6 Ways to Spot a Great Mystery Game Demo

Advice for gamers and developers on what makes a demo stand out

Before we get into today’s post, I just want to say…

Thank you! We’ve now reached 100 free subscribers to the newsletter, and nearly 500 total downloads of our Mystery Gamedev Podcast!

I truly love creating content around this small but growing niche, and your support really means everything to me.

Now, today’s article is for paid subscribers (I always do a paid article once per month) and today I wanted to explain what makes a mystery game demo stand out.

Last week I struggled to look through hundreds of mystery games, and even though the published post mentioned just a handful, I did play through well over 20 different games in an attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I realized that there are some common things that I tend to look for, perfecting the search for a good mystery game demo almost down to a science.

So, today I’ll explain 6 things every mystery game demo should do to stand out.

And if you’re just looking for new demos to play, this advice should help you, too.

1. The demo’s store page stands out

The goal of your demo is to attract new attention onto your game, so your job really begins with making a store page that stands out. Particularly, the short description.

Steam Next Fest updated its user interface to display games more prominently; the description is now displayed alongside the vertical logo, trailer, and screenshots. But when I am quickly scrolling for demos to play, the only things that matter to me are the logo and description.

The logo needs to be eye-catching enough to stop the user from scrolling right past it. Art style matters a lot here, because you can also visually communicate who your game is for. For example, a bright, cartoony visuals signal a comedic game that might appeal to kids, while a darker, more realistic style indicates a serious game aimed specifically at adults.

Then the description needs to very clearly explain what makes your game unique. Don't make it generic, like "become a detective and solve an exciting mystery" — every other mystery game can be described that way, too! Focus on what makes your game stand out from the rest. Also make sure that the most important parts fit into the character limit — the entire description will not be visible if it is too long.

Innovation plays a big part of this. If your game uses new technology like virtual reality or AI-generated mysteries, put that where people can see it. If your game is just an interesting concept or combination of ideas that no one has done before, make that clear, too. And describe what the player will do in your game, rather than focusing on the story.

However, your game can also just be a “clone” of a successful game series. Murder at the Birch Tree Theater uses similar mechanics to Golden Idol, and Trials of Innocence is basically just like Ace Attorney. You can appeal to those fan-bases by putting your own unique spin on an established set of game mechanics, but you need to make sure that your marketing makes this clear.

A unique premise and gameplay, articulated concisely in its logo and description.