There are plenty of classic mystery tropes that persist in movies, TV shows, and even video games. One such example is the locked door mystery, but a rarer example is the suicide mystery. A mystery involving the deceased trying to figure out what their own death is like.
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Because it involves the paranormal through ghosts, it doesn't come up that often, but there are some notable video game examples. Some that are coming are The world ends with you, remember meand Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoningall of which include dead, reanimated, or near-dead characters. Since stealth isn't a focus in these games, they won't be discussed further, but these other games will be. There will be no spoilers.
12 minutes
One Minute In Time
For the game called 12 minutesit's quite tedious because it can take a while to figure it out. The basic premise is that a nameless husband played by James McAvoy comes home to his nameless wife played by Daisy Ridley. Players can make seemingly innocuous decisions, such as asking wives questions or setting the table a certain way. Finally, a policeman, played by Willem Dafoe, appears at the door and demands that the wife go into his custody. The couple is zip-tied, things end badly, and then the game resets with the husband very confused. 12 minutes is a time loop game and all players have minutes on each run before a fatal incident occurs.
Players will try to puzzle over what questions to ask, which may lead to new information in the next run, such as finding hideouts or weapons. Simply placing things around the apartment could also trigger new reactions. It's one of those games that deliberately hides mechanics from players, and if they knew what to do and in the right order, it would be easier. It's not so much that the husband solves his own death as what actually happens, although many scenarios end with his death. The ending is certainly a little crazy and divisive, but thoughtful detectives can figure it out before all the pieces fall into place.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Goofy DS gem
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective it was first released on the DS in 2011 in North America before getting a much more accessible version in 2023 that expanded to a plethora of consoles like the Switch and PS4. The game begins with a gentleman in a red suit who has collapsed in a landfill, is dead, and they are resurrected as a glowing blue orb who is later named Sissel, although he suffers from amnesia. As a ghost, players can't do much at first, but it's this limited gameplay that makes the game shine. Players can move between objects and in some cases perform a trick to control the item.
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For example, popping out a lamp can allow Sissel to reach something he couldn't before, or driving a tire across a path can throw someone off balance and let another character escape their predicament. In each episode, players will have to prevent other characters from being killed on their way to find Sissel's killer. If they fail, they can always rewind time and try again. The music, character design, and writing are great, which isn't surprising considering they did it themselves Phoenix Wright team at Capcom. If players choose only one suicide mystery to solve, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is it
Murdered: Soul Suspect
Cats are your friends
Murdered: Soul Suspect opens with Detective Ronan O'Connor being shot with an absurd amount of bullet wounds in his body. He can't believe it, but it's a ghost looking at his own corpses, and after seeing who he thinks is a witness, Ronan is on the case to solve his own murder. For budding adventure fans who like a good mystery, this one is decidedly simple. Most cases point the player in the right direction and won't let them move on until they find all the clues, go through a series of questions, and then put the pieces together. Players can interact with bodies, read notes, examine items and more, all in the name of solving the mystery. They can also jump into people's bodies to gain new information by listening to their thoughts.
The most amazing holding tactics will allow players to run around like a cat for various purposes. In addition to the living, players will also encounter ghosts who must solve their own mysteries, from haunted little girls to possessed stalkers. The weirdest thing about the game are the demons, which are basically dementors from Harry Potter series because they are masked characters that can drain Ronan's soul. There is stealth in the game to take them out, but Ronan isn't equipped with nearly enough mechanics to do it regularly. Overall, Ronan might not be the most charming protagonist as a detective, but the world Murdered: Soul Suspect the setup is interesting enough to see, even though it's very easy.
Shadow of fate
time is on your side
Shadow of fate
- Released
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February 22, 2001
Shadow of fate is an early PS2 game that graphically looks like a Silent Hill title as it was also produced by Konami. The only thing missing is the horror elements, as the models look quite level, specifically with Silent Hill 2. Eike Kusch, the main character, starts the game by getting stabbed in the back and is then greeted by a mysterious stranger who gives Eike the ability to travel back in time. At first it's just in the same fictional town that players start in, Lebensbaum, but eventually players will make bigger jumps back in time.
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There isn't much gameplay involved as it's almost a straight forward story type adventure similar to the Telltale games. It's short and not necessarily hard, but it can be a lot to process as the pace can be slow. There are multiple branching paths and multiple endings, and in subsequent games, players can move through scenes faster. The time travel features some ingenious ideas, such as stopping the planting of the tree to prevent the killer from accessing Eike. He definitely uses the Butterfly Effect approach when it comes to punching out little patterns that should eventually lead to Eike not dying.
Shuten Order
Anime murder
Shuten Order is a mystery game for those who want to play an anime detective because the game is very clearly influenced by the medium. It's also a good visual novel for those who like Danganronpa series and I wish for more because the creator of this franchise, Kazutaka Kodaka, also worked on Shuten Order. The game takes place in the city of Shuten and follows the actions of the Shuten Order, a cult at the center of the mystery. Players die early on and are resurrected by literal angels who want to help this victim, who of course gets amnesia.
They go by Rei Shimobe, which is a temporary name, and have a temporary body that has a changeable gender depending on the case they are trying to solve. There are different commands that players can take, which gives the design some variety Mega manIt's similar because each subordinate in the cult has their own trick. In some cases, players will strictly navigate the typical visual new interfaces, while in others there may be more movement in 3D or from a top-down perspective. The plot can be a bit hard to follow as players will have to do a lot of reading given that there is no English dubbing. Yet for those who love Danganronpa and very strange anime-like visual novels, Shuten Order is one of the latest examples worth checking out.
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