The best detective games to play right now
Detective games are having a moment. People want to read a scene, spot the lie, and feel clever for catching it, without a host, a kit, or a party of six. Here is a straight list of the best ones to play right now, sorted by the kind of evening you’re after. No fluff, no scores out of ten.
If you want to actually deduce
These reward you for paying attention. The game won’t hand you the answer.
INQUEST is the one we make, so here’s the honest version. You read a case file, walk the scenes, question the witnesses, and catch them contradicting each other. The alibis form a timeline, and the cracks in that timeline are the solution. You make one accusation you can’t take back. Plays in your browser, free to play, solo or two-player co-op. Start at playinquest.com/play.
Return of the Obra Dinn. You board a ghost ship and reconstruct sixty deaths from frozen moments and a logbook. Pure deduction, gorgeous art, no hand-holding. One of the best of the decade.
The Case of the Golden Idol. A series of grisly scenes where you fill in the blanks: who, with what, and why. Brilliant for the “I need to know how this happened” itch.
Her Story. Search a police database by keyword and assemble the truth from video clips. The story is the puzzle.
Murdle. A free daily murder logic puzzle in your browser, and a best-selling book series. It’s grid deduction rather than a full case file: a tidy five-minute whodunit you can do with morning coffee. Smaller than everything else here, but the cleanest daily hit of pure logic going. If it is your daily fix, we mapped out games like Murdle to play next.
If you want a story-driven case
Heavier on plot and characters, lighter on you doing the maths.
Ace Attorney. Courtroom drama where you cross-examine witnesses and yell “objection” when their testimony cracks. Funny, dramatic, and surprisingly sharp on contradiction-spotting.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments. Walk crime scenes as Holmes, gather clues, and build your own conclusion. Notably, you can reach the wrong verdict, which is the point.
Danganronpa. A stylised, dark mystery-thriller with trial sequences. More visual novel than puzzle, but the cases are genuinely twisty.
If you want detective games for adults
The whole genre skews adult already, but if you mean “give me something with weight and not a tutorial that never ends”, these deliver: Obra Dinn, Golden Idol, Her Story, and INQUEST’s later cases. They trust you to think and they don’t pad.
If you want to play with someone
Most detective games are solo by design. Two that work for a pair:
- INQUEST has a real two-player co-op mode. You share the dossier, split the interrogation, and each submit your own accusation.
- Obra Dinn and Golden Idol are great “pass the device” games. One person drives, the other reads and argues.
How to choose in ten seconds
- Five minutes and a coffee: a daily Murdle.
- Twenty minutes and a browser: start an INQUEST case.
- A full weekend and a console: Obra Dinn.
- You’d rather watch than calculate: Her Story or Ace Attorney.
- You and a friend: INQUEST co-op, or hand a controller back and forth on Golden Idol.
If you came from a cold-case box, the cheaper-and-digital routes are in Unsolved Case Files alternatives.
Whatever you pick, take notes. The good ones earn them.
Start now
Play INQUEST in your browser. Free to play. No sign-up.