5 Mystery Game Demos From Steam Next Fest - February 2025
Another roundup of mystery game demos to enjoy!
Happy Mystery Monday!
First, I have to mention that Steam’s Visual Novel Fest has just started and goes until next week.
The VN fest includes over 200 games tagged “Detective” and nearly 400 games tagged “Mystery” — so there is no shortage of mystery visual novels to play!
One of these games is our very own award-winning murder mystery visual novel Reaplaced. The game is only 2 to 3 hours long, free to play, and currently has a 20% discount on its development book DLC and soundtrack. Thank you for your support!
Anyway, today’s roundup of games will mainly cover games from last week’s Next Fest.
Even though Next Fest is over, you can still play the demos mentioned below.
I already covered a few demos last week, but since there are so many good ones, I just wanted to shout out a few more.
Seriously, there are way too many games to cover… don’t feel left out if I didn’t mention your game. I just don’t have enough time to play them all!
Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved
A woman vanishes without a trace on a cross-country train. The catch? Nobody on board remembers her ever existing in the first place - nobody, except for you. Uncover the story in this detective ADV/visual novel!
The demo took me about 30 minutes to complete. It works as sort of a precursor to the train ride, with two main puzzles to solve. They are fairly simple (and simply fair), acting as a tutorial to show how the game’s mechanics work.
The story begins with you suddenly being accused of murder by the police while studying abroad. The player must quickly learn how to talk to characters and search the scene for clues, using game mechanics inspired by retro detective games.
My first impressions of this game are very, very good. The art style alone is a strong reason to play this game — its classic anime pixel art and animations blend beautifully with pre-rendered 3D backgrounds. The UI and textbox are also visually pleasing to look at, and the whole thing comes together looking very professional.
Little Problems: A Cozy Detective Game
Little Problems is a Cozy Detective game about solving mysteries around minor inconveniences, everyday misunderstandings, and of course, little problems. This game is not about saving the world; it's about enriching it, one case at a time.
Inspired by The Case of the Golden Idol, this game is basically like that, except cozy (and kid-friendly). And I think it demonstrates the concept really, really well.
Note that this was far from the only game in Next Fest to be a “cozy Idol-like”, with fill-in-the-blank theorycrafting gameplay.
Is it just a trend, or will this kind of gameplay become a staple mechanic that mystery games won’t be able to go without in the future?
What makes this game especially interesting to me is the emphasis on solving “little problems.” It proves that you do not need to have a murder, or even a crime, to have a mystery. The game is just about trying to find out what happened — and that, by itself, is often entertaining enough.
Kill The Clock
Enter mid-1900s Europe on a quest for revenge, only to find your nemesis murdered. Framed for the crime, unravel the mystery with Dice-rolling elements, offering various choices to crack the case. With each playthrough, uncover new killers and methods. Can you clear your name before it's too late?
Although this is a visual novel, it features a number of interesting game mechanics that really add to the experience.
You are quickly thrown into gameplay, starting off with character customization. Not just for appearance, but you can assign points to boost your starting stats and choose from a handful of different classes with their own special abilities.
Not only does the story change based on your choices, but also based on the success or failure of “skill checks”. These skill checks are determined based on your starting stats and augmented with dice-rolls. Sometimes you will have an opponent with their own stats and dice-rolls that you need to defeat.
For example, when you are initially framed for murder, you can choose to argue your way out of it, try to run away and escape, or even get into physical combat with a police officer.
All of those mechanics — combined with the typical investigation and interrogation gameplay you would normally find in a mystery visual novel — make for a really unique experience.
The demo includes only a small portion of the first chapter in a multi-chapter game. According to the store page, the full game includes multiple endings and multiple solutions, where the murderer and method differ each playthrough.
Arctic Awakening
A first-person narrative adventure set in the unforgiving Arctic. Your plane crashed in a storm, leaving only your court-mandated therapy bot for company as you journey to find your co-pilot and uncover the mysteries buried beneath the ice.
More of an ontological or atmospheric mystery, this game is basically Firewatch but with snow… and an AI companion. The full 3D graphics and voice acting are highly immersive, so it looks very promising for the full game.
It might be a “walking simulator,” but there are definitely some moments in the demo where you need to use your brain to survive the brutal Arctic weather.
The store page promises five chapters with 1-2 hours of gameplay each, and it also teases numerous mysteries to be discovered.
Dr. Priori’s Time Escape
Welcome to the Curiosity Shop of Dr. A. Priori. Explore the building and unlock rooms full of mysteries. Use time bubbles to change the environment, solve puzzles and unravel the mystery! Once you go inside, can you find your way out?
A short but satisfying escape game demo where you change the environment by manipulating time. The full game promises more rooms and co-op multiplayer.
It’s also worth noting there were a handful of other multiplayer mystery game demos in Next Fest, in other genres such as social deduction. Nice to see it!
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, we were not paid to promote any of the above games. Each game was selected based on its relevance to our readers, considering its release date, number of positive reviews, and store page description. We are not responsible for any issues arising from attempting to purchase, download, or play any game.
Thanks for reading!
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