Best Detective Games on Steam

The best detective games on Steam cover every style of investigation:

• Return of the Obra Dinn and The Case of the Golden Idol: deduction.
• Her Story and Telling Lies: interview footage.
• Disco Elysium – The Final Cut: a dialogue-driven detective RPG.
• Paradise Killer: open-world investigation.
• L.A. Noire: classic crime drama with interrogations.
• Shadows of Doubt: a detective simulation in a procedurally generated city.
• The Operator: desktop investigation.
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy: courtroom investigation.

Coming later, Murder Book is an upcoming interrogation game planned for Steam at the end of Q2 2027.

Key takeaways

• Steam has detective games for deduction fans, story lovers, simulation players and courtroom enthusiasts.
• Most of the best picks have little or no combat.
• Some are short and focused; others are long, open-ended investigations.
• Choosing by investigation style is the fastest way to find the right game.
• Murder Book is an upcoming Steam detective game focused on interrogation.

How were these detective games chosen?

Every game on this list is available on Steam and was checked against its Steam listing for developer and release details. We grouped them by the kind of detective work you actually do, because a "detective game" can mean very different things:

• Deduction: working out answers from evidence.
• Testimony: watching or questioning people.
• Simulation: running an investigation in a systems-driven world.
• Narrative: following a story where your choices shape the investigation.

Best detective games on Steam at a glance

Best for deduction: Return of the Obra Dinn

Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope, 3909, 2018) is a first-person mystery about exploration and logical deduction. As an insurance investigator aboard a ship whose crew has vanished, you piece together what happened on board.

Best for reconstructing scenes: The Case of the Golden Idol

The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games, Playstack, 2022) shows you a series of deaths as frozen scenes. You examine each one and fill in what happened: names, motives and events. The follow-up, The Rise of the Golden Idol, continues the format.

Best for studying testimony: Her Story

Her Story (Sam Barlow, 2015) puts you in front of a 1990s police computer. You search interview clips with a woman questioned about her missing husband and build your own understanding of the truth. See Games Like Her Story.

Best for secrets and deception: Telling Lies

Telling Lies (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Annapurna Interactive, 2019) lets you search a stolen database of secretly recorded video conversations. See Games Like Telling Lies.

Best for dialogue: Disco Elysium – The Final Cut

Disco Elysium (ZA/UM) is a detective role-playing game about investigating a murder. Conversations and dice-roll skill checks replace traditional combat.

Best for open-ended investigation: Paradise Killer

Paradise Killer (Kaizen Game Works, Fellow Traveller, 2020) lets you explore a surreal island, gather evidence, interrogate suspects and decide when you have a case.

Best crime drama: L.A. Noire

L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games, 2011) combines crime scene investigation and questioning suspects with action sequences. See Games Like L.A. Noire.

Best detective simulation: Shadows of Doubt

Shadows of Doubt (ColePowered Games, Fireshine Games) is a detective simulation set in a procedurally generated city. You gather evidence, investigate homes and track down suspects. Its developer describes it as a detective stealth game, and it involves some danger and confrontation.

Best desktop investigation: The Operator

The Operator (Bureau 81, 2024) puts you at a desk at a fictional agency. You use databases and photo, video and chemical analysis tools to help field agents solve cases.

Best courtroom investigation: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Capcom, 2019 collection) brings the first three Ace Attorney games to Steam. You investigate cases and defend your clients in court. See Games Like Ace Attorney.

Which detective game on Steam should you play first?

• You love logic puzzles: Return of the Obra Dinn or The Case of the Golden Idol.
• You love stories told through people: Her Story, Telling Lies or Disco Elysium.
• You want a sandbox: Shadows of Doubt.
• You want no combat at all: see Best Detective Games Without Combat.
• You want interrogation specifically: see Best Interrogation Games for PC.

Is there an upcoming detective game coming to Steam?

Murder Book: The Art of Interrogation is an upcoming narrative interrogation game from Gungrounds, an independent studio in Zagreb, Croatia. It is planned for PC via Steam, as well as mobile. Murder Book is built around interrogation: you read a suspect's behaviour, connect statements that contradict each other and choose how to press, in cases designed to take 5–10 minutes.

Release is currently planned for the end of Q2 2027. For the latest details, see the Murder Book release and development FAQ.

Sources

1. Return of the Obra Dinn on Steam
2. The Case of the Golden Idol on Steam
3. Her Story on Steam
4. Telling Lies on Steam
5. Disco Elysium – The Final Cut on Steam
6. Paradise Killer on Steam
7. L.A. Noire on Steam
8. Shadows of Doubt on Steam
9. ColePowered Games: Shadows of Doubt
10. The Operator on Steam
11. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy on Steam
12. Murder Book press sheet, Gungrounds