should pull you in, test you through its gameplay, get you engaged with its characters, and throw in lots of surprises, much like a great page-turning detective fiction does to have you engrossed from the start.

Deadly Premonitions

The video game Deadly Premonition was created by Toybox Inc. and is distributed by Aksys Games under license. This is one of the oldest PC games, with an exterior influence from the iconic TV show ‘Twin Peaks.’

You have a certain amount of time to examine murder sites and question suspects in this story about an FBI agent tracking a serial killer in a tiny American town.

A wide range of game components is included in Deadly Premonition, creating a singular fusion of more than shooting action, driving, and third-person excursion.

Developed by: Toybox Inc

Published by: Aksys Games

Release Date: 19 December 2019

Platforms: Aksys Game Store

The Wolf Among Us

The Wolf Among Us combines elements of fables and fairytales with the gritty realism of crime thrillers. Taking its inspiration from the fairy tale comic book series, this game is set in a realm named Fabletown. It is home to several figures from mythology and fairytales.

Bigby, the former Big Bad Wolf and sheriff of Fabletown, is controlled by players as he looks into a homicide.

Gamers can engage with NPCs and locate artifacts that are essential to the plot. Choices made during dialogue can affect Bigby’s perception and the game’s path in either a good or bad way. 

Developed by: Telltales

Published by: Telltales

Release Date: 4 November 2014

Platforms: Google Play Store and iOS,

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The first-person horror video game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter tests the player’s capacity for inference and research. A detective who specializes in the supernatural, Paul Prospero, is controlled by the players. The juxtaposition between the area’s natural beauty and the frightening search to find the missing youngster before it’s too late is eerie and distressing.

You are free to explore the whole isolated valley, allowing you to dive deeply into Red Creek’s secrets and what happened to Ethan Carter. Unlike many other detective games, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter allows you to draw your conclusions from all the facts you find. 

Developed by: The Astronauts

Published by: The Astronauts

Release Date: 25 September 2014

Platforms: Steam

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

It’s primarily up to you to search the scene for evidence in Sherlock Holmes’s Crimes and Punishments, put everything together, and identify the guilty party.

Players direct Sherlock through six specific cases, all of which were based on the original stories. Every case involving a homicide, a crime, or a missing person, has an exciting plot.

Players can employ Sherlock’s fourteen investigation talents to locate clues, infer motivations, and question suspects. Each case also has several possible outcomes, and a player’s decisions impact Sherlock’s reputation and future. 

Developed by: Maximum games

Published by: Maximum games

Release Date: 30 September 2014

Platforms: PS4, Xbox, and Steam

L.A. Noire

Gamers in L.A. Noire get the full sensation of being in a Hollywood crime drama. Players take control of Cole Phelps as he cracks cases and moves up the LAPD ladder in this late 1940s Los Angeles setting. Gamers are given places to look for hints and suspects to question.

This sumptuous criminal drama, which draws inspiration from pulp detective literature and film noir, is a slow, methodical game of clue-hunting and suspect questioning set in a beautifully convincing replica.

The city serves as an intricate location for a range of gripping interactive crimes, including grisly serial killings, vehicle thefts, and arson. 

Developed by: Rockstar games

Published by: Rockstar games

Release Date:14 November 2017

Platforms: Xbox, Steam, and PS4

Murder in the Alps

An utterly interactive mystery thriller with incredible gaming elements, Murder in the Alps is a game unlike any other. You get to go back in time to the 1930s, solve several mysteries, and take in the genuine ambiance of the era.

The game allows you to explore distinctive environments while using well-known adventure gaming techniques to solve its narrative’s twists and turns.

Thanks to a unique element in the game, you may also deduce, recreate, and test your hypotheses at the site of a crime. This game is available on a lot of platforms. 

Developed by: Nordcurrent

Published by: Nordcurrent

Release Date: 20 July 2018

Platforms: Google Play Store, iOS, and Microsoft Store

Disco Elysium

In Disco Elysium, you can utilize your own hastily put-up mental state to swerve drastically off track at any time, giving conventional police work a unique twist. It’s a wickedly creative RPG game with interactions that rely heavily on language and some of the best writing we’ve ever seen in a game.

Depending on the jumbled-up personality qualities of your characters, there are several ways to interpret situations and advance the story.

It’s a story-driven role-playing game that lets you customize your character by giving them different abilities, outfits, and accessories as you work to solve a horrific crime while suffering from the worst hangover ever. 

Developed by: Skyrocket Games

Published by: Skyrocket Games

Release Date: 19 November 2021

Platforms: iOS, PS4 & 5, Steam, and Xbox

Detective Story: Jack’s Case

The interactive CSI detective game Detective Story: Jack’s Case is the ideal fusion of traditional hidden object games, cinematic tale games, and picture puzzles.

You get to take part in a magical detective adventure journey where you have to hunt for hidden things, locate all the clues, solve picture puzzles with hidden objects, solve crimes, and figure out who the murderer is.

The narrative of Jack’s Case is based on events that happened in Philadelphia many years ago.

Developed by: Azur Interactive games

Published by: Azur Interactive games

Release Date: 31 August 2018

Platforms: Google Play Store, iOS, and Microsoft Store

MazM: Jekyll and Hyde

The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson was the inspiration for the darkly humorous adventure game MazM: Jekyll and Hyde, in which you’ll approach the mystery from an entirely different perspective.

You’ll go back in time to the 19th century and see London through the eyes of two characters: Mr. Hyde, who has been physically strained, and Mr. Utterson, a lawyer who travels the straight and narrow in search of clues to solve a horrific mystery. 

MazM: Jekyll and Hyde have a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere that gives the city a feeling of macabre and spookiness. The gorgeous artwork and the ominous soundtrack make the game’s distressing elements much more potent.

Developed by: CKF

Published by: CKF

Release Date: 2 April 2020

Platforms: Nintendo, Steam, Google Play Store, and iOS

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is an excellent place to begin because it has a handy storytelling mode. This pair of Ace Attorney prequels, set in Meiji-era Japan and Victorian London, ranks as one of the detective games on our list that is the most consistently entertaining.

It has a lively, humorous storyline, fantastic character designs and animation, surprising situations, and tense courtroom fights.

You also hang out with “Herlock Sholmes,” a clueless investigator who isn’t quite as clever as he thinks he is. The Ace Attorney video game series is too amazing to pass up. From its inception in 2001, this series has followed the exploits of several attorneys, including Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice, as they seek proof to clear their clients of horrible crimes. 

Developed by: Capcom

Published by: Capcom

Release Date: 27 July 2021

Platforms: Nintendo, PS4 & 5, and Steam

Conclusion

Detective games are meant to be intriguing and nerve-wracking. There are many games available on the web that you can play to engage yourself. The above-mentioned games are a few of the best detective games available, which can help you have a thrilling and outstanding gaming experience. Not only do these games entertain you, but these games also help to increase your intelligence quotient and thinking capabilities.