Case File 050 · Games by Player Preference

Mystery Games With Short Cases

Mystery games split into separate cases, each with its own scene, suspects and solution, compared by official case count.

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

Mystery games with short cases split their story into separate investigations, so each crime has its own scene, suspects and solution instead of one long mystery that runs the whole game. Good examples of that case-based structure:

The Case of the Golden Idol: twelve deaths, each a frozen scene to reconstruct.
The Rise of the Golden Idol: 20 cases set in the 1970s.
Scene Investigators: eight reconstructed case scenarios.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments: six separate cases.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy: 14 episodes, with an option to start from any episode.
Aviary Attorney: a courtroom mystery in four chapters.

Few developers publish how long a single case takes, so this guide focuses on how games are divided rather than on stopwatch times. Upcoming Murder Book is one of the exceptions: its cases are designed for 5–10-minute sessions.

Key takeaways

A case-based mystery gives each investigation its own beginning, evidence and solution.
Many case-based games still link their cases with a wider story, so play them in order.
Official per-case lengths are rare; a game's case count tells you more about its structure than its play time.
Episodic does not always mean short. Steam describes The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles as "dozens of hours" across ten episodes.
Murder Book is an upcoming interrogation game whose cases are designed for 5–10 minutes each.

What makes a mystery game "case-based"?

In a case-based mystery, the game is a series of investigations. You close one case before opening the next, and each case works as a complete puzzle with its own answer. That is different from an open, single-mystery game such as Return of the Obra Dinn, where one investigation spans the whole experience.

This guide is about that structure. If what matters most to you is fitting play into a short gap in your day, our list of detective games you can play in short sessions looks at the question from that angle, and mystery games you can finish in under an hour covers whole games you can complete quickly.

Mystery games with short cases at a glance

Game	Developer	How it is divided	Official case count	Cases connected?
The Case of the Golden Idol	Color Gray Games	Frozen scenes of individual deaths	12	Yes, "all somehow connected"
The Rise of the Golden Idol	Color Gray Games	Individual crime scenes	20	Yes, "all somehow connected"
Scene Investigators	EQ Studios	Reconstructed case files	8	Framed as tests for a trainee
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments	Frogwares	Separate investigations	6	Varied cases
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy	Capcom	Episodes across three games	14	Episodes within a series
Aviary Attorney	Sketchy Logic	Chapters	4	One story with multiple endings
Unheard - Voices of Crime	NEXT Studios	Chapters built around audio of crimes	5 in the first version	Steam hints at a connecting thread

The Case of the Golden Idol

The Case of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games, 2022) is built from twelve strange deaths. Each is a frozen moment you examine for clues before filling in names, motives and events. Every scene is a self-contained puzzle, but Steam notes the deaths are "all somehow connected", so the cases add up to a larger story about a cursed family.

Best for: players who like a clear, finishable puzzle per case.

The Rise of the Golden Idol

The Rise of the Golden Idol (Color Gray Games, 2024) is a standalone sequel with "20 strange cases" set in the 1970s. Steam says you explore each scene at your own pace, gathering key terms from observations and witness testimony. As in the first game, the cases connect into a wider mystery. Four DLC chapters are sold together as the Detective Pass.

Best for: Golden Idol fans who want more cases in the same format. See also Games Like The Case of the Golden Idol.

Scene Investigators

Scene Investigators (EQ Studios, 2023) casts you as a trainee working towards becoming a licensed investigator. You solve a set of reconstructed case files, observing each scene, taking notes and answering questions about what happened. The official FAQ says there are eight case scenarios in total. Steam calls it a "hardcore deductive reasoning game" with no hints, so expect each case to test you.

Best for: experienced sleuths who want tough, clearly separated cases.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (Frogwares, 2014) gives you six cases. Steam lists murders, missing persons and thefts among them. You interrogate suspects, draw your own deductions and name the guilty party, and Steam says you can even determine their fate.

Best for: players who want their conclusions to carry consequences.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Capcom, 2019 collection) contains all 14 episodes from the first three Ace Attorney games. Each episode is a case: you investigate, then defend your client in court. Steam says a title update added Episode Selection, which lets you start from an episode of your choice.

Best for: players who like a case-of-the-week format with recurring characters.

Aviary Attorney

Aviary Attorney (Sketchy Logic, 2015) follows bird lawyer Jayjay Falcon in 1848 Paris. Steam describes "four chapters" in which you take on clients, interview witnesses and collect evidence, with decisions leading to one of three endings. Its chapters work more like acts of one story than fully separate cases.

Best for: players who want a compact courtroom story with branching outcomes.

Unheard - Voices of Crime

Unheard (NEXT Studios, 2019) asks you to listen to recordings of crime scenes and work out who each voice belongs to. A developer note on Steam says the first version had five chapters, with a free DLC planned. The store page also asks what connects "these seemingly unrelated cases".

Best for: players who want an unusual, audio-led take on separate cases.

Does episodic always mean short?

No. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Capcom, 2021) contains ten murder-mystery episodes, five per title, but Steam promises "dozens of hours" of play. A single episode can be a long investigation plus a trial. Case count tells you how a game is structured; it does not tell you how long each case lasts.

By contrast, Overboard! (inkle, 2021) is not case-based at all. It is one replayable scenario, and Steam says a single play-through lasts about 30–45 minutes.

Is there an upcoming mystery game with short cases?

Murder Book: The Art of Interrogation is an upcoming narrative interrogation game from Gungrounds, an independent studio in Zagreb, Croatia. It is one of the few games to state its case length: the press sheet says cases are designed for 5–10 minutes. Each case centres on an interrogation, where you look for fabrication, avoidance and narrative gaps and decide how to press.

Development screenshots show a case select screen listing results and completion, including a "not guilty" result, and branching case maps with multiple endings. That points to a structure where short cases can be replayed to find what you missed. Murder Book is in development for PC (Steam) and mobile, with release currently planned for the end of Q2 2027. Read Why Murder Book Cases Are Designed for 5–10-Minute Sessions for more.