9 best detective games with crime mysteries you really solve

There’s nothing like an engaging mystery to keep you engrossed for hours on end. But it can be infuriating to spend dozens of hours with a game only to find a major plot detail has been left unresolved as sequel bait. If you can’t stand a game that doesn’t tie off its loose ends, check out these 10 narrative-driven mystery games that won’t leave you hanging.

1 Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

Image: Capcom via Polygon

All of the Ace Attorney games are delightful. But if you have to pick just one, make it 2021’s Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Set in the 1890s, this collection containing two games sees aspiring attorney Ryunosuke and his faithful assistant Susato leave their native Japan on a ship bound for England. Over the course of 10 cases, Ryunosuke unravels a vast conspiracy that goes back generations and spans two oceans. With an endearing ensemble cast that includes a steampunk riff on Sherlock Holmes called “Herlock Sholmes,” Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is as funny as it is engrossing.

2 Pentiment

Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios

You might think a game about the simmering tensions between a monastery and the townsfolk in 16th century Bavaria would feel like schoolwork. But if school was this entertaining, we’d all have doctorates. As the journeyman artist Andreas Mahler, you’ll help the residents of the town of Tassing and solve a shocking murder. Over the course of three acts, you’ll steer Andreas through triumph and tragedy, uncovering the town’s hidden history along the way. Will you be a good boy, or will you seduce that nun in the library stacks? Just because you’re hanging out with monks all day doesn’t mean you have to live like a saint.

3 428: Shibuya Scramble

428: Shibuya Scramble

Spike Chunsoft

A young woman’s kidnapping quickly escalates into a full-blown terrorism threat during this non-linear visual novel set in the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo. You’ll jump between five different playable characters, and each story has its own style. They range from a police thriller, to psychological horror, to slapstick comedy. Depending on your choices, you’ll end up with one of 87 possible endings. Fun fact: since the developers weren’t legally permitted to film in Shibuya, many of the FMV scenes in 428: Shibuya Scramble were shot on the fly as the staff tried their best to avoid the cops.

4 Blue Prince

Image: Dogubomb/Raw Fury via Polygon

You’ve inherited your great uncle’s mansion, but there’s a catch. (Isn’t there always?) Every day in this first-person puzzle game, you have to build the whole dang place from scratch. As you explore this estate with ever-shifting rooms, your goal is to uncover the hidden 46th room in order to secure your inheritance. Turns out, unlocking that secret room is basically just the prologue. The further you progress into the mansion, the more you’ll learn about your family’s past — and their hidden role in the political tumult that left the world forever changed. The secrets of Blue Prince run far deeper than you’ll realize at first glance — that’s why it was our favorite game of 2025.

5 Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

Image: Square Enix

What appears to be a cute slice-of-life tale set in ‘80s Tokyo quickly takes a sinister turn, as several people suddenly gain the power to inflict deadly curses in the middle of the night. Each of these Curse Bearers has lost someone dear to them, and it’s only through killing that they can gain the power to revive their loved ones. Paranormasight is a visual novel packed with real-life history and folklore, and the story is packed to the brim with red herrings, misdirects, and genuine scares. If the other games on this list aren’t scary enough for you, this one has plenty of nightmare fodder. And if you end up loving it, make sure to follow it up with this year’s great Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse.

6 LA Noire

Image: Rockstar Games

Beyond giving the world the “press X to doubt” meme, LA Noire is one of Rockstar’s best-ever games. You’ll take on the role of Cole Phelps, a newbie cop in the 1940s looking to move up the ladder at the LAPD. Along the way, you’ll interrogate witnesses and investigate crime scenes ranging from arson to murder. It all comes to a head when Cole’s tasked with investigating a drug ring involving several of his fellow soldiers from World War 2. Bonus: if you happen to be a Mad Men fan, this game also stars about 80% of the show’s supporting actors. (Turns out both projects used the same casting directors.)

7 Judgment

Image: Sega / Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

In this detective adventure, you play as Takayuki Yagami, a disgraced former attorney who’s plagued by a past acquittal that led to a brutal murder. Now, he specializes in helping clients the justice system has failed to protect — even if those cases fall outside of the law. Since Judgment was developed by Sega’s RGG Studio, the team behind the Yakuza series, you can expect plenty of high-octane fighting. The game also features a robust investigation mode, where you’ll have to search for evidence, use disguises, and chase down suspects. Yagami’s work soon draws him into Tokyo’s criminal underworld, where he becomes entangled in a conspiracy that reaches into the highest echelons of government and industry.

8 Disco Elysium

Image: ZA/UM

You wake up in a trashed hostel, hungover, with no memory of who you are, and suddenly tasked with solving the death of a hanged man in an empty lot. As you attempt to solve the case, your conversations start to form a clearer vision of the miserable pile of secrets you’ve become. ZA/UM’s cult-hit detective RPG explores the political and philosophical shadows of a failing regime. There’s no traditional combat; your successes and failures are determined by dice-roll checks like in Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a game of totally unexpected possibilities — with an immensely satisfying payoff.

9 Persona 4

Image: Atlus/Sega

Why wait until Persona 4 Revival launches in February 2027, when you can experience the original story right heckin’ now? Atlus’ late-naughties RPG takes place in a cozy Japanese backwater plagued by a string of gruesome murders. The one thing connecting the cases? A mysterious late-night TV program that has an eerie knack for predicting the next victim. In this beefy RPG, you’ll develop relationships with your classmates and explore labyrinthine dungeons while pulling at the threads of the case over the course of several months. It’s a slow burn, but an unforgettable journey.

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