Who doesn’t love a good mystery? As cool as watching a detective do their thing in a movie or TV show, it is even better to step into the role of a gumshoe yourself to unravel a clever plot. Unlike the best FPS games on PC, mystery games are more similar to the best puzzle games on PC, though with a heavier focus on plot and character. These games have to walk a fine line of giving the player enough clues to reasonably solve a mystery without it feeling too obtuse, but make it not so obvious that it becomes boring. Mystery games are far more creative than just solving murders, though that is still a common theme, and the PC is home to some of the most creative games in the niche genre. If you’re stumped trying to find the next best mystery game to play on PC, we’ll give you the clues you need.
Don’t forget to investigate the list of upcoming PC games to see if more mystery games are on the way.
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The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
75%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
The Astronauts
Publisher
The Astronauts, Nordic Games Publishing
Release
September 25, 2014
While it is over a decade old now, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter still looks and plays great. You take on the role of Paul Prospero in 1973, a detective who specializes in the occult who is contacted by a boy named Ethan Carter. When he arrives in Red Creek Valley, Prospero realizes that Ethan has already gone missing after at least one murder took place. Paul will use is investigative skills as well as paranormal powers to unravel the dark mysteries of Ethan’s family and the town at large. You are free to explore the entire open world however you please to find clues. The main mechanics involve finding a crime scene and using your powers to recreate the events that lead to the event. If you like a bit of the occult in your mystery games, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is still one of the best.
L.A. Noire
82%
Platforms
PlayStation 3, PC (Microsoft Windows), SteamVR, Xbox 360
Genre
Strategy, Adventure
Developer
Team Bondi, Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar North
Publisher
Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games
Release
May 17, 2011
The ’40s and ’50s were the golden era of detectives. Well, at least that’s when most of the best detective media is set, including L.A. Noir. You play as Cole Phelps across his entire career in the police force after returning home from World War 2. You start off in the regular LAPD before working your way up to detective in Vice, Homicide, and Arson. There are multiple cases within each to solve, but each one also lends more color and background on Phelps. This game was famous for its facial capture technology, and it is still some of the best you will see. Some expressions are a little too obvious when a character is meant to be lying, but it is still cool to be able to call out characters based on their expressions.
Outer Wilds
91%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Mobius Digital
Publisher
Annapurna Interactive
Release
May 28, 2019
If you somehow haven’t heard anything about Outer Wilds, keep it that way. The best way to experience this game is as cold as possible. If you do need to know more than that, we will keep this recommendation as spoiler-free as possible. Outer Wilds is set in a small solar system you are free to explore with your ship in first-person. The main goal is to solve the mystery of an alien species that left various clues and ruins across the various planets, but unlike many mystery games, everything you learn to progress is what you as the player can figure out. The majority of your breakthroughs come from you putting together the pieces in your mind and realizing what needs to be done, where, and when. Few games put so much faith in the player to figure things out, but it feels so good when you do.
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
93%
Platforms
Google Stadia, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie
Developer
ZA/UM
Publisher
ZA/UM
Release
March 30, 2021
Disco Elysium is essentially an interactive detective novel. This game is overflowing with dialogue for everything in the best possible way. You play as an amnesiac detective who has arrived in the town of Revachol after a man has been found hanged. Finding out the man’s identity, their killer, your own identity, and more are all up to you to uncover. The game plays a bit like a D&D game, where the majority of interactions and conversations are based on dice rolls influenced by your stats. However, Disco Elysium doesn’t stop or send you back if you fail a check. Every success or failure leads to a different outcome that could have small or large consequences. Besides a great murder mystery, Disco Elysium offers a very unique setting you will be equally as interested in learning about.
Shadows of Doubt
71%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Simulator, Adventure, Indie
Developer
ColePowered Games
Publisher
Fireshine Games
Release
September 26, 2024
Detective games mix well with a few other genres, but roguelikes seem like the worst possible combination. Somehow, Shadows of Doubt pulls it off. You are a private investigator set loose in a procedurally generated city where the layout, citizens, routines, and even the murders are random on each playthrough. Playing like an immersive sim, you are free to approach any case from whatever angle you want to find the five pieces of information to solve a case: suspect name, address, evidence placing them at the crime scene, murder weapon, and whether or not you arrested them. While only the name is required to technically finish a case, the more of those that you find, the better your reward will be. It sounds like it would be a mess, but it works incredibly well if you enjoy an open-ended approach to solving mysteries.
Her Story
78%
Platforms
Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac
Genre
Point-and-click, Simulator, Indie
Developer
Sam Barlow
Publisher
Sam Barlow
Release
June 24, 2015
You can’t go wrong playing any of the Sam Barlow games, but we especially love Her Story as the one to start with. This game is played completely through watching FMV clips found in a police database. You will search out clips using keywords and watch small snipits of interviews regarding a missing person. Based on the small bits of information you get in one clip, you will search out more keywords to pull on various threads until the entire picture comes together.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
82%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Visual Novel
Developer
Capcom
Publisher
Capcom
Release
April 17, 2014
Phoenix Wright is supposed to be a lawyer, but in this world, apparently, lawyers are also responsible for doing all the detective work and arguing the case. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is a remaster of the original three Game Boy Advance games with redone visuals. You play as the titular lawyer who has to prove each of his clients innocent against overwhelming odds in a variety of clever and fun cases. This involves visual novel-style investigations, talking to witnesses, and presenting evidence in court. These games keep things light with plenty of puns and gags, but that doesn’t mean the cases are any less tricky to solve.
