5 New Mystery Games To Play - March 2025
Classics, clones, adaptations, and more!
Happy Mystery Monday!
Before we begin, I just have to thank everyone for their interest in the upcoming Mystery Game Jam. We’ve more than doubled the number of participants from last year, which seriously blows my mind!
We’re also currently sitting at the top row for “most joined jams this week and month” and it literally wouldn’t be possible without your support! Thank you!
Now then… onto the games!
1. Trials of Innocence
Trials of Innocence is an indie courtroom detective game. Step into the shoes of the main character, rookie lawyer Luna Ray, and navigate her journey through the legal world. Unravel a shocking conspiracy that changes the fate of many, including herself, and confront her inner choices.
An Ace Attorney-like with a Chinese aesthetic, it features highly polished artwork, animations, music, and Chinese voice acting.
It is hard to overstate how similar this game looks and plays compared to Ace Attorney — it jumps straight into its first case in the exact same way with the exact same courtroom setup. Other games have done this before, but I can’t blame them because players really just can’t get enough of it.
The game’s first case — the entirety of its free demo — does not waste any time. It gets right into the action, and is significantly longer and more complex than a typical first case, taking at least a couple hours to solve.
The full game contains over 500,000 words spanning 5 different cases, for 20-30 hours of content.
I first discovered its demo last year and played through it a bit myself. Although I agree that the translation can be a bit rough in some parts, it didn’t detract from the rest of the game, and I’m happy to see it’s having a positive reception.
2. Expelled!
A School Prefect has been pushed out of a window, and everyone's blaming YOU. Can you find the culprit - or someone to take the fall - before you get EXPELLED? Mystery with a wicked twist, from the creators of Overboard!, 80 Days, Heaven's Vault and A Highland Song.
From the same developers behind Overboard!, this game puts a twist upon the mechanics introduced in its predecessor.
Rather than trying to cover up a murder, you are now trying to prove your innocence. You must either find the true murderer, or at least frame someone else, so you can avoid being… expelled!
The game’s visuals and sound blend together for a very distinctive presentation, and also includes partial voice acting.
What interests me the most about this game is its replayability and player agency — two things I think more mystery games should learn how to do well.
In this game, no run is the same. You can choose where to go and when you want to go there. Your actions affect the characters, who move and act independently.
Choices are frequent and of wide variety, and because time advances, you must always choose wisely. If your run ends in failure, you start over again, but with better knowledge of what to try next time.
It’s not easy to design a mystery with so many moving parts, but these accomplished developers have clearly found a way to make it work here.
3. Castle of Blackwater
Castle of Blackwater is a 2D, action-packed, social deduction game with a magical twist. In this intense game of trust and betrayal, up to 10 strangers are trapped in a castle of danger and deception, with a mission to complete tasks and escape with their lives.
An online multiplayer game similar to Among Us, but with a twist.
Players are divided into three factions: two that seek to defeat each other, and one “chaotic neutral” that has its own unique win condition.
Within each faction, each player also has a unique class with special powers that can be used to deduce who murdered the other players.
Players must balance their objectives of completing minigames to earn experience while avoiding the dangers of the day/night cycle.
Eliminated players become ghosts and can still help their factions win the game.
The game also has a massive community with an active dev team.
4. The Beekeeper's Picnic
Beekeeper (and former world’s greatest detective) Sherlock Holmes is arranging a surprise picnic for his friend Watson. Unfortunately pesky mysteries keep getting in the way! Explore, find clues and interrogate your neighbours in this cosy point and click adventure!
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been in the public domain since 2023, and this game is one developer’s interpretation of how Holmes ends up spending his retirement.
It plays just like a classic adventure game, where you point and click to move Holmes around different scenes, interacting with the environment and choosing dialogue options to advance the story.
A core gameplay mechanic involves combining observations together in order to form deductions — just like a real detective.
The game contains detailed and animated pixel art, along with a relaxing original soundtrack and full professional voice acting that brings the experience to life.
Fans of Holmes and connoisseurs of cozy mysteries are sure to enjoy this unique combination of the two.
5. Ever 17: The Out of Infinity
Takeshi Kuranari, an ordinary college student, visits the underwater theme park LeMU. An accident occurs, trapping Takeshi and 6 other individuals inside LeMU, 51 meters below the surface. With no hope of rescue, Takeshi explores LeMU along with the mysterious girl Tsugumi and part-time employee You, searching for a way to escape to the surface.
I couldn’t wrap this post up without mentioning Ever 17’s release on Steam.
First released in 2002 — around the same time as the first releases of Ace Attorney and Higurashi in Japan — it stands today as an early example of highly regarded mystery visual novels. It has the classic setup of being trapped in a mysterious and deadly location with equally mysterious strangers, and has a very early-2000’s-anime aesthetic.
Its story was written by Kotaro Uchikoshi, who went on to more famously write the Zero Escape series, and most recently worked on The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy.
I first played Ever 17 circa 2008, although I regret to admit I never finished it (Umineko grabbed my attention instead). But it hooked me on its premise at the time, with both memorable characters and setting, and in my mind when I think of “ontological mystery” I think fondly of this game.
All of that said — the recent Steam release has received mixed reviews due to including significant changes to the script made by the 2011 Xbox 360 remake. I cannot speak to those differences specifically, so whether or not you should play this recent Steam release is ultimately your decision.
Either way, it is a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on a classic mystery game!
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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