Your fatally hungover detective peels himself off the carpet, naked except for a pair of soiled underpants, and begins the laborious process of piecing his broken mind back together, while simultaneously attempting to solve a gruesome murder on the wrong side of the tracks. Solving murders, rooting out corruption, and exposing liars are just a few of the cop-like activities he indulges in. And now for something completely different. A very different take on the detective genre, and brutally, punishingly difficult. Taking its inspiration from David Lynch’s cult TV series Twin Peaks, this is one of the strangest games on PC. Before it goes all indulgent and supernatural at the halfway point, Fahrenheit (also known as Indigo Prophecy in North America) is a brilliantly tense thriller. And while reading or watching such stories in novels, TV shows, or movies is a lot of fun, games let you go one step further and take part in the investigation yourself, experiencing the satisfaction of cracking a case first-hand. This reference-heavy and winning adventure is pretty traditional when it comes to point-and-click puzzle design, but the funny writing and great characters make it. This makes exploring extremely rewarding—doubly so because of the vividly weird setting and the catchy, eclectic soundtrack. It's a spiralling conspiratorial thriller, and throws in enough twists and surprises to keep things interesting all the way through.

Armed with her motorcycle, a pack of cigs, and a notepad, Kathy begins to delve into a local mystery surrounding her hometown that will take her on a harrowing journey full of emotional and personal turmoil. In this atmospheric first-person indie game you play as Paul Prospero, a private investigator with supernatural powers. Phoenix is incredibly hands-on when it comes to his work, and you'll spend much of your time outside of the courtroom snooping around crime scenes for clues, interrogating people, and constructing a case. Year: 2002 | Developer: KCET Based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comic series, this episodic adventure from Telltale has a distinct film noir feel. Gather evidence and interrogate suspects in this open world adventure. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, After finding Barbara dead in her living room, he begins a vendetta fueled search for the killer. It's fun, flashy, and has decent puzzles.

"The Invisible Hours is a complex murder mystery in VR, in which players freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling mansion -- in order to untangle the dark truth at its heart.". Year: 1999 | Developer: Perfect Entertainment

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Enter the email address you use for your Big Fish account. Will you be able to uncover the secrets of Tangle Tower? Trapped in the school by a mysterious villain called Monokuma (pictured above), the only way to escape, or ‘graduate’, is to kill another student and get away with the crime undetected. Kathy Rain tells the story of a strong-willed journalism major who has to come to terms with her own troubled past as she investigates the mysterious death of her recently deceased grandfather. Read more: Why I Love: Broken Sword's Irish pub. With its sleazy jazz soundtrack, gritty monologues, and trenchcoat-wearing hero, Under a Killing Moon is unashamedly an homage to film noir—but set in San Francisco in 2042. Find the clues you seek in this all new series from game developer Brave Giant; Noir Chronicles: City of Crime.

But I won't hold that against it, because it's a classic.

PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Clues gathered from the remarkably detailed, atmospheric crime scenes can be pieced together in Holmes’s mind, and the conclusions you draw might not always be correct.

- An emotional story set in an immersive and atmospheric game world This garish simulated '90s internet, inspired by the golden age of the web, is hiding all kinds of illegal content: pirated music, copyright infringement, harrassment, malicious software. The lead suspect? Become the detective and scour crime scenes for incriminating evidence as you play free Mystery Games. comparing over 40 000 video games across all platforms for PC Windows. In the dystopian Orwell you’re a government agent who’s been given permission to pry into people’s personal lives, digging through private chats, emails, and social media profiles to pin crimes against the state on them. Paradise Island, a world outside reality. Published by Wales Interactive Ltd. All trademarks, copyrights and logos are property of their respective owners. The story mirrors the film a little too closely, but McCoy does a lot more detecting than Deckard. He loves sci-fi, adventure games, taking screenshots, Twin Peaks, weird sims, Alien: Isolation, and anything with a good story. The focus is on delivering an emotional story, tied together with charming art style, characters with deep histories, and a moving soundtrack.

All Mystery Games.

Read more: Why I Love: The City of L.A. Noire, Year: 2015 | Developer: Sam Barlow | Link. From best-selling developer Eipix comes the exciting continuation of a classic Phantasmat brand! Gothic Murder: Adventure That Changes Destiny. Read more: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter review. Read more: Returning to Westwood's Blade Runner. There’s the odd badly designed puzzle, but otherwise this is one of the best examples of the genre.

Try before you buy! Inexplicable murders, mysterious disappearances, and perplexing riddles. Plus at one point a giant stiletto crashes into the side of a drag bar.

Year: 1992 | Developer: Cryo Interactive
Who murdered his friend Sophie, the leading lady of La Parisienne cabaret? Abducted far across the universe, you find... 3# Return of the Obra Dinn - 2018. Year: 1997 | Developer: Westwood Studios | Link Imagination is the key, as you enter a magical storybook full of mystery and wonder, unusual creatures, and enigmatic puzzles! However, despite being an adventure game, there's very little puzzling.

But can you do it in time to save your daughter – and yourself? He’s able to visualise a crime long after it’s happened by studying clues, and uses this ability to uncover the dark, twisted secrets of the disarmingly beautiful Red Creek Valley. Part crime drama, part picross anthology, Murder By Numbers is a surprise coming together of mystery visual novel and grid-based puzzle solving. A new sci-fi adventure from Cyan, the creators of Myst. At least not in the traditional sense. Year: 1997 | Developer: Smoking Car Productions | Link Those impossible crimes that make the gears in your brain churn. From Eipix, the studio that brought you Final Cut and Myths of the World, comes a thrilling mystery set deep in the heart of Paris! You can solve the mystery of what really happened here 50 years ago. Need help? All names, brands and imagery used are trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. Using a magical pocket watch you can revisit the exact moment of a person's death, and through these vignettes you piece together their name, how they died, and who (or what) was responsible.

Sins of the Fathers was inspired by Alan Parker’s brilliant neo noir Angel Heart, which dealt with similar themes. The successor to the acclaimed Her Story. And if you pin the crime on the wrong person, everyone dies. Year: 2011 | Developer: Team Bondi | Link Thank you for signing up to PC Gamer. The beauty of Disco Elysium, aside from its gorgeous art, superb writing, and inky black sense of humour, is sculpting the grotseque lump of clay that is the main character into any kind of detective you like—including a bad one. 9 Clues: The Secret of Serpent Creek. The best 50 Mystery games for PC Windows daily generated by our specialised A.I. Geralt of Rivia is basically a fantasy gumshoe, who begins most quests by using his witcher senses to look for clues. In this series of funny, weird visual novels you play as an attorney. You play as Francis McQueen, and along with sidekick and foil Dooley, you solve cases with a hidden supernatural element.