The Best Mystery Games

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Update : The Rise of the Golden Idol added at rank #31.
1

Outer Wilds (2019)

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96
Review score
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Xbox One Android Nintendo Switch PC Windows Playstation 5 Xbox Series X Playstation 4

Unravel the mysteries of the universe in Outer Wilds, an award-winning open world game. Explore an ever-evolving solar system, uncover alien secrets, and enjoy a thought-provoking narrative. With no enemies to fight, you're free to discover at your own pace. Get ready for an unforgettable adventure in space!


What we like:
  • Unique and immersive gameplay experience
  • Beautiful and intricate world-building
  • Thought-provoking narrative
  • Encourages fearless discovery
  • Captures the mysteries of the universe
What could be improved:
  • May cause motion sickness
  • Game's physics can lead to unexpected deaths

  • exploration
  • mystery
  • discovery
  • puzzle
  • open-world
  • space
  • sci-fi
  • adventure
  • endless
  • first-person
  • day
  • story

2

Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

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96
Review score
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Xbox One Mac OS PC Windows

Return of the Obra Dinn is an adventure puzzle game set in a supernatural maritime world. Players assume the role of an appraiser for a maritime insurance company and are given a pocket watch that reveals the fates of the ship's unfortunate passengers. The game features stunning foley work, voice acting, and score to set its tone. Players must use their deductive reasoning to unravel what happened to all passengers on board.


What we like:
  • Mystery elements require sound deductive reasoning
  • Brilliant foley work and voice acting
  • Innovative visuals inspired by early computer games
  • Supernatural angle adds intrigue and suspense
  • High replay value
What could be improved:
  • Simulated assistance may make some tasks too easy
  • Minimalist aesthetic can be off-putting to some players
  • Limited area surrounding each scene restricts exploration

  • detective
  • mystery
  • puzzle

3

Bugsnax (2020)

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95
Review score
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Mac OS IOS iPhone Xbox Series X Xbox One Playstation 5 Playstation 4 PC Windows Nintendo Switch

Dive into the quirky world of Bugsnax! As a journalist, you'll explore the diverse Snaktooth Island, solve its mysteries, and capture 100 unique Bugsnax. With charming characters, engaging gameplay, and endless customization, you'll be captivated by this delightful adventure.


What we like:
  • Innovative creature-catching gameplay
  • Rich, immersive world with diverse biomes
  • Entertaining and distinct characters
  • Fun, fitting soundtrack
  • Engaging side quests and challenges
What could be improved:
  • None

  • puzzle
  • narrative
  • adventure
  • mystery
  • cute
  • muppet
  • story
  • first-person
  • discovery
  • colourful
  • horror
  • inventive
  • physics
  • comedy
  • controller-support

4

Frog Detective 3: Corruption at Cowboy County (2022)

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92
Review score
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PC Windows Mac OS

You're a detective, and a frog, and it's time to solve a mystery in the wild west.

Buy

  • detective
  • mystery
  • short
  • comedy
  • funny
  • sequel
  • investigation
  • colourful
  • cute
  • walking-simulator
  • point-and-click
  • amphibian
  • crime
  • soundtrack
  • relaxing

5

The Case of the Golden Idol (2022)

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92
Review score
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IOS iPhone Playstation 5 j Mac OS Nintendo Switch PC Windows Android Xbox Series X Xbox One

In The Case of the Golden Idol, you take on the role of a detective tasked to investigate a string of cases related to a mysterious golden idol. You must piece together evidence from the frozen tableau at each crime scene and solve puzzles in order to explain what happened.


What we like:
  • Innovative puzzles
  • Elegant execution
  • Trial-and-error approach and pure deduction available
  • Sherlockian texture that plays out in imagination
  • Captivating 18th century thriller
What could be improved:
  • Rudimentary artwork
  • Requires feats of deduction that may be difficult for some players

  • detective
  • mystery
  • conspiracy
  • point-and-click
  • crime
  • investigation
  • pixel
  • fiction
  • historical
  • thriller
  • narrative
  • puzzle

6

Pentiment (2022)

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91
Review score
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Xbox One Nintendo Switch j Playstation 4 Playstation 5 PC Windows Xbox Series X

Pentiment can be seen as a educational game set in the 15th century, combining point-and-click adventure with role-playing elements and a branching narrative. It follows Andreas Mahler as he tries to clear his friend's name while uncovering the secrets of a small Bavarian town.

Buy

What we like:
  • Captivating story
  • Immersive atmosphere
  • Beautiful visuals and sound
  • Interesting characters and dialogue
  • Deep RPG elements and replayability
What could be improved:
  • Limited number of puzzles which are not particularly challenging

  • historical
  • narrative
  • mystery
  • medieval
  • rpg
  • choices
  • book
  • crime
  • adventure
  • detective
  • education
  • story
  • fiction
  • stylized
  • local

7

Firewatch (2016)

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91
Review score
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Android Linux Mac OS PC Windows Xbox One

Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.


  • mystery
  • walking-simulator
  • narrative
  • first-person
  • exploration
  • story
  • park
  • adventure
  • boss
  • thriller

8

Machinika Museum (2021)

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91
Review score
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Android PC Windows IOS iPhone Nintendo Switch

Come discover beautiful mysterious machines of extra-terrestrial origins and use your logic and sense of observation to fix them; and uncover a galaxy-spanning story. Machinika Museum is a puzzle game for people who like to have their brain teased and love a nice story to go along.


  • science
  • investigation
  • puzzle
  • hidden-object
  • mystery
  • logic
  • point-and-click
  • short
  • sci-fi
  • narration
  • atmospheric
  • futuristic
  • aliens
  • pattern-matching
  • first-person

9

Hourglass (2021)

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91
Review score
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Playstation 5 Nintendo Switch Playstation 4 Xbox One Xbox Series X PC Windows Android

In Hourglass you can create a time-clone of yourself to solve challenging puzzles. You will play as Aywa, a young adventurer who is traveling to Egypt to find her missing father - an archeologist, who never returned from his latest expedition.


  • time
  • puzzle
  • mystery
  • platform
  • first-person
  • travel
  • atmospheric
  • logic
  • manipulation
  • 3d
  • stylized
  • exploration
  • controller-support
  • adventure
  • dungeon

10

STARDROP (2024)

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90
Review score
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Mac OS PC Windows

Gumdrop was peacefully sleeping in their asteroid when a mysterious force smashed it to pieces above the orbit of a nearby planet. Venture through a whimsical world to collect all the lost star droplets, slivers, and shards in this 3D platformer collectathon.


  • 3d
  • space
  • casual
  • collectathon
  • exploration
  • mystery
  • sci-fi
  • funny
  • first-person
  • platform
  • story
  • adventure
  • atmospheric
  • lore
  • walking-simulator

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