la noire I suppose, I don't know many more
I do know that the sherlock holmes games suck ASS
LA noire is one of those "good BUT" cases where it's an amazing noire movie / film serial series, but all the actual gameplay is just driving or picking up every piece of evidence in a room.
https://i.imgur.com/WgXAmsT.png
What are some detectivecore games?
Shadows of Doubt's demo was really good last time it was out, but the game seemed too buggy and also pointless -- and reviews I've read kinda suggest it has no real endgame or interestingly designed mysteries, just lame procedural samey shit forever.
I feel like something could be done really well though if someone took a lot of SoD's core mechanics there -- shit like collecting bits of relevant evidence, sneaking around or fighting, breaking into computers and hidden areas, slowly figuring out who did it for sure -- but then plugged those components into a more LA Noire story based game that has distinct episodes, it'd go down great. Especially if you also had, say, VTMB style dialogue with skills that let you lean down a desired type of detective RP.
No such thing as a good detective game. Because real detective work cannot be artificially created. The closest you'll get, is a puzzle game pretending to be a detective game. Or the literal borderline experience of a detective/investigator, where it's not about the gameplay being "Bing Bing wahoo hit all your simple dopamine levels!" It's about the immersive quality of actually doing stuff a detective does. So something like Alan Wake 2 and MAAAAYBE L.A Noire, but I'd argue the interrogations are so superficial it don't matter.
??? I don't understand with this place. I be one of the few people that tries to give indepth thoughts on the genre that could be engaged with and delved into and I just get a shitty shallow adhom response. please have a nice day. I am so tired of you worthless morons existing.
Nah it can totally be artificially created, as you said >It's about the immersive quality of actually doing stuff a detective does.
Now, you can't make it a completely fresh mystery every time, at least not realistically, but I think there's a good balance to be struck of say making 15-30 distinct mysteries than can have elements and timings randomized a bit but are ultimately mostly linear, where all the gameplay is tangibly involving detective and physical work like
this 100%
[...]
LA noire is one of those "good BUT" cases where it's an amazing noire movie / film serial series, but all the actual gameplay is just driving or picking up every piece of evidence in a room.
[...]
Shadows of Doubt's demo was really good last time it was out, but the game seemed too buggy and also pointless -- and reviews I've read kinda suggest it has no real endgame or interestingly designed mysteries, just lame procedural samey shit forever.
I feel like something could be done really well though if someone took a lot of SoD's core mechanics there -- shit like collecting bits of relevant evidence, sneaking around or fighting, breaking into computers and hidden areas, slowly figuring out who did it for sure -- but then plugged those components into a more LA Noire story based game that has distinct episodes, it'd go down great. Especially if you also had, say, VTMB style dialogue with skills that let you lean down a desired type of detective RP.
but you're gonna eventually burn thru every case and need to beg for DLC episodes / sequel / modder levels.
Though if you meant like totally procedurally created in entirety, I also think they can be artificially made. The funny thing to remember is most IRL criminal or even just "private" cases are either dead simple to solve because it's just insanely obvious with proof everywhere, or will basically never be able to be cracked because there's too little information. So a game that has procgen shitty mysteries that mostly swap between going nowhere unless you get lucky later on or being nearly instantly solvable would actually be pretty realistic. Then you just have handcrafted cases designed *specifically* to be very interesting and definitely solveable but where you're missing some key info or angle to things, where in the case of progressing thru the mystery you discover secrets or something unexpected or will later connect this specific case to a later case or something important... I ramble on forever with examples there but the point would be even procgen can work with a few handcrafted cases or very intricately designed procgen rules.
>Now, you can't make it a completely fresh mystery every time, at least not realistically, but I think there's a good balance to be struck of say making 15-30 distinct mysteries than can have elements and timings randomized a bit but are ultimately mostly linear
I DEFINITELY do not thing multiple mysteries is the answer. To have a genuine meaty investigation that actually feels like you're a detective? Yeah, no. I simply don't see that turning out well.
I also do not see how a non linear detective mystery can be anything but a mess.
>where all the gameplay is tangibly involving detective and physical work like
I'm not sure what this quite means. Because I'd argue that to emulate the physical work of a detective in a game is borderline impossible without the artificiality of it all being quickly revealed, or the mundanity settling in, but you remember you're on a videogame. I think a big case that the whole game is centered around is the way or else it becomes too gamey, while simultaneously trying to emulate the mundane of detective work.
>The funny thing to remember is most IRL criminal or even just "private" cases are either dead simple to solve because it's just insanely obvious with proof everywhere, or will basically never be able to be cracked because there's too little information.
Yes. This is why TV shows are so much better at this. For example, the Wire season 1 is an almost perfect example of a well crafted case that doesn't feel artificial. They didn't bring down the whole crime scene. Getting hard evidence was basically impossible, they had to get clever with how they pinned down people. Criminals of course acted stupid in understandable ways. Etc. The mystery either has to be so carefully curated, that it is simultaneously realistic, but also not mundane.
I'm running out of text space. So I'll continue in the next reply.
>Now, you can't make it a completely fresh mystery every time, at least not realistically, but I think there's a good balance to be struck of say making 15-30 distinct mysteries than can have elements and timings randomized a bit but are ultimately mostly linear
I DEFINITELY do not thing multiple mysteries is the answer. To have a genuine meaty investigation that actually feels like you're a detective? Yeah, no. I simply don't see that turning out well.
I also do not see how a non linear detective mystery can be anything but a mess.
>where all the gameplay is tangibly involving detective and physical work like
I'm not sure what this quite means. Because I'd argue that to emulate the physical work of a detective in a game is borderline impossible without the artificiality of it all being quickly revealed, or the mundanity settling in, but you remember you're on a videogame. I think a big case that the whole game is centered around is the way or else it becomes too gamey, while simultaneously trying to emulate the mundane of detective work.
>The funny thing to remember is most IRL criminal or even just "private" cases are either dead simple to solve because it's just insanely obvious with proof everywhere, or will basically never be able to be cracked because there's too little information.
Yes. This is why TV shows are so much better at this. For example, the Wire season 1 is an almost perfect example of a well crafted case that doesn't feel artificial. They didn't bring down the whole crime scene. Getting hard evidence was basically impossible, they had to get clever with how they pinned down people. Criminals of course acted stupid in understandable ways. Etc. The mystery either has to be so carefully curated, that it is simultaneously realistic, but also not mundane.
I'm running out of text space. So I'll continue in the next reply.
Cont'd: Personally I think that's why I think videogames should use those detective elements in a more creative way that utilize the unique characteristics of videogames.
The most standout example to me as of late. Is Alan Wake 2 when Saga has to use the case board in the dark place. If you haven't played. You won't be familar with it. But it's basically something that can ONLY be done in a vidoegame.
Which ties into another point. The ENTIRE story or narrative should underpin the detectiving and investigating. Figuring out the story should be played into that. I don't think videogames can get an authentic detective experience that also feels gamey. For reasons that have been alluded to. But I think they can either do something like the Wire, X-Files, even Twin Peaks, but...make it a game.
Let me go into something a bit personal. First of all. I think videogames are mostly shit and never ever utilize their potential meaningfully, they can only ever focus on being too gamey, (which inherently blocks out some experiences that could be crafted) or too moviegamey (which does the opposite)
The ideal is connecting the video part of videogames, and the game part of videogames...because that's what videogames ARE. Objectively.
The closest this has gotten for me was when I first noticed the case board mechanic in Alan Wake 2.
I had just recently finished watching a YouTube video of a dude breaking down a game called "Who's Lila" and he'd basically plot down facts on a whiteboard and make connections and...it was kind of genius. The entire game really, and how it draws you into solving the mystery of the game...which is the game itself.
It was a genuinely really fun time. The process was more satisfying than the answer, but I think that's the point.
I came away from that video wanting a vidoegame to emulate an experience almsot just like that...and while I feel like the case board didn't stick the landing, it still got close sometimes.
Sunken City apparently has a good thing going for it, even if the Lovecraftian stuff falls flat. There's also that one Early Access game where all the quests and cases were randomly generated, can't remember the name but it took off either last year or this year for a time.
Best you'll get is graphic adventure games or Call of Cthulhu though, since detectivework in gaming is usually left for puzzles and whatnot.
>unavowed
solving mysteries and hunting demons n shit >nine noir lives
solve crimes as a le wacky cat lol >tails noir
solve crimes as a le serious racoon
good to decent detective games are out there but they are all indie
Most of the time key information about the case is only revealed in the middle of the trial. For me, a good detective game has a case/cases that you can solve with the information given during the gameplay
I think the problem with most of the genre is that they're games where a case is solved instead of a game where you solve a case, like Return Of The Obra Dinn. Making it so they're basically interactive stories
Shadows of doubt is a kino puzzle/detective game that I am playing rn.
but for a proper detective game.
I dont remember its name but the game is about you watching various interviews with a woman recordings and trying to piece together what is happenning and getting new keywords to find more clues.
basically the closest thing to a real detective game
Here some stuff about shadows of doubt.
And the game about watching interviews I think is called "her story" >https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/Her_Story/
The game is Her Story. A very cool concept. You can stumble upon the end game by mistake and the game itself is short, but still fun. If you like it a lot you can try Telling Lies (a boring game) or Immortality (an actually good, fun and very intelligently made game) all made by the same developer. The last game can be played on your phone if you have a Netflix subscription.
>Ace Attorney
Not technically a detective but you do a lot of detective work since the detectives are usually incompetent.
>Disco Elysium
technically a detective but the game is a lot less about solving the mystery and more about the protagonist's struggles as a divorced 40 year old alcoholic
>Professor Layton
Not technically a detective, the mysteries are all bullshit asspulls, and the gameplay is just solving puzzles but it can scratch the itch
la noire I suppose, I don't know many more
I do know that the sherlock holmes games suck ASS
Quantum Watson was funny though
Dead Secret
also there's one coming out
Return of the Obra Dinn
this 100%
LA noire is one of those "good BUT" cases where it's an amazing noire movie / film serial series, but all the actual gameplay is just driving or picking up every piece of evidence in a room.
Shadows of Doubt's demo was really good last time it was out, but the game seemed too buggy and also pointless -- and reviews I've read kinda suggest it has no real endgame or interestingly designed mysteries, just lame procedural samey shit forever.
I feel like something could be done really well though if someone took a lot of SoD's core mechanics there -- shit like collecting bits of relevant evidence, sneaking around or fighting, breaking into computers and hidden areas, slowly figuring out who did it for sure -- but then plugged those components into a more LA Noire story based game that has distinct episodes, it'd go down great. Especially if you also had, say, VTMB style dialogue with skills that let you lean down a desired type of detective RP.
Tex Murphy
Gabriel Knight
No such thing as a good detective game. Because real detective work cannot be artificially created. The closest you'll get, is a puzzle game pretending to be a detective game. Or the literal borderline experience of a detective/investigator, where it's not about the gameplay being "Bing Bing wahoo hit all your simple dopamine levels!" It's about the immersive quality of actually doing stuff a detective does. So something like Alan Wake 2 and MAAAAYBE L.A Noire, but I'd argue the interrogations are so superficial it don't matter.
Ok nerd
??? I don't understand with this place. I be one of the few people that tries to give indepth thoughts on the genre that could be engaged with and delved into and I just get a shitty shallow adhom response. please have a nice day. I am so tired of you worthless morons existing.
Dork.
Nah it can totally be artificially created, as you said
>It's about the immersive quality of actually doing stuff a detective does.
Now, you can't make it a completely fresh mystery every time, at least not realistically, but I think there's a good balance to be struck of say making 15-30 distinct mysteries than can have elements and timings randomized a bit but are ultimately mostly linear, where all the gameplay is tangibly involving detective and physical work like
but you're gonna eventually burn thru every case and need to beg for DLC episodes / sequel / modder levels.
Though if you meant like totally procedurally created in entirety, I also think they can be artificially made. The funny thing to remember is most IRL criminal or even just "private" cases are either dead simple to solve because it's just insanely obvious with proof everywhere, or will basically never be able to be cracked because there's too little information. So a game that has procgen shitty mysteries that mostly swap between going nowhere unless you get lucky later on or being nearly instantly solvable would actually be pretty realistic. Then you just have handcrafted cases designed *specifically* to be very interesting and definitely solveable but where you're missing some key info or angle to things, where in the case of progressing thru the mystery you discover secrets or something unexpected or will later connect this specific case to a later case or something important... I ramble on forever with examples there but the point would be even procgen can work with a few handcrafted cases or very intricately designed procgen rules.
>Now, you can't make it a completely fresh mystery every time, at least not realistically, but I think there's a good balance to be struck of say making 15-30 distinct mysteries than can have elements and timings randomized a bit but are ultimately mostly linear
I DEFINITELY do not thing multiple mysteries is the answer. To have a genuine meaty investigation that actually feels like you're a detective? Yeah, no. I simply don't see that turning out well.
I also do not see how a non linear detective mystery can be anything but a mess.
>where all the gameplay is tangibly involving detective and physical work like
I'm not sure what this quite means. Because I'd argue that to emulate the physical work of a detective in a game is borderline impossible without the artificiality of it all being quickly revealed, or the mundanity settling in, but you remember you're on a videogame. I think a big case that the whole game is centered around is the way or else it becomes too gamey, while simultaneously trying to emulate the mundane of detective work.
>The funny thing to remember is most IRL criminal or even just "private" cases are either dead simple to solve because it's just insanely obvious with proof everywhere, or will basically never be able to be cracked because there's too little information.
Yes. This is why TV shows are so much better at this. For example, the Wire season 1 is an almost perfect example of a well crafted case that doesn't feel artificial. They didn't bring down the whole crime scene. Getting hard evidence was basically impossible, they had to get clever with how they pinned down people. Criminals of course acted stupid in understandable ways. Etc. The mystery either has to be so carefully curated, that it is simultaneously realistic, but also not mundane.
I'm running out of text space. So I'll continue in the next reply.
Cont'd: Personally I think that's why I think videogames should use those detective elements in a more creative way that utilize the unique characteristics of videogames.
The most standout example to me as of late. Is Alan Wake 2 when Saga has to use the case board in the dark place. If you haven't played. You won't be familar with it. But it's basically something that can ONLY be done in a vidoegame.
Which ties into another point. The ENTIRE story or narrative should underpin the detectiving and investigating. Figuring out the story should be played into that. I don't think videogames can get an authentic detective experience that also feels gamey. For reasons that have been alluded to. But I think they can either do something like the Wire, X-Files, even Twin Peaks, but...make it a game.
Let me go into something a bit personal. First of all. I think videogames are mostly shit and never ever utilize their potential meaningfully, they can only ever focus on being too gamey, (which inherently blocks out some experiences that could be crafted) or too moviegamey (which does the opposite)
The ideal is connecting the video part of videogames, and the game part of videogames...because that's what videogames ARE. Objectively.
The closest this has gotten for me was when I first noticed the case board mechanic in Alan Wake 2.
I had just recently finished watching a YouTube video of a dude breaking down a game called "Who's Lila" and he'd basically plot down facts on a whiteboard and make connections and...it was kind of genius. The entire game really, and how it draws you into solving the mystery of the game...which is the game itself.
It was a genuinely really fun time. The process was more satisfying than the answer, but I think that's the point.
I came away from that video wanting a vidoegame to emulate an experience almsot just like that...and while I feel like the case board didn't stick the landing, it still got close sometimes.
Trouble in Terrorist Town
Post Mortem has been a favorite of mine as far as detective ones go, I guess.
Sunken City apparently has a good thing going for it, even if the Lovecraftian stuff falls flat. There's also that one Early Access game where all the quests and cases were randomly generated, can't remember the name but it took off either last year or this year for a time.
Best you'll get is graphic adventure games or Call of Cthulhu though, since detectivework in gaming is usually left for puzzles and whatnot.
>unavowed
solving mysteries and hunting demons n shit
>nine noir lives
solve crimes as a le wacky cat lol
>tails noir
solve crimes as a le serious racoon
good to decent detective games are out there but they are all indie
Danganronpa
Most of the time key information about the case is only revealed in the middle of the trial. For me, a good detective game has a case/cases that you can solve with the information given during the gameplay
I think the problem with most of the genre is that they're games where a case is solved instead of a game where you solve a case, like Return Of The Obra Dinn. Making it so they're basically interactive stories
Shadows of doubt is a kino puzzle/detective game that I am playing rn.
but for a proper detective game.
I dont remember its name but the game is about you watching various interviews with a woman recordings and trying to piece together what is happenning and getting new keywords to find more clues.
basically the closest thing to a real detective game
Update
>https://store.steampowered.com/app/986130/Shadows_of_Doubt/
Here some stuff about shadows of doubt.
And the game about watching interviews I think is called "her story"
>https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/Her_Story/
The game is Her Story. A very cool concept. You can stumble upon the end game by mistake and the game itself is short, but still fun. If you like it a lot you can try Telling Lies (a boring game) or Immortality (an actually good, fun and very intelligently made game) all made by the same developer. The last game can be played on your phone if you have a Netflix subscription.
should i replay the nancy drew games or do they not hold up?
Ace attorney (investigation part)
Hotel Dusk
The silver case
The 25th Ward
Snatcher
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father has been my go to since 94, and then again with the remaster on Steam.
Spy-flavored detective work and 'how do I play this game' detective work
bruh moment.
>Ace Attorney
Not technically a detective but you do a lot of detective work since the detectives are usually incompetent.
>Disco Elysium
technically a detective but the game is a lot less about solving the mystery and more about the protagonist's struggles as a divorced 40 year old alcoholic
>Professor Layton
Not technically a detective, the mysteries are all bullshit asspulls, and the gameplay is just solving puzzles but it can scratch the itch
>AAI being that low
entire list cannot be trusted.
Ace attorney T&T is super overrated. Both TGAT 1 and 2 mogs it, and investigations 2 as well
>TGAT
? what is the acronym.
Umineko is about detective stories.
robocop
I just beat Case of the Golden Idol. It was ok. Obra Dinn is still the best.