Keyword: A Spider’s Thread
Best detective/difficult puzzle solving game of 2021, hands down.
Average playtime for Normal Ending is 3-7 hours depending on how fast you will catch up with the main mechanics of solving puzzles in this game.
Game features a big plot reveal near the end which gamers generally call getting “mind-blown” similarly like in Zero Escape, Danganronpa, AI: Somnium Files, Phoenix Wright games. During playthrough, expect to get some chills down your spine as it won’t be a happy story that’s for sure.
Needless to say, I am also impressed by high quality textures around the main gameplay area (that’s basically going to be your entire playground) and when you zoom in around literally in most corners of your vision in the city. You can peep anywhere and visuals aren’t compromised.
– Real player with 11.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Indie Games.
Good story with mystery, suspense, exploration and light hacking; it has some fresh features but don’t expect anything groundbreaking. You are in your house for the majority of the game (about 3 hours, don’t mind my play time it was because of a bug) and most of that time is spent on your computer, so reconsider if you don’t enjoy games that take place in a single setting. My review is more neutral than a positive, mainly due to the bugs that affected the gameplay it oftentimes felt like I was playing an unpolished game in early access. I’d recommend this game on the terms of waiting for the bugs to get fixed and a good sale.
– Real player with 7.6 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: Secret of the Scarlet Hand
Not one of my favourites. i' say the characters are better than they are in the average Nancy Drew game and the story itself unfolds really well with some great twists in it, but in the end the setting and the atmosphere were a bit of a let-down. The puzzles were too easy and I never once got that feeling of accomplishment when you crack a difficult challenge. There’s also a lot of studying to do in this one. The puzzles require you to track back and forth through the museum reading the displays and taking plenty of notes which might put some people off. Personally I don’t mind the studying, but you’re pretty much required to have some interest in Mayan culture if you’re going to enjoy this one.
– Real player with 9.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Detective Classic Games.
I’ve heard a wide variety of different opinions concerning Secret of the Scarlet Hand as I’ve made my way through the Nancy Drew series. Some people seem to really enjoy it. Others seem to hate it. Me…I end up leaning more towards the latter. This is not a terrible game by any standards, but I definitely think it’s one of the weakest entries in the entire franchise. I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys ND games, but it’s definitely one that you don’t need to rush into playing.
There will be Spoilers, you’ve been warned:
– Real player with 9.0 hrs in game
RE:CALL
In RE:CALL you play through the memories of the character you’re controlling. Your actions inside these flashbacks have immediate consequences in the present moment, letting you take advantage of the situation in order to progress the story. Tackle mind-bending puzzles that rely on altering your own memories to shape the future.
-
Solve mysteries by manipulating your memory. Escape a factory, solve a crime, and win the hearts and minds of your enemies by changing the past.
-
Get immersed in an epic narrative-driven adventure with a diverse cast of characters.
-
Get to know over 10 unique characters, each with their own quirks.
-
Investigate and solve the mystery of your mysterious power. Who is behind this?
Read More: Best Detective Choices Matter Games.
Return of the Obra Dinn
In “Return of the Obra Dinn” you’re an insurance investigator who is tasked with determining the fates of all 60 crewmembers aboard the Obra Dinn, a merchant ship that went missing in the early 19th century. Among your possessions is a pocketwatch that, when opened while standing nearby (the remains of) a corpse, shows you a glimpse of the deceased’s surroundings – and what they heard – at the moment of their death.
Furthermore, you have a book in which you keep a record of every crewmate’s death and disappearance. It also contains an artist’s rendition of the face of every crewmember and a list of the crewmember’s names, their occupation and their nationality. Your task is to assign a fate to everyone aboard the ship by using the 3D stills the pocketwatch provides you with. Some people’s fates are easier to determine than others, and the game will rely heavily on your deductive reasoning skills, since you’ll have to draw conclusions by narrowing down possibilities. Although sometimes conclusions based on guesswork and incomplete information were required too.
– Real player with 15.7 hrs in game
TL;DR
People declaring Obra Dinn a prime example of games-as-art and a shining pinnacle of what games in general should strive to be, probably have little to no understanding of how games actually work and wouldn’t recognize a good game if it hit them in the forehead. The core puzzle is good, tho.
Longer version
It’s better to know one important thing before even considering buying The Return of Obra Dinn. This can make or break your experience with it.
The whole affair boils down to solving one big constraint satisfaction problem (think the famous Zebra, or Einstein’s, puzzle) uniquely presented as a series of “memories” (still 3d dioramas) accompanied by an interactive notebook instead of a usual cell table. There is nothing else to it, period.
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
The Case of the Golden Idol
The Case of the Golden Idol is a wryly amusing detective game set in the 18th century, brought to life with striking hand-drawn artwork. The game tests your ability to piece together clues and reconstruct the events leading up to some mysterious deaths.
Investigate a series of mysterious deaths
Explore hand-drawn locations set in the 18th century, where some mysterious deaths have taken place.
Reconstruct the events with a unique drag-and-drop mechanic
Gather verbal evidence and visual clues, then apply your deduction skills to figure out what actually happened and how each victim died.
Explore a greater mystery that spans centuries
Start revealing a larger overarching story that connects all the individual tales.
The hidden game society
Wonderfull, I absolutly loved this, it’s just a shame that it is so short..
I loved the subtlety of the clues, the 3d rendering, the little touches that make it truly enjoyable..
Only downside is that it is too dark and very very short….
– Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
Pleasant Though Fast
A little bit of interesting history, art and great classical music. A few hours if you take your time. Beautiful Room. Very pleasant.
More than I expected for a couple of dollars.
Looking forward to more games from them.
– Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
Unheard
Just completed the game after 8 hours, and I honestly am happy with the price/hours paid ratio. Each of those 8 hours entranced me in a way most games don’t. There’s no mindlessness in this game. It’s pure audio puzzle and is definitely it’s own genre.
Quick pros: Easy to play. Captivating. Not demanding on your computer. Original concept. And probably more I can’t think of.
Quick cons: Sometimes voice acting needs work but it doesn’t hurt the experience much. Micro stutter sometimes in the audio. Dunno what caused it. Wish the end of the audio didn’t force you to restart at the beginning. Would like to rewind like any other time.
– Real player with 17.4 hrs in game
“We can be the acoustic detectives in this game! ヽ(=´▽'=)ﾉ”
[1] Intro
Unheard. This game is a creative detective adventure produced by NEXT Studios and published by bilibili. Before introducing the game, we need to pay attention to the developers and publishers, because knowing about them will help you enjoy this game even more. NEXT Studios is an indie studio based in China, and all the games they’ve made have received ‘very positive’ ratings from users so far. The publisher bilibili is China’s famous UCC video community. How did this game get overwhelmingly positive reviews? Let’s take a look at it with Nyanco-chan! (ฅ’ω’ฅ)
– Real player with 17.1 hrs in game
Broken Minds
Truly a hidden gem :)
The store page makes it look a bit bland and cheap, but it’s actually a quality VN.
It’s not just a “Click Next”-VN, but you have to focus on what’s happening.
The story is pretty good and I would recommend to play it on “Master Detective”-Mode to get all the interesting mini-games wich are well done :)
The VN also has multiple endings, depending on your choices and after unlocking them you can get the true ending(s?).
Unfortunately I have to say that I felt that the VN could have been better with less endings, since you are forced to do them to unlock the final ones. Even with the skip function it takes a bit of time for a playthrough since you still have to navigate through the rooms, etc. So it felt kind of tedious after a while and it didn’t feel like the endings offered something surprisingly new for me.
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Note: not for all! It’s not an easy reading nextnextskipskip VN, you should have a sense of logic, pay attention to details and words.
I’m not sure about a genre, but it’s mostly Visual Novel. But you should pay attention for all (that’s what for 3 big arrows on the screen — for a little bit exploring and for deeper immersion); otherwise you’ll get stuck with logic minigames, delete the game in frustration and will never know how great the game is. So, the phrase “the gameplay consists of logic and reading comprehension puzzles” is completely true, and you can’t go on to the next part by pressing “skip”.
– Real player with 10.1 hrs in game
Nancy Drew®: The Shattered Medallion
I don’t really get why the reviews on this weren’t great. There was lots of puzzles and gorgeous art. I thought the reality show setting was a plausible explanation for needing to do a puzzle for every mundane task (other Her games are…a little less plausible). There was some re-use of puzzles and mini-games from previous Nancy Drew games, but that’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, there’s only so many good puzzles, and it’s much better than having barely any puzzles at all (looking at you, Midnight in Salem). Only three things bugged me. First, some of the activities were a bit repetitive (the submarine, the dial at the end). Second, a whole lot of the dialog was inscrutable. I know that it’s part of Sonny’s and Patrick’s characters to be goofballs, but it was a little too disorienting. Third, I wish there had been a Maori character, and more background on Maori culture.
– Real player with 13.2 hrs in game
I personally enjoyed this game for all of the puzzles. They come one after another, so be prepared to do a lot of puzzle-solving and exploration. Even though I played on the Master level, the puzzles aren’t too crazy. I did notice that most of the puzzles don’t necessarily fit in the theme of a reality show (which is the game’s main plot line), but they fit in the traditional “educational” angle of the Nancy Drew games.
There are some kooky conversations with the characters and a lot of references to past games. If you’re new to Nancy Drew, all of the references may sound strange. If you don’t take the story or characters too seriously, and just in it for the puzzles, I would recommend this game (especially over Midnight in Salem).
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Agent A: A puzzle in disguise
Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise is a “puzzle adventure” game which means that it combines a typical puzzle game with a stronger focus on the story. The player takes on the role of the silent “Agent A”, a secret agent on the trail of a nefarious villain, Ruby La Rouge.
Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise is split up into five chapters, each focused on a different section of the story, but the entire game revolves around infiltrating and capturing Ruby La Rouge. To do this, players will have to solve a variety of puzzles and find several secrets in La Rouge’s private getaway.
– Real player with 21.6 hrs in game
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Imagine, if you will that you owned a house, sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Filled with sliding windows to allow the ocean breeze to enter, many levels (including an internal elevator) and even a boat jettied below in case you want to go for a ride. Now imagine that the entire house is filled with hidden secrets that a stealthy agent will admire. Well, this house has a tenant named Ruby La Rouge and she is simply an agent disposer. You play as Agent A and your task is to stop Ruby knocking off another agent named “B”, and of course you as well.
– Real player with 11.2 hrs in game