The first time I heard that the story of Sherlock Holmes is a myth, it broke my heart a little bit as I somewhat imagined myself as the famous British private investigator. Of course, there have been iterations of the story of Sherlock Holmes, and for every one of his movies that I had seen, I had found myself lost in the euphoria of being a great detective.

Detective movies are fun to watch, at least for me and a few of the weirdos I call friends. So, I imagine being a detective myself would be equally as fun, if not better. The thrill you get from solving a mystery is unmatched with maybe playing free slots demo offering closer experience, as players find themselves immersed in a world, searching for clues, hunting suspects, and staring at perplexing riddles.

Detective games are narrative-driven like it’s stories or movies, keeping players involved and intrigued like they are a part of an actual investigation, whether it’s hoping to solve a murder, find a missing person, or discover the location of a missing valuable item. Here are some of the games that allow players to experience some of those things.

• Disco Elysium
• Judgment
• Heavy Rain
• L.A. Noire
• The Sinking City
• Sherlock Holmes Chapter One
• The Wolf Among Us

Disco Elysium

The developer of the game is ZA/UM. Disco Elysium is a role-playing video game about an amnesiac detective who wakes up with a bad hangover and no memories of the previous night and has been tasked with solving a murder mystery. The game is situated in a large city that is still reeling from the effects of war which took place decades prior to the start of the game.

Disco Elysium is an unconventional RPG game as players will experience no form of combat but instead investigate events through skill checks and dialogue trees. The game also lets players build their character (the detective) in whatever way they so choose by the book (following the rules) or as a rogue cop (making up the rules to suit you. The detective moves around a lot in the game, engaging with Non-Playable Characters (NPCs), engaging in conversations, taking on quests, earning experience points, and unlocking skills to further improve the protagonist’s ability.

There are a total of 24 skills in the game, which are divided into groups of six for each of the four major abilities: Intellect, Psyche, Motility, and Physique. Disco Elysium was released in 2019 and still remains a huge hit amongst fans and critics, earning several “game of the year” nominations. In addition, a television series based on the same title is currently in development.

Judgment

Fans of the Yakuza game series and related movies would definitely love this. The first time I saw the trailer for the game “Judgment”, it wasn’t just the amazing cast of Japanese actors that featured in the game that thrilled me. It was also the plot and the concept behind it. The game is an action-adventure about a lawyer (Takayuki Yagami) who decides to become a detective to explore cases of murders where the corpses have had their eyes removed. Yagami and his allies team up to search for clues in the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurocho.

Players control Yagami, who finds himself fighting against thugs and Yakuza members while carrying out missions involving stealth and running. The protagonist is also equipped with parkour skills like wall-running and leapfrogging, which aid his combat styles. The fighting styles in Judgment are more fluid than that in the Yakuza game series, as Yagami can choose between:

1. the Crane-style, which helps when fighting a group of enemies, 
2. the Tiger-style, which is good for one on one combat.

Judgment was developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega back in 2019 for PlayStation 4 to a host of positive reviews and was also a commercial success topping over one million sales worldwide. The game was also remastered for the PlayStation in April 2021, with critics and fans praising its improved visuals. Additionally, a sequel to Judgment, Lost Judgment, has been revealed, and it’s expected to be released in September this year.

Heavy Rain

After writing and directing the 2005 action-adventure game Fahrenheit, game developer David Cage spent four years writing and directing when travelling back and forth from Philadelphia to ensure Heavy Rain improved on his previous game, turning out to be a success. Yes, it did turn out to be a success, as the game won three British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) awards and sold over five million copies worldwide.

Heavy Rain is an amusing and interactive action-adventure game about the Origami Killer, a serial killer who drowns his victims in an extended period of rainfall. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Quantic Dream for PlayStation 3, the game featured four protagonists who are all after the killer after he kidnaps the son of a man, who goes by the name Ethan.

Heavy Rain involves a lot of exploration, interacting with NPCs, and picking up clues. During the game, players control all four different characters from a third-person view, and the characters may die depending on the player’s actions. A branching storyline is created when a character dies, and players are also faced with quick-time events. The game also offers a series of multiple endings depending on the decisions of players throughout the game and how they handle quick-time events.

Heavy Rain might have received criticism for its controls, plot inconsistencies and voice acting. Still, the reviews were generally positive as fans and critics alike praised its emotional impact, writing, music, and visuals. The game was released back in February 2010 but was also remastered for PlayStation 4 in 2016 & for Microsoft Windows in 2019.

L.A. Noire

Fans of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise who have always thought of being in the shoes of a cop instead of a criminal will absolutely enjoy L.A. Noire, not just because both games share the same publisher (Rockstar Games), they also share a lot of similarities in terms of gameplay and open-world elements.

Following his return from World War II, our main protagonist, Cole Phelps, decides to join the Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D) and immediately rises through the ranks by solving a series of cases across five divisions. However, things take an interesting turn when Phelps gets a task to investigate a morphine distribution ring involving some of his squadmates from World War II. Phelps reluctantly joins forces with a former comrade, Jack Kelso, as the investigation creates turmoil in his personal and professional life.

Developed by Team Bondi, L.A. Noire is a neo-noir open world, detective action-adventure set in 1947 Los Angeles. Players can navigate Los Angeles city either by foot or by vehicle, coming across some of the iconic landmarks in the City of Angels back in 1947. The game’s storyline is divided into a series of cases during which players must:

1. investigate crime scenes, 
2. interrogate suspects, 
3. follow up leads, with the success of each solved case giving a rating. L.A. 

Noire also imbibes a shooting and chasing element similar to those experienced in GTA games at that time.

Despite taking seven years to develop, thanks to numerous delays and changes in publisher, the game was eventually released in May 2011 for PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 before being remastered for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in November 2014. 

L.A. Noire was the first video game to be shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, with critics praising its impressive visual storytelling, facial animation technology, and outstanding presentation. The game is believed to have sold over five million copies worldwide and won the Best Original Score award at the 2012 BAFTA Video Game Awards ceremony.

The Sinking City

Inspired by the works of Horror Fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft and developed by Frogwares, The Sinking City is a third-person action-adventure game of a war veteran who becomes a private investigator, Charles Reed. Reed, a former United States Navy Sailor and World War I veteran, travels from Boston to Oakmont at the behest of intellectual Johannes van der Berg to discover the cause of the nightmarish vision plaguing him and numerous people in the town of Oakmont.

During his time in Oakmont, Charles is also hired by one of the heads of the most influential families in the city, Robert Throgmorton, to discover the cause of the flood plaguing the town. Our protagonist’s search for answers sees him uncover a plot by the Great Old Ones to purge humanity and he must guard his sanity whilst using his extrasensory powers of observation to solve this case.

The Sinking City involves many investigations, and completing Charles’ quest depends on how observant players are when investigating numerous pieces of evidence and clues. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch back in 2019, however it was remastered for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S in 2021.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One

Frogwares have always proven themselves as a game studio astute in the art of developing detective video games and have experienced successes. Thanks to games like The Sinking City, Department 42, and previous Sherlock Holmes games. The next title in the Sherlock Holmes series, “Sherlock Holmes Chapter One,” is expected to be released in November later this year for:

•  PlayStation 4 & 5, 
• Xbox One,
• Xbox Series X and S, 
• Microsoft Windows .

The game is an action-adventure mystery video game described as an origin story about a 21-year-old Sherlock Holmes as he investigates a mystery in his family home. Following the death of his mother, young Sherlock returns to his childhood home on the Mediterranean Island of Cordona ladened with crime and corruption and must uncover a sinister conspiracy lurking beneath the surface of the town that has led to the locals completely shunning outsiders.

Sherlock partners with his old friend Jonathan (Jon) while investigating the town of Cordona. But, to the surprise of many, Frogwares insists that Jon is not the popular John Watson, the fictional partner of Sherlock Holmes in most books and television iterations of the detective.

The Wolf Among Us

Following the success of The Walking Dead: The Game or The Walking Dead: Season One, game developers Telltale Games produced another episodic graphic mystery adventure game titled The Wolf Among Us. Just like The Walking Dead game series, The Wolf Among Us consists of five episodes released throughout 2013 and 2014.

In the game, players control the sheriff of Fabletown, Bigby Wolf investigates numerous murders, the first ones to occur in the city in a very long time. The game happens in Fabletown, a cloak-and-dagger city community in 1980s New York City filled with fantastical characters from folklore and fairy tales.  When a murder is committed in Fabletown, Bigby Wolf’s up to investigate and keep unwanted attention away from the city. Wolf then visits different fairy tale characters to seek out information while picking up clues around various places in the city like apartments and bars.

The Wolf Among Us is a huge favourite amongst fans and critics following its release on:

• PlayStation 3 & 4, 
• PlayStation Vita, 
• Xbox One, 
• Xbox 360 consoles. 

A sequel to the game was scheduled for release in 2018 prior to Telltale Games being shut down due to financial reasons. However, LCG Entertainment, which acquired the assets of Telltale, announced in 2019 that they’d be releasing The Wolf Among Us 2 at some point in the near future.