Games Like Overboard! Where You Manipulate a Murder Investigation

Games that capture Overboard!'s deception, information control and replayable crime stories, even if few let you play the killer.

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

Very few games let you play the killer and steer the investigation away from yourself, as Overboard! does. The best alternatives each share part of its appeal: deception, manipulating what other people believe, short replayable runs or a murder mystery that changes each time:

Interrogation: You will be deceived: you choose how to manipulate and pressure suspects.
The Shapeshifting Detective: a replayable FMV murder mystery where the murderer is chosen at random.
Beholder: decide what to report about your tenants to an authoritarian regime.
Papers, Please: decide whose documents, and whose stories, to accept.
Late Shift: make timed choices in a branching crime thriller.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: expose lies by turning suspects' words against them.
Pentiment: investigate murders through conversation and choices.

Upcoming Murder Book flips Overboard's perspective: you sit on the other side of the table, trying to see through a story.

Key takeaways

Overboard! is a reverse whodunnit: you are the killer, with eight in-game hours to escape justice.
Few games copy that premise directly, so the best matches share its manipulation, choices or replayability.
Interrogation and Beholder focus on controlling information and pressure.
The Shapeshifting Detective and Late Shift offer crime stories that play out differently on each run.
Murder Book is an upcoming interrogation game with short, replayable cases, planned for the end of Q2 2027.

What makes Overboard! different?

Overboard! (inkle, 2021) is a reverse whodunnit set on a cruise ship. You play the killer, and you have eight in-game hours to steer conversations and evidence away from yourself. According to Steam, one play-through lasts "about 30 - 45 minutes", but achieving the perfect crime run takes a lot longer, so the game is designed to be replayed.

What makes a game feel like Overboard! is usually a mix of these:

Deception as the core skill, whether you are lying or catching lies.
Controlling information: what others know, and when they learn it.
Short runs you repeat to try a different approach.
Choices that change the outcome, including who is blamed.

Games like Overboard! at a glance

Game	Developer	What it shares with Overboard!	Format	Platforms (examples)
Interrogation: You will be deceived	Critique Gaming	Manipulation and pressure in dialogue "convo-puzzles"	Stylised 2D	PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
The Shapeshifting Detective	D'Avekki Studios	A replayable murder mystery with a random murderer	Full-motion video	PC, consoles, iOS
Beholder	Warm Lamp Games	Deciding what information to hand to the authorities	Management and choice	PC, Mac, Linux, consoles, iOS, Android
Papers, Please	Lucas Pope	Judging whether people's documents and stories hold up	Document inspection	PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Late Shift	CtrlMovie	Timed choices that branch a crime story, with seven endings	Full-motion video	PC, consoles, iOS, Android
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc	Spike Chunsoft	Murder trials where you expose lies in statements	Visual novel	PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Pentiment	Obsidian Entertainment	Murder investigations shaped by conversation and choices	Narrative adventure	PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch

Platforms were checked against Steam, official sites or official store pages. Availability changes, so check the store before buying.

Interrogation: You will be deceived

Interrogation: You will be deceived (Critique Gaming, published by Assemble Entertainment, 2019) casts you as a detective hunting a terrorist group. You question suspects in dialogue "convo-puzzles" and manage your team and its reputation. Steam mentions manipulation, threats and even torture among the approaches, with content notes describing symbolic, non-graphic depictions. On mobile it is titled Interrogation: Deceived.

Why it fits: like Overboard!, it is about bending a conversation to get the outcome you want.

The Shapeshifting Detective

The Shapeshifting Detective (D'Avekki Studios, Wales Interactive, 2018) is a full-motion video murder mystery. You question suspects and can shapeshift into other characters to unlock private conversations. Steam notes that the murderer is chosen at random at the start of each game.

Why it fits: a murder mystery that changes between runs, which rewards replaying as Overboard! does.

Beholder

Beholder (Warm Lamp Games, published by Alawar, 2016) casts you as a state-installed landlord. You bug apartments, search belongings, profile tenants and decide whether to report them to the regime. Steam mentions several possible endings.

Why it fits: you control what the authorities learn about other people, as Overboard! has you control what the other passengers learn about you.

Papers, Please

Papers, Please (Lucas Pope, 2013) puts you at a border checkpoint as an immigration inspector. You check travellers' documents for discrepancies and decide whom to let in. The official mobile listing describes 31 days and 20 endings. More picks are in Games Like Papers, Please.

Why it fits: you judge whether people's papers and stories hold up, one decision at a time.

Late Shift

Late Shift (CtrlMovie, published by Wales Interactive, 2017) is a full-motion video crime thriller that does not pause. You make timed choices during a London heist, and those choices branch the story. Steam lists "over 180 decision points" and "seven endings". It is a crime story rather than an investigation.

Why it fits: you are caught up in a crime, and your decisions change how it plays out.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Spike Chunsoft, PC port by Abstraction Games) is set in a school turned into a prison. You investigate murders, then in class trials you pick apart statements and "fire their words back at them" to expose lies. Steam notes that trials use timing and reflex-based systems.

Why it fits: a murder mystery where catching lies in testimony is the core challenge.

Pentiment

Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, published by Xbox Game Studios, 2022) is a narrative adventure set in 16th-century Bavaria. As the artist Andreas Maler, you investigate murders through conversation and choices.

Why it fits: conversation and choices, rather than action, drive a murder investigation.

Which one should you play next?

Want to manipulate a conversation? Interrogation: You will be deceived.
Want a short mystery to replay? The Shapeshifting Detective, or see Mystery Games With Short Cases.
Want to decide what the authorities learn? Beholder.
Want choices to change the investigation? Read Games Where Your Choices Change the Investigation.
Want more games built around questioning? See Best Interrogation Games for PC.

Is there an upcoming game about seeing through a cover story?

Murder Book: The Art of Interrogation is an upcoming narrative interrogation game from Gungrounds, an independent studio in Zagreb, Croatia. In Overboard! you build a cover story and hope nobody sees through it. Murder Book puts you on the other side: you examine unreliable stories, behavioural changes, narrative gaps, avoidance and contradictions, and decide how to press. The press kit names Fabrication and Avoidance among the behaviours the game deals with.

Like Overboard!, it is built around short sessions: cases are designed for focused 5–10-minute play. Development screenshots show a branching case map with achievement endings and a completion percentage, and a case select screen whose results include "not guilty".

Murder Book is in development for PC (Steam) and mobile, with release currently planned for the end of Q2 2027. See Why Murder Book Cases Are Designed for 5–10-Minute Sessions.