As the days grow longer and Halloween approaches, mystery-loving gamers have plenty of options during the spookiest season of the year. The current renaissance of mystery games began with Emio – Smiling man, unexpected new title v Famicom Detective Club series. This was followed Ace Attorney Investigations duology with the long-awaited official English translation of the second game, The prosecutor's gambit. The third title, which unfortunately received minimal marketing, was a remake of a classic Japanese mystery title. Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: Okhotsk Disappearance, Memories in Ice, Teardrop Figure is best known both for its mouthful of a title and its writing Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii.
Attention to the mystery genre has been steadily increasing over the past few years; Key events included the huge success of an indie detective title Disco Elysium, Nintendo's surprising remasters of the first two Famicom Detective Club games and Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Many indie studios have contributed to this boom, releasing titles such as Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, The Case of the Golden Idol, and others.
Nintendo takes a dark turn with Emio – The Smiling Man
- Release date: August 29, 2024
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Nintendo surprised fans with a grainy found footage trailer with a simple question: “Who is Emio?” Theories ranged from a new survival horror IP to a Silent Hill spin-off, but few guessed the truth: the first new game in the Famicom Detective Club series in about 30 years. Hailed as one of Nintendo's darkest first-party titles, Emio sees the Detective Club return to investigate a bizarre serial murder that appears to be linked to a terrifying urban legend.
Although the first two games, The missing heir and The Girl Standing Behind received a remake in 2021, fans generally considered the series a relic of the classic era of adventure games left in the past. Emio release was a pleasant surprise and could have hinted at more Famicom Detective Club the games are coming up.
The Ace Attorney Investigations Collection completes the series
- Release date: September 6, 2024
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
While Ace Attorney Investigations saw the official English translation, its direct sequel, Plaintiff's Way, never had Theories about its lack of export ranged from mixed reviews for the former Investigation wanting to promote the then newest major title in the series, dual fates, rather than focusing on spin-offs. However, in 2024, both games, starring the popular recurring prosecutor character Miles Edgeworth, were remastered and bundled together for the Nintendo Switch.
Now for the first time all the main series Ace Attorney titles are available in English. Capcom's plans for the future of the series remain unclear, but another main series is certainly not out of the question Ace Attorney game could be in the works, perhaps bringing back Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, or Athena Cykes, or introducing an entirely new protagonist.
The Hokkaido serial murder case flew under the radar
- Release date: September 12, 2024
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
Released with surprisingly minimal marketing for Nintendo Switch and PC, A case of serial murder in Hokkaido involves a nameless, player-controlled detective investigating a series of murders scattered across the Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido. It was developed in 1984 by Yuji Horii and was mostly a standalone sequel to Horii's 1983 detective game, The Portopia Serial Murder Case.
portopia, Hailed by Eiji Aonuma and Hideo Kojima as one of the most influential games ever made, the re-release with AI integration was disappointing. It was used by Square Enix as a demo to show off the AI capabilities, but was widely panned by critics and players. Fortunately, Hokkaido the remaster isn't AI focused and is much more polished, with improvements like a revamped command menu and spoken dialogue. Mystery fans looking for something new and exciting should definitely check it out Hokkaido Serial Murder Case, which they may have missed. Additionally, hopefully these titles will lead to more remasters of classic mystery games and new releases within the genre in the near future.
