Case File 058 · Games by Player Preference
Cinematic Detective Games
Detective games that use film techniques as part of play, from live-action interview footage to captured facial performances.
Cinematic detective games borrow the look and language of film: live-action performances, recorded footage, captured faces and editing that you control. Some are made entirely from video; others use 3D worlds built around actors' performances. Strong examples include:
- Her Story: search a database of live-action police interview clips.
- Telling Lies: search secretly recorded video conversations performed by a named cast.
- IMMORTALITY: explore footage from three unreleased films and "match cut" between scenes.
- The Shapeshifting Detective: an FMV murder mystery with more than 1,600 video responses.
- Contradiction: Spot The Liar: an all-video mystery about catching lies.
- L.A. Noire: a 1940s detective story built around captured facial performances.
- Nobody Wants to Die: a noir investigation in a future New York, built in Unreal Engine 5.
Upcoming Murder Book takes its inspiration from a different kind of footage: real police interviews.
Key takeaways
- "Cinematic" can mean live-action video (FMV), footage you edit yourself, or 3D scenes built around actors' performances.
- FMV detective games often make you watch faces and listen to exact wording.
- Several cinematic mysteries are driven by searching and sorting footage rather than walking around.
- Some cinematic crime games are thrillers rather than investigations, so check what you actually do.
- Murder Book is an upcoming interrogation game inspired by real police footage, planned for the end of Q2 2027.
What makes a detective game cinematic?
For this list, a cinematic detective game uses film techniques as part of play, not just in cutscenes. That includes live-action video you question or search, footage you piece together in your own order, and performance capture that puts an actor's expressions in front of you. Each game below also asks you to investigate: to question, search, compare or deduce.
If you want only live-action video, see Best FMV Detective Games. If you want something closer to watching a TV series, read Games That Feel Like Interactive Crime Shows.
Cinematic detective games at a glance
| Game | Developer | Cinematic element | How you investigate | Combat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Her Story | Sam Barlow | Live-action interview footage | Search a police database | No |
| Telling Lies | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid | Live-action video calls with a named cast | Search a stolen video database | No |
| IMMORTALITY | Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid | Footage from three fictional lost films | Match cut between scenes | No |
| The Shapeshifting Detective | D'Avekki Studios | Over 1,600 full HD video responses | Question suspects, shapeshift | No |
| Contradiction: Spot The Liar | Baggy Cat | Live-action video throughout | Question characters, pair contradictions | No |
| L.A. Noire | Team Bondi | Captured facial performances | Examine scenes, question suspects | Yes |
| Nobody Wants to Die | Critical Hit Games | Photorealistic Unreal Engine 5 visuals | Reconstruct events at crime scenes | Not confirmed |
Her Story
Her Story (Sam Barlow, 2015) is built entirely from live-action footage. Steam describes a police database of video from seven interviews in 1994, in which a British woman, played by Viva Seifert, is questioned about her missing husband. You type search terms, watch the clips where she says those words and put the story together yourself. The film you see is the one you assemble.
Best for: players who want to study a performance closely. See Games Like Her Story.
Telling Lies
Telling Lies (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, Furious Bee Limited; Annapurna Interactive, 2019) expands the idea. You search a stolen NSA database of secretly recorded video conversations covering two years in the lives of four people. Steam names its cast as Logan Marshall-Green, Alexandra Shipp, Kerry Bishé and Angela Sarafyan.
Best for: players who like piecing together several intertwined stories from footage.
IMMORTALITY
IMMORTALITY (Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid, 2022) is a mystery about film itself. Steam describes an interactive trilogy about Marissa Marcel, an actress who made three films that were never released. You explore newly unearthed footage from those fictional lost films and "match cut" from scene to scene to work out what happened to her.
Best for: players who enjoy film history and non-linear storytelling.
The Shapeshifting Detective
The Shapeshifting Detective (D'Avekki Studios, Wales Interactive, 2018) is a supernatural-noir FMV murder mystery. Steam says it has more than 1,600 full HD video responses, a simple questioning interface and a murderer chosen at random at the start of each game. You can shapeshift into other characters to unlock private conversations.
Best for: replayable live-action whodunnits.
Contradiction: Spot The Liar
Contradiction: Spot The Liar (Baggy Cat, 2015) uses live-action video for the entire game. As detective Jenks, you wander a village, collect evidence, question characters and pair contradictions to catch them out. Steam says it works best on a TV with a group helping to spot the lies.
Best for: watching with friends and arguing about who is lying.
L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, Rockstar Games; PC 2011) follows LAPD detective Cole Phelps in 1947 Los Angeles. Steam highlights facial animation technology that captures an actor's facial performance in detail, and says the crimes are inspired by real crimes of that period. It also blends action with detective work, including chases and gunfights, so it is not a pure investigation game.
Best for: players who want a period crime drama with interrogations and action.
Nobody Wants to Die
Nobody Wants to Die (Critical Hit Games, PLAION, Deep Silver, 2024) is set in New York in 2329, where consciousness can be transferred between bodies. As Detective James Karra, you use a time-manipulation augmentation to reconstruct events at crime scenes. Steam describes it as an interactive noir story built in Unreal Engine 5 with photorealistic graphics. Its store text does not mention combat, but we have not confirmed that it has none.
Best for: players who want a visually rich, story-led noir investigation.
What about cinematic crime thrillers?
Late Shift (CtrlMovie, Wales Interactive, 2017) is a live-action FMV crime thriller filmed in London. Steam says it has over 180 decision points and seven endings, with no pauses while the film plays. It is not an investigation, but it suits players who want a playable crime film. For more choice-driven stories, see Best Choice-Based Crime Games.
Is there an upcoming detective game inspired by real interview footage?
Murder Book: The Art of Interrogation is an upcoming narrative interrogation game from Gungrounds, an independent studio in Zagreb, Croatia. Its starting point is not the movies but real police footage and psychological interviews. The drama sits in how a suspect's story shifts under questioning: changes in behaviour, avoidance, gaps and contradictions. Development screenshots show an in-game casebook of behaviours such as Stress Response, Acting Emotion and Emotional Fading, and an evidence board that connects statements.
Cases are designed for focused 5–10-minute sessions. Murder Book is in development for PC (Steam) and mobile, with release currently planned for the end of Q2 2027. Read How Real Police Footage Inspired Murder Book.