Case File 031 · Interrogation and Detective Games

Best Crime Investigation Games

Games that cover the full investigation loop, from gathering evidence and questioning people to committing to a conclusion.

By Murder Book Editorial TeamPublished 16 September 2026Updated 16 September 2026

The best crime investigation games let you run a whole case yourself: gather evidence, talk to the people involved, connect the facts and then commit to a conclusion that has consequences. Strong picks:

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments: six cases where you decide the culprit and their fate.
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One: a young Holmes investigates across an open-world island.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles: investigate, then prove your case in court across 10 episodes.
Aviary Attorney: take cases, gather evidence and argue them in 1848 Paris.
Paradise Killer: gather evidence and build a case on an open-world island.
Shadows of Doubt: track suspects through a procedurally generated city.
Chinatown Detective Agency: solve cases that send you to real-world research.

Coming later, Murder Book is an upcoming interrogation game that zooms in on the moment a suspect's story is tested.

Key takeaways

A crime investigation game covers the full loop: evidence, people, reasoning and a final judgement.
The best ones make you commit to an answer, even when you are not completely sure.
Endings range from courtroom verdicts to deciding what happens to a culprit.
Open-world picks give you freedom; case-based picks give you structure.
Murder Book is an upcoming game focused on the interrogation stage of an investigation.

What makes a good crime investigation game?

Many games include detective moments. A crime investigation game makes the investigation the structure of the whole experience. The best ones cover four stages:

Gathering: finding evidence at scenes, in documents or in the world.
Questioning: talking to witnesses and suspects and testing what they say.
Connecting: linking facts into a theory that explains what happened.
Concluding: naming a culprit or proving a case, and living with the result.

Games that skip the last stage, where the answer is revealed no matter what you think, feel more like interactive stories. This list prioritises games where your conclusion matters.

Crime investigation games at a glance

Game	Developer	Investigation loop	How cases end	Combat
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments	Frogwares	Examine evidence, question suspects, reach conclusions	You decide the culprit's fate	None described on Steam
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One	Frogwares	Gather clues, rumours and evidence; use disguises; build conclusions	Conclusions in Holmes's "mind palace"	Yes
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles	Capcom	Speak to witnesses and examine evidence, then cross-examine in court	Courtroom trials	No
Aviary Attorney	Sketchy Logic	Interview witnesses, collect evidence, argue cases	Arguing cases, with three endings	No
Paradise Killer	Kaizen Game Works	Explore an island, gather evidence, interrogate suspects	You build a case	No
Shadows of Doubt	ColePowered Games	Gather evidence, search homes, hack security, track suspects	Tracking down the culprit	Minimal; described as a stealth game
Chinatown Detective Agency	General Interactive Co.	Choose clients, travel, research clues in the real world	Solving each client's case	None described on Steam

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (Frogwares, 2014) presents six cases. As Holmes, you examine evidence and question suspects, reach conclusions about what happened, and then decide the culprit's fate. That last step is what makes it stand out: solving the case is not the end of your responsibility.

Best for: players who want self-contained cases with a moral decision at the end. See Games Like Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments.

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One

Sherlock Holmes Chapter One (Frogwares, 2021) follows a young Sherlock on an open-world Mediterranean island. You gather clues, rumours and evidence, use disguises and build your conclusions in his "mind palace". Unlike most picks here, it includes combat: Steam says weapons "might help you in a pinch" and lists Action among its genres.

Best for: players who want an open-world Holmes story and do not mind some action.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Capcom, 2021) collects two games with 10 episodes in total. You investigate by speaking to witnesses and examining evidence, and in court you hear testimony, cross-examine witnesses and present evidence that contradicts their claims. The official site estimates over 50 hours of content on average.

Best for: players who want a long, structured investigation that ends in court. See Games Like Ace Attorney.

Aviary Attorney

Aviary Attorney (Sketchy Logic, 2015) sets its investigations in Paris in 1848. As the bird lawyer Jayjay Falcon, you take on clients, interview witnesses, collect evidence and argue cases. Steam lists four chapters and three fully fleshed-out endings, and your choices determine which one you reach.

Best for: players who like courtroom investigation with a historical setting and branching outcomes.

Paradise Killer

Paradise Killer (Kaizen Game Works, Fellow Traveller, 2020) sets its investigation on an open-world island. You explore, gather evidence and interrogate suspects, then build your case.

Best for: players who want an open-world investigation with a distinctive setting. See Games Like Paradise Killer.

Shadows of Doubt

Shadows of Doubt (ColePowered Games, Fireshine Games; full release 2024) is a detective simulation set in a procedurally generated city. You gather evidence, break into apartments, hack security systems and track down suspects. Its developer calls it "a detective stealth game", and some situations involve danger and confrontation.

Best for: players who want an investigation sandbox in a procedurally generated city.

Chinatown Detective Agency

Chinatown Detective Agency (General Interactive Co., 2022) casts you as ex-cop Amira Darma, who chooses clients and travels the world solving their cases. Its most unusual feature is that some puzzles require research outside the game: Steam's example is looking up an airport code.

Best for: players who enjoy real research as part of the investigation.

Open world or case by case?

Crime investigation games tend to follow one of two structures:

Case by case: Crimes and Punishments, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and Aviary Attorney break the story into distinct cases or chapters. Each has a clear beginning, investigation and conclusion.
Open investigation: Paradise Killer, Shadows of Doubt and Sherlock Holmes Chapter One give you a space to explore and trust you to decide what matters.

Chinatown Detective Agency sits between the two: you choose which clients to take, but each case has its own trail to follow.

If the part you enjoy most is studying the clues themselves, see Best Games About Analyzing Evidence.

Which crime investigation game should you start with?

You want a moral decision at the end of each case: Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments.
You want courtroom drama: The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, or Aviary Attorney for a four-chapter story with multiple endings.
You want an open world without combat: Paradise Killer.
You want an open world and accept some action: Sherlock Holmes Chapter One.
You want a systems-driven sandbox: Shadows of Doubt.
You want puzzles that reach beyond the screen: Chinatown Detective Agency.

Is there an upcoming investigation game focused on interrogation?

Murder Book: The Art of Interrogation is an upcoming narrative-driven interrogation game from Gungrounds, an independent studio in Zagreb, Croatia. Rather than covering every stage of an investigation, it focuses on questioning: examining unreliable stories for contradictions, avoidance, narrative gaps and behavioural changes.

Development screenshots show how that is structured. An evidence board links statements that do not fit together, and a technique menu offers approaches including Build Trust, Futility, Demonstration and Confrontation. A branching case map tracks achievement endings and a completion percentage, so a case can end in more than one way. 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. For platform and release details, see the Murder Book release and development FAQ.