Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Mystery titles may not be the most popular in the gaming industry. However, they have a unique atmosphere that turns them into immersive games providing unique tense experiences and a sensation of despair. Besides, some of them are considered the best games in their respective release years. Let’s enjoy the list of the Best Mystery Games we've provided so that you can choose your next suspense, obscure, and puzzle tale wisely.

Which Are the Best Detective Games in Recent Times?

Not all detective games are equally high-quality or exciting. Many have interesting mechanics and great gameplay but not so well-developed plot or characters. Others, however, stand out by their story and immersive course of events. The games listed below well-balance the most relevant gaming aspects and propose different perspectives from investigating.  

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

  • Release Date: July 9, 2015

  • Developer: Capcom

  • Publisher: Capcom

  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, Android, iOS,

  • Metascore: 83

 

The Great Ace Attorney is a franchise famous worldwide with over ten games on its own. The title discussed is a collection of two of the best games of the series: The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve and The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures.

Both are adventure games focused on solving mysteries via an investigative structure and courtroom development. As in every game where investigators and other participants should solve mysteries, lawyers must collect clues from crime scenes and examine witnesses to prove a defendant's guilt or ensure their freedom.

Gameplay is mainly based on dialogues in the courtroom, where parts expose their arguments.

This title takes place in the nineteenth century, in Japan's Meiji Period, with all the game's aesthetics, including clothes, environments, scenarios, and more, revolving around this particular fashion.   

 

Key Features:

  • An anime style including the best of this art.

  • Numerous dialogues with multiple paths to solve crimes.

  • Autoplay mode and story mode.

 

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

Disco Elysium

  • Release Date: October 15, 2019

  • Developer: ZA/UM

  • Publisher: ZA/UM

  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, macOS, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

  • Metascore: 97

 

Disco Elysium is a video game that stands out as soon as you start playing it due to its characteristic art style, which brings it closer to an oil painting.

As for gameplay, this captivating detective game excels in its immersive role-playing experience. As a detective plagued by amnesia, you will be interrogating various characters amidst diverse scenarios. Your ultimate objective is to meticulously investigate clues and crime scenes while solving intricate puzzles, all in pursuit of unraveling the enigmatic murder mystery.

The action takes place in an open world restricted to a district of a fictional decaying city. Through this open scenario, you must analyze objects, highlight items, and find relationships to solve puzzles.

Like other games of the mystery genre, Disco Elysium entails abilities you need to develop combat: Intellect, Physique, Psyche, and Motorics.

As you accumulate experience points, your character's skills improve. Moreover, Disco Elysium offers an intriguing feature called the "Thought Cabinet," where your character can internalize profound thoughts that offer advantages throughout the game.

Internal debate is the key to uncovering mysteries by providing suggestions when taking actions or dialoguing with NPCs. Still, the mechanic relies on your skill levels.

If you have a penchant for RPGs and a fondness for stylish visual graphics intertwined with captivating mystery-solving, Disco Elysium is an open-world game that demands your attention.

 

Key Features:

  • Excellent graphic style and expression, similar to an oil painting.

  • Total freedom of choice through endless dialogues referring to life, poetry, death, and more.

  • An open world where you can interact with almost everything and everyone and become whatever you want.

 

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut Global GOG CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

  • Release Date: September 30, 2014

  • Developer: Frogwares

  • Publisher: Frogware / Focus Home Interactive

  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

  • Metascore: 77

 

The most famous detective worldwide could not be missing from this list. In honor of the truth, Sherlock has multiple video games to his credit, but this title stands out for many factors.

To begin with, this Sherlock Holmes game is an adventure mystery game, differentiating it from most games out there, even of a similar genre. It means the title integrates action sequences with investigations across nineteenth-century London.

Crimes & Punishments' story revolves around six crimes, thefts, disappearances, and murders that you must solve to discover the culprit. In each crime scene, you must gather clues and investigate surroundings with the characterized Sherlock's style.

As you collect clues, these are added to a "deduction board," which you can use for deducing different connections. Depending on how you relate clues, you'll have different deductions, bringing you closer to or further away from the culprit.

There are 6 to 10 endings for the case and 14 different investigation mechanics. All these aspects together provide an intricate mystery in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

An aspect that differentiates this game from other Sherlock games is the moral choice. Thanks to this unique gameplay element, you can condemn or absolve the accused. Every solved mysterious case will build your reputation as the world's best detective.

If you want to fill Sherlock's shoes, gathering clues, and wandering together with Dr. Watson across London, this is the game for you; very likely the best story of Sherlock in video games.

 

Key Features:

  • A well-achieved nineteenth-century London, providing the aesthetics of a horror game.

  • Multiple deductions and moral choices can bring you closer to further away the murder.

  • An intense and immersive first-person perspective gameplay

 

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.

Heavy Rain

  • Release Date: February 23, 2010

  • Developer: Quantic Dream

  • Publisher: Sony Computer / Entertainment Quantic Dream

  • Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC

  • Metascore: 75

 

Heavy Rain stands as a game that has revolutionized the industry, particularly within the realm of narrative-driven experiences that lie at the heart of every adventure game, including the captivating pursuit of solving mysteries.

Heavy Rain delves into the intertwined destinies of four individuals brought together by the notorious Origami Killer, a renowned murderer with an uncanny penchant for striking during prolonged bouts of rainfall.

Heavy Rain is an interactive action-adventure game where your decisions determine the future of quick-time events. You control the four characters in different scenes, committing several actions and interacting with the environment. 

In this gripping narrative, each of the four characters confronts themselves with their deepest fears and personal horrors. Ethan Mars, a central figure in the story, bears the burden of losing his son, Jason, and now faces the harrowing revelation that his other son has been kidnapped by the enigmatic Origami Killer.

Atmospheres, environments, immersions, details, and mystery convert this game into a mix of mystery and horror games.

 

Key Features:

  • Four characters and four perspectives address the same mystery and secrets.

  • Immersive controls to deeply experiment with the storytelling.

  • Mysterious environments with a dark atmosphere help you to immerse in the plot.      

 

Heavy Rain Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys.

The Wolf Among Us

  • Release Date: October 14, 2013

  • Developer: Telltale Games

  • Publisher: Telltale Games

  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Android, iOS, OS X, Xbox 360, Xbox One

  • Metascore: 80

 

Most Telltale games are characterized by similar features, such as the fairytale characters, the visual novel-like style, and the immersive narrative characteristic of comic books. And The Wolf Among Us is not the exception.

The title is a prequel to the Fables comic book series created by Bill Willingham. Set in 1986, twenty years before Fables, you control Bigby Wolf, the protagonist who must uncover the truth behind a series of murders.

Your journey will take you through a series of scenarios and crime scenes, such as building rooms, bars, offices, and more. In this context, your task is to study hidden objects and collect clues to create an inventory that you can use later in the story.

Interactions with NPCs is another relevant game mechanic since dialog options define how characters perceive you. This can have positive and negative effects during the development of future events. Moreover, the game features quick-time events that have to be responded to in real-time, which affects future events in the storyline.

 

Key Features:

  • Multiple options of what, how, and when to do certain actions.

  • Dozens of characters of fairy tales who escape to the real world.

  • Particular environments to interact with and analyze objects and clues.

 

The Wolf Among Us Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

What Remains of Edith Finch

  • Release Date: April 25, 2017

  • Developer: Giant Sparrow

  • Publisher: Annapurna Interactive

  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

  • Metascore: 89

 

Upon first glance, What Remains of Edith Finch may appear to be just another average game in the first-person point of view, blending into the plethora of titles with a mysterious atmosphere. However, such assumptions could not be further from the truth. To put it plainly, Giant Sparrow has crafted a truly exceptional gaming experience, surpassing expectations and earning the rightful title of a contemporary masterpiece.

This title is an exploration video game following the story of a seventeen-year-old girl, Edith Finch, the last survivor of a family. She has returned to her home looking to uncover the family's past secrets and learning about the death of every family member that led to the collapse of the family.

What Remains of Edith Finch is an immersive narrative video game that revolves around the exploration of various surroundings, including a multitude of rooms and crawl spaces. The game places a significant emphasis on the inner world of its protagonist, Edith, by skillfully integrating her words and thoughts into the gameplay.

As you navigate through the abandoned house, you will bear witness to the profound impact of different objects on triggering memories, evoking emotions, and eliciting vivid sensations. This unique approach allows players to delve deep into the rich tapestry of Edith's experiences, unraveling a captivating and introspective journey.

Interacting with these objects is crucial to advance the story and reveal unique vignettes evoking themes of magical realism. It's up to you to choose whether or not to believe in sequences emanating from memories and to embark on an investigative journey.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a game that delivers a multitude of emotional, immersive, and captivating experiences. Despite its relatively short duration, it keeps players on the edge of their seats through a combination of suspenseful storytelling, atmospheric world-building, and an overall engrossing sensation.

 

Key Features:

  • Immersive narrative heavily influenced by magical realism,

  • Multiple strange tales mixed with sensations and memories tell the course of events.

  • Incredible locations within the same context, the vast mansion of the family.         

 

What Remains of Edith Finch Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

Murdered: Soul Suspect

  • Release Date: June 3, 2014

  • Developer: Airtight Games

  • Publisher: Square Enix

  • Platforms: PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

  • Metascore: 59

 

Murdered: Soul Suspect revolves around a detective who, after being killed by a serial killer, returns to solve several crimes, gruesome deaths,  and for revenge. You control the ghost of Ronan O'Connor through a third-perspective point of view, examining surroundings, crime scenes, situations, and other police investigations.

You're free to explore the entire town of Salem, a fictional small city, where a series of murders have taken place. This expansive game world offers a wide range of locations and environments to investigate, allowing you to delve deep into the haunting atmosphere and unravel the mysteries that shroud the town.

Developing your expert detective skills requires you to link scraps, messages, clues, and objects to uncover secrets of the serial killer and Ronan's past. You can even use your ghostly abilities to find evidence, as well as teleporting and possessing characters to trigger a sequence of events that can lead you to find out crucial information about the case.

But your abilities are also necessary when facing demonic spirits that will force you into combat. Since demons can be very tough, you'll be using stealth and cunning when stuck in some areas.

Weigh all the possibilities, and make the best decisions to solve this intrigue, discovering everything behind the murderer's behavior.

Murdered: Soul Suspect is a game tailor-made for players who relish immersive, suspenseful narratives with a touch of the supernatural. With a strong emphasis on storytelling, this title caters to those who appreciate well-crafted writing and enjoy delving into captivating mysteries.

 

Key Features:

  • A fictional version of Salem with plenty of corners and landmarks to explore.

  • Multiple mysteries to unravel related to town people and the serial killer.

  • Several abilities expanding possibilities to interact with surroundings and people.

 

Murdered: Soul Suspect Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

Return of the Obra Dinn

  • Release Date: October 18, 2018

  • Developer: Lucas Pope

  • Publisher: 3909 LLC.

  • Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Xbox One

  • Metascore: 89

 

Return of the Obra Dinn follows the story of a ship that has returned to port after its mysterious disappearance. Five years have passed, and now the vessel is a giant tombstone containing all the corpses of past crew members. As an insurance adjuster, you are in charge of figuring out what happened with the crew and passengers during the journey.

Return of the Obra Dinn stands out for its monochromatic visual style and graphics, which turns the ship into the perfect setting to make your brain work. Looking through a magnifying glass, you'll discover clues and pieces of information that bring you closer to the truth.    

No doubt that Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the best games of this genre, with one of the most incredible visual aspects we've seen in recent years. The game's revolutionary concept ignites a sense of curiosity and intrigue, ensuring that every moment spent unraveling its mystery is a truly rewarding endeavor.

 

Key Features:

  • A meticulous ship environment with multiple zones to explore.

  • Logical puzzles that make you blow you away.

  • A unique aesthetic that emphasizes weirdness and mystery. 

 

Return of the Obra Dinn Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

L.A. Noire

  • Release Date: May 17, 2011

  • Developers: Rockstar Leeds / Team Bondi

  • Publisher: Rockstar Games

  • Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One

  • Metascore: 83

 

If you like epoch games with a unique style, aesthetic, and surrounding, such as The Great Ace Attorney, then L.A. Noire is the title that will satisfy your expectations.

L.A. Noire takes place in 1947 in Los Angeles, a city besieged by criminal gangs and the mafia. The game follows the career of Cole Phelps, raising the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department. The city is infested by drug distribution, and a morphine case will turn his world upside down.

You experience an interactive open world from a third-person perspective, which you can explore freely and make your own decisions. As you progress through the game, you will interact with different police departments and meet aspiring detectives who will help you investigate various cases. To successfully accomplish your inquiries, you will question witnesses, collect clues, follow up leads, and more.

Mirroring real life, numerous crimes unfold concurrently with ongoing investigations. You have the freedom to engage in optional street crimes, which often present shorter and more linear scenarios compared to the main missions. Successfully completing them brings about valuable rewards such as vehicles and golden records, enhancing your overall gaming experience and providing additional incentives to explore the game's richly detailed environment.

If you haven't played a classical detective game with raincoats, machine guns, and gangsters, L.A. Noire is the game for you.

 

Key Features:

  • A 1947 Los Angeles featuring an open world you can freely roam.

  • Main and secondary missions that will take you to all the corners of the city.

  • An upward career will lead you to several bureaus within the Police Department.   

 

L.A. Noire - Complete Edition Steam CD Key is available on RoyalCDKeys. 

The Bottom Line

Secrets and mysteries are inherent to both the real world and the realm of gaming, intertwining to create captivating narratives. The games highlighted in the preceding sections draw inspiration from this very reality, crafting compelling stories that evoke a range of emotions including tension, despair, and solitude.

Each of these Best Mystery Games masterfully constructs a mysterious universe teeming with enigmatic elements waiting to be unraveled. Immersing oneself in these games guarantees an experience that exceeds expectations, inviting players to embark on an enthralling journey filled with secrets waiting to be uncovered.