- #1 The Case of the Golden Idol
97% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 10,922 reviews2022
Dev: Color Gray GamesPub: Playstack
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.9 hrsMean: 8.0 hrs≥1hr: 90%
A new kind of detective game that allows you to think and investigate freely. Discover clues surrounding 12 strange and gruesome deaths and build your own theory. Pick your suspect, deduce the motive, unmask the awful truth.
Why similar: Mystery 37.2%, Detective 25.2%, Story Rich 13%, Atmospheric 10.4%, 2D 8.1%
Why You'll Like It: A masterclass in detective deduction that mirrors the investigative satisfaction found in Stillwater.
- #2 Tangle Tower
96% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 6,631 reviews2019
Dev: SFB Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 5.6 hrsMean: 6.7 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Unravel a thrilling mystery by exploring a strange and twisted mansion, discovering curious clues, interrogating peculiar suspects and solving unique puzzles. Will you be able to uncover the secrets of Tangle Tower?
Why similar: Visual Novel 20.9%, Detective 19.3%, Mystery 17.6%, Noir 11.9%, Story Rich 8.6%
Why You'll Like It: Features a stylized art direction and a compelling mystery that feels like a natural evolution of the detective visual novel genre.
- #3 Murder on the Marine Express
96% matchVery Positive92% of 79 reviews2021
Dev: 1564 Studio
Windows · Mac · Linux
A mystery visual novel taking place aboard the underwater train Marine Express. Follow student Ranko Togawa on her quest to find the culprit on the murder of an accompanying teacher... with lots of surprises along the way!
Why similar: Visual Novel 16.6%, Drama 14.8%, Text-Based 13.8%, Mystery 13.2%, Detective 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: Delivers a tight, atmospheric mystery experience that echoes the linear, story-rich nature of Stillwater.
- #4 Paradise Killer
95% matchVery Positive93% of 4,509 reviews2020
Dev: Kaizen Game WorksPub: Fellow Traveller
Windows
Median: 5.0 hrsMean: 7.3 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Paradise Island, a world outside reality. There’s been a murder that only "investigation freak" Lady Love Dies can solve. Gather evidence and interrogate suspects in this open world adventure. You can accuse anyone, but you’ll have to prove your case in trial. It’s up to you to decide who’s guilty.
Why similar: Mystery 25.9%, Stylized 19.4%, Detective 18.9%, Story Rich 12.6%, Multiple Endings 11.4%
Why You'll Like It: Offers an open-ended investigative experience with a unique, highly stylized aesthetic and deep narrative secrets.
- #5 Paper Perjury
94% matchVery Positive89% of 228 reviews2024
Dev: Paper Cat Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
It all started with a simple robbery. When that thread was pulled, a tapestry of mysteries was revealed. Solve cases and outsmart criminals in a detective story full of lies, confessions, and maybe even a murder or two.
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.3%, Mystery 20.3%, Detective 17.9%, Anime 11.2%, Story Rich 10.7%
Why You'll Like It: A detective-focused visual novel that emphasizes evidence gathering and character-driven mystery solving.
- #6 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
93% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 44,786 reviews2019
Dev: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
Windows
Median: 9.0 hrsMean: 26.6 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Become Phoenix Wright and experience the thrill of battle as you fight to save your innocent clients in a court of law. Play all 14 episodes, spanning the first three games, in one gorgeous collection.
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.9%, Mystery 21%, Detective 19.5%, Anime 12.7%, Story Rich 10.2%
Why You'll Like It: The quintessential detective visual novel series that balances humor, drama, and complex investigative logic.
- #7 UNMEMORY
94% matchVery Positive84% of 101 reviews2020
Dev: PATRONES & ESCONDITES
Windows · Mac · Linux
Unravel a mystery: A game you can read, a book you can play.
Why similar: Text-Based 20.2%, Mystery 19%, LGBTQ+ 14.3%, Visual Novel 13.3%, Noir 10%
Why You'll Like It: Blends text-based narrative with puzzle-solving to create a unique, mystery-focused atmospheric experience.
- #8 Staffer Case: A Supernatural Mystery Adventure
92% matchVery Positive94% of 4,260 reviews2023
Dev: Team Tetrapod
Windows · Mac
Median: 7.5 hrsMean: 8.8 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Staffer Case is a new sort of mystery game, asking players to find clues, arrange them into documents, and point out the contradictions between them to solve a series of murders. Each mystery unraveled leads you closer to the truth lying at the heart of each case!
Why similar: Text-Based 19.8%, Visual Novel 16.8%, Mystery 16.5%, Detective 14.5%, Anime 10.5%
Why You'll Like It: Captures the supernatural investigative tone of Stillwater with a focus on logical deduction and narrative depth.
- #9 Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
91% matchVery Positive93% of 130,397 reviews2019
Dev: ZA/UM
Windows · Mac
Median: 7.4 hrsMean: 22.9 hrs≥1hr: 86%
Disco Elysium - The Final Cut is a groundbreaking role playing game. You’re a detective with a unique skill system at your disposal and a whole city to carve your path across. Interrogate unforgettable characters, crack murders or take bribes. Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being.
Why similar: Detective 25.1%, Story Rich 20.7%, Visual Novel 20%, Noir 14.2%, Atmospheric 10.8%
Why You'll Like It: Provides an unparalleled narrative-driven detective experience with deep, atmospheric world-building.
- #10 The Roottrees are Dead
91% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 9,873 reviews2025
Dev: Evil Trout Inc.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.8 hrsMean: 9.7 hrs≥1hr: 88%
A genealogical mystery straight out of 1998. Scour the early Internet for clues, uncover hidden connections, and piece together the family tree behind the secretive Roottree Corporation.
Why similar: Mystery 31.3%, Detective 23.6%, LGBTQ+ 9%, Story Rich 8.9%, Atmospheric 8.2%
Why You'll Like It: An intricate detective game that rewards careful observation and piecing together complex family secrets.
- #11 Until Then
89% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 18,965 reviews2024
Dev: Polychroma GamesPub: Maximum Entertainment
Windows · Linux
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 11.2 hrs≥1hr: 76%
A fateful meeting sets off a chain reaction, upending Mark's life. People disappear and memories prove unreliable. Uncover a hidden truth with Mark and his friends in this narrative adventure and race to unravel the mystery before it's too late.
Why similar: Visual Novel 33.7%, Mystery 15.1%, LGBTQ+ 14.6%, Story Rich 12.2%, Linear 8.5%
Why You'll Like It: Captures the emotional weight and character-driven storytelling that makes Stillwater so memorable.
- #12 The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass
90% matchVery Positive87% of 295 reviews2021
Dev: Trinitite Team
Windows · Mac · Linux
An intricate mystery visual novel. Search text, piece together clues, and jump around the story to unravel the tangled events within the sealed tower.
Why similar: Visual Novel 20.9%, Mystery 20.1%, Text-Based 15.8%, Detective 13.1%, Anime 11.5%
Why You'll Like It: A deeply atmospheric mystery visual novel that excels at building tension through its intricate, story-rich plot.
- #13 Subsurface Circular
89% matchVery Positive94% of 1,940 reviews2017
Dev: Bithell Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.1 hrsMean: 3.7 hrs≥1hr: 70%
When the truth is buried, go underground. Step into this new take on text-based adventure from the award-winning team behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume. A short story that hands you the fate of the world above, as a detective looking for answers on the Subsurface Circular.
Why similar: Text-Based 25.1%, Visual Novel 20.7%, Mystery 16.3%, Detective 12.9%, Noir 11.1%
Why You'll Like It: A focused, text-based investigation game that relies on dialogue and deduction to unravel a larger mystery.
- #14 Who's Lila?
87% matchVery Positive94% of 3,792 reviews2022
Dev: Garage Heathen
Windows
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 78%
A reverse-detective adventure, where you control your character's face
Why similar: Visual Novel 35.9%, Detective 24.2%, Multiple Endings 13.3%, Story Rich 12.5%, Horror 9.1%
Why You'll Like It: A surreal, atmospheric mystery game that uses unconventional mechanics to uncover dark, hidden truths.
- #15 MAMIYA
88% matchVery Positive90% of 518 reviews2021
Dev: Kenkou LandPub: Fruitbat Factory
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.9 hrsMean: 12.8 hrs≥1hr: 89%
MAMIYA is a captivating, dark mystery visual novel in which a group of young men struggle against existential dread before the end of the world.
Why similar: Visual Novel 16%, LGBTQ+ 15.9%, Drama 12.6%, Noir 9.2%, Mystery 9.1%
Why You'll Like It: A psychological, story-rich visual novel that mirrors the dark, atmospheric tone of Stillwater.
- #16 GNOSIA
86% matchVery Positive94% of 5,092 reviews2022
Dev: Petit DepottoPub: PLAYISM
Windows
Median: 7.3 hrsMean: 15.3 hrs≥1hr: 91%
The Gnosia lie. Pretending to be human, they’ll get in close, trick and deceive, and then eliminate one victim at a time...
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.1%, LGBTQ+ 17.4%, Mystery 17.2%, Anime 12.9%, Detective 9.6%
Why You'll Like It: A brilliant sci-fi mystery visual novel that forces you to deduce the truth through repeated, high-stakes social deduction.
- #17 Urban Myth Dissolution Center
85% matchVery Positive88% of 6,230 reviews2025
Dev: HakababunkoPub: SHUEISHA GAMES
Windows
Median: 7.0 hrsMean: 9.7 hrs≥1hr: 82%
Join forces with the psychic Director of the Urban Myth Dissolution Center and solve a variety of cases involving cursed relics, rental properties with shady histories, and dimensional anomalies. Monstrous oddities and otherworldly planes abound in this occult mystery adventure game!
Why similar: Visual Novel 24.8%, Text-Based 20%, Mystery 18.7%, Detective 9%, Story Rich 7.9%
Why You'll Like It: A mystery-focused visual novel that explores supernatural occurrences with a distinct, stylized presentation.
- #18 Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
86% matchVery Positive93% of 7,340 reviews2017
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows
Median: 6.5 hrsMean: 21.7 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Kidnapped and taken to an unfamiliar location, nine people find themselves forced to participate in a diabolical Nonary Game by an enigmatic mastermind called Zero. Why were they there? Why were they chosen to put their lives on the line? And more importantly, who can be trusted?
Why similar: Visual Novel 31.2%, Mystery 22.8%, Story Rich 11.6%, Anime 10.6%, Multiple Endings 9.2%
Why You'll Like It: Combines intense, high-stakes mystery with complex narrative branching and puzzle-solving elements.
- #19 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 38,237 reviews2016
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.9 hrsMean: 22.9 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Investigate murders, search for clues and talk to your classmates to prepare for trial. There, you'll engage in deadly wordplay, going back and forth with suspects. Dissect their statements and fire their words back at them to expose their lies! There's only one way to survive—pull the trigger.
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.8%, Mystery 23.2%, Anime 17.8%, Detective 16.6%, Story Rich 9%
Why You'll Like It: A high-energy mystery visual novel that focuses on uncovering the truth behind a series of dark, locked-room murders.
- #20 The Shell Part I: Inferno
83% matchVery Positive91% of 1,461 reviews2023
Dev: Innocent GreyPub: Shiravune
Windows
Median: 10.9 hrsMean: 115.9 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Unravel a string of gruesome murders terrorizing Tokyo in this mystery-thriller visual novel. The secrets of a case from six years prior may just be the key to the current unending cycle of tragedy—and the thing that cracks this woeful world’s shell may be one girl’s smile.
Why similar: Visual Novel 24.6%, Mystery 19.8%, Detective 14.2%, Text-Based 12.8%, Anime 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: A gritty, detective-focused visual novel that deals with complex themes and dark mysteries.
- #21 Beacon Pines
82% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 4,465 reviews2022
Dev: Hiding SpotPub: Fellow Traveller
Windows
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 8.7 hrs≥1hr: 67%
Beacon Pines is a cute and creepy adventure set within a mysterious book. Sneak out late, make new friends, uncover hidden truths, and collect words that will change the course of fate!
Why similar: Visual Novel 35.6%, Mystery 17.5%, Story Rich 12.7%, Atmospheric 7.4%, Hand-drawn 6.5%
Why You'll Like It: A story-rich, atmospheric game that uses a unique narrative mechanic to explore a dark, small-town mystery.
- #22 WORLD OF HORROR
82% matchVery Positive90% of 9,835 reviews2023
Dev: panstaszPub: Ysbryd Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.6 hrsMean: 7.8 hrs≥1hr: 71%
Experience the quiet terror of this 1-bit love letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. Navigate a hellish roguelite reality with turn-based combat and unforgiving choices. Experiment with your deck of event cards to discover new forms of cosmic horror in every playthrough. The inevitable awaits...
Why similar: Mystery 30.9%, Anime 22.6%, Horror 15.7%, Atmospheric 13.3%, 2D 10.9%
Why You'll Like It: Uses a striking, stylized aesthetic to deliver a haunting, mystery-filled experience rooted in cosmic horror.
- #23 Coffee Talk
81% matchVery Positive95% of 12,534 reviews2020
Dev: Toge Productions
Windows · Mac
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 10.3 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Coffee Talk is a coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator about listening to fantasy-inspired modern peoples’ problems, and helping them by serving up a warm drink or two.
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.9%, LGBTQ+ 23.5%, Anime 11.4%, Story Rich 10.2%, Atmospheric 9.8%
Why You'll Like It: While more relaxed, it shares the intimate, character-focused storytelling and atmospheric vibe of Stillwater.
- #24 Citizen Sleeper
81% matchVery Positive92% of 10,481 reviews2022
Dev: Jump Over The AgePub: Fellow Traveller
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 7.3 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Roleplaying in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism. Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of TTRPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future.
Why similar: Text-Based 40%, Story Rich 14.7%, Multiple Endings 12.1%, Atmospheric 11.5%, Hand-drawn 10.7%
Why You'll Like It: Focuses on atmospheric, text-heavy narrative choices that build a deep sense of place and mystery.
- #25 VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
79% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 38,654 reviews2016
Dev: Sukeban GamesPub: Ysbryd Games
Windows · Linux
Median: 5.5 hrsMean: 31.3 hrs≥1hr: 86%
VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a booze em' up about waifus, technology, and post-dystopia life.
Why similar: Visual Novel 31.7%, LGBTQ+ 28.1%, Anime 14.7%, Story Rich 12.3%, 2D 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric, narrative-driven experience that relies on dialogue and observation to uncover the lives of others.
- #26 Detective Grimoire
80% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 2,547 reviews2014
Dev: SFB Games
Windows
Median: 3.1 hrsMean: 4.4 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Detective Grimoire has been called to investigate a murder. The owner of a small tourist attraction, seemingly killed by the mythical creature his attraction is based around... Explore the area, inspect the crime scene, grill suspects, solve puzzles, hunt for clues & uncover the secret of the swamp!
Why similar: Visual Novel 31.4%, Mystery 21.5%, Detective 20.8%, Story Rich 11.4%, 2D 8.4%
Why You'll Like It: A charming yet mysterious detective game that emphasizes point-and-click investigation and deduction.
- #27 Methods: The Illusion Murders
79% matchVery Positive85% of 102 reviews2024
Dev: LockedOn GamesPub: Erabit
Windows · Mac · Linux
Detective Red July must stop a serial killer who patterns his murders after optical illusions in this mystery visual novel set in the world of Methods.
Why similar: Text-Based 19.7%, Visual Novel 16.6%, LGBTQ+ 16.2%, Mystery 12.6%, Detective 9.9%
Why You'll Like It: A detective visual novel that focuses on solving complex murders through interactive, puzzle-like investigation.
- #28 Staffer Retro : A Supernatural Mystery Quest
76% matchVery Positive90% of 1,084 reviews2026
Dev: Team Tetrapod
Windows · Mac
Staffer Retro is a mystery adventure game where you uncover past incidents related to ‘Mana’, the source of supernatural powers. Gather information through dialogue and exploration, and piece together clues found in documents to guide the choices of Verita Retro, the protagonist.
Why similar: Visual Novel 18.1%, Mystery 17.4%, Text-Based 17.1%, Detective 13%, Anime 10.2%
- #29 The Occult Detective
78% matchMostly Positive71% of 332 reviews2025
Dev: Battlecry Studio
Windows
A narrative detective game blended with supernatural elements. Play as a rookie investigator, discover vital clues in every case, dive into unscripted interrogations and uncover truths that break minds. But with each revelation, the world feels... less human.
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.2%, Drama 17.6%, Mystery 14.5%, Anime 13.2%, Detective 12.6%
- #30 Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear
77% matchPositive92% of 50 reviews2022
Dev: Nico HPub: Starfield Gaming
Windows · Mac
A free drama-mystery visual novel with a modern fantasy setting. Reach out to the fourteen people trapped inside to find the truth through eighteen endings, influenced by but not exclusively bound to your own system time.
Why similar: Visual Novel 24.3%, Mystery 17.7%, LGBTQ+ 16.7%, Drama 9.2%, Story Rich 7.2%
- #31 The Haunting of Joni Evers
75% matchVery Positive90% of 168 reviews2025
Dev: Causeway Studios
Windows · Mac
The Haunting of Joni Evers is a dark supernatural mystery about a broken family from small-town Oklahoma. Haunted by a specter that's hunted her family for generations, Joni must uncover the mysteries of the Cunningham House, dig through lost memories, and face the past to break the curse.
Why similar: Mystery 24.6%, Visual Novel 23.6%, Linear 17.7%, Story Rich 11.3%, Atmospheric 10.8%
- #32 Lockheart Indigo
77% matchVery Positive97% of 140 reviews2020
Dev: Fangsoft
Windows
A private-eye must deceive a rich family into revealing their darkest secrets, before the killer amongst them silences everyone.
Why similar: Noir 19.5%, Detective 18.5%, Mystery 17.5%, Stylized 16.1%, Anime 15.6%
- #33 Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude
78% matchMixed61% of 452 reviews2022
Dev: Tango GameworksPub: Bethesda Softworks
Windows
Median: 36 minMean: 6.5 hrs≥1hr: 28%
Join KK and his gang of supernatural detectives as they investigate a strange disappearance, only to stumble upon something more sinister. Build relationships with your team and piece together their stories.
Why similar: Visual Novel 32.2%, Mystery 22.9%, Story Rich 9.2%, Stylized 8.9%, Multiple Endings 8.5%
- #34 start;again
75% matchVery Positive95% of 192 reviews2022
Dev: Two and a Half Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
A BL/yaoi mystery visual novel that follows a man named Sebastian as he’s forced into a game of life-or-death, alongside three strangers. Who put him there, and more importantly… who can he trust?
Why similar: LGBTQ+ 18.8%, Visual Novel 17.1%, Mystery 14.5%, Text-Based 10.7%, Anime 9.9%
- #35 Snowfall's Mystery
73% matchVery Positive86% of 123 reviews2025
Dev: Sempiternal Rain
Windows
A psychological interactive novel about a floppy disk with a mysterious program. Help Elliot cope with his mental issues and uncover the secret of the floppy disk.
Why similar: Text-Based 27.6%, Visual Novel 19.3%, Linear 11.9%, Stylized 10.2%, Atmospheric 7%
- #36 Hold Me Still
74% matchVery Positive82% of 60 reviews2025
Dev: Zeroshade123
Windows
"Hold Me Still" is a point-and-click puzzle mystery game where you investigate your friend's disappearance by exploring their house, collecting clues, solving puzzles, and uncovering the truth.
Why similar: Drama 33.5%, Mystery 19.7%, Casual 13.9%, Adventure 9.1%, 2D 8.4%
- #37 Lady in Mystery
74% matchVery Positive94% of 168 reviews2021
Dev: nolsoft
Windows
Welcome to a small detective agency in old Seoul. Lady in Mystery is a Yuri mystery visual novel set in 18th-century Joseon. Choose one of four women to grow closest to Heesoo, the disguised detective. Your choices may lead to love, revenge, or darker paths than you imagined.
Why similar: LGBTQ+ 21.1%, Text-Based 19.7%, Visual Novel 19.2%, Mystery 15.9%, Story Rich 6.9%
- #38 Gensokyo：Presumption of Guilt~Pansies Before Dawn
71% matchVery Positive93% of 363 reviews2026
Dev: 戏壤游戏(Xirang Games)
Windows
Explore the intertwined fates of humans and youkai in this interactive fiction. As an unwitting protagonist, enter the sealed realm of Gensokyo to investigate a series of bizarre murders. Unearth ancient secrets and witness a gripping saga hidden for millennia.
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.9%, Text-Based 22.8%, Mystery 20.2%, Detective 13.3%, Drama 11.2%
- #39 Graces: Posthumous Wish
72% matchVery Positive95% of 205 reviews2024
Dev: TomoToro
Windows
Aki is haunted by a curse. In search of salvation, she travels into the memories of a dead classmate, where she must witness three eerie mystical stories and figure out how to break the shackles of misfortune.
Why similar: Visual Novel 20.5%, Text-Based 16.4%, Mystery 15.1%, Detective 11.3%, Story Rich 8.3%
- #40 Dreambound
73% matchVery Positive95% of 96 reviews2024
Dev: Two and a Half Studios
Windows · Mac
Mysterious deaths. Dreams that are reality, and reality that is a dream. Will Noah be able to move forward and solve the mystery—or will he give in to the demons of his past? A story-rich BL mystery visual novel.
Why similar: LGBTQ+ 23.9%, Visual Novel 22.6%, Mystery 19.7%, Anime 12.5%, Story Rich 8.6%
- #41 FAKEBOOK
71% matchVery Positive91% of 822 reviews2024
Dev: banjihagames
Windows · Mac
Point-and-click mystery adventure on the virtual Social Media! Find secrets hidden by family, friends, companies, and idols.
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.5%, Mystery 22.5%, Text-Based 21.1%, Story Rich 9.8%, Detective 7%
- #42 LumineNight
72% matchVery Positive88% of 562 reviews2024
Dev: Spickasoft
Windows
LumineNight is a story-driven detective adventure. Play as Detective Foster and his daughter to solve a series of murders spanning a decade. Interrogate suspects, infiltrate locations, solve puzzles, and gather evidence from crime scenes. Uncover the dark truth behind these killings.
Why similar: Mystery 19.4%, Visual Novel 19.1%, Detective 14.4%, Anime 11.8%, Noir 10.2%
- #43 Flower in Us
70% matchVery Positive94% of 449 reviews2025
Dev: ChalkseagullPub: PsychoFlux Entertainment
Windows
Flower in Us is a short, story-driven mystery adventure that invites players to unravel hidden secrets.
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.3%, Drama 20.5%, Mystery 19%, Anime 9.3%, Story Rich 9%
- #44 A Case of Fraud
69% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 518 reviews2025
Dev: Hesperus Games
Windows · Mac
A short non-linear detective adventure where every clue is hidden in plain sight. Carefully read and cross-reference documents to unravel a CEO’s disappearance and expose a case of fraud.
Why similar: Mystery 37.8%, Detective 30.5%, Story Rich 7.8%, Indie 6.2%, Atmospheric 5.9%
- #45 Mercury Abbey
70% matchVery Positive91% of 997 reviews2024
Dev: YiTi GamesPub: Gamirror Games
Windows
In a mansion surrounded by mist, as the curse made by the Alchemist and Fairy reappears, the danger is quietly lurking in the darkness, awaiting its visitors.Follow Harrod and Willie to unravel an incredible story in Mercury Abbey, and go on an adventure that you would only find in mystery novels.
Why similar: Detective 19.4%, Visual Novel 18.1%, Hand-drawn 12.2%, Anime 10.3%, 2D 8.8%
- #46 Bad Faith
73% matchVery Positive92% of 64 reviews2022
Dev: Mado
Windows · Mac · Linux
Sanctuaries. Secrets. Serious consequences. A solo-developed psychological horror/drama visual novel.
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.1%, Text-Based 20.1%, Anime 17.1%, Story Rich 9.8%, Atmospheric 7.6%
- #47 Money for Girls: Amortized
67% matchVery Positive98% of 129 reviews2026
Dev: PorpentinePub: INNOCENT Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
A girl detective faces her darkest mystery yet, in this horror-romance visual novel with stickers, fashion, and bad ends.
Why similar: Visual Novel 24.8%, LGBTQ+ 21.5%, Text-Based 16.6%, Mystery 11.7%, Detective 7.7%
- #48 CARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbs
66% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 2,839 reviews2025
Dev: Bastinus RexPub: CRITICAL REFLEX
Windows · Mac
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 2.1 hrs≥1hr: 70%
A mute little thing with borrowed magic. A house that murmurs back. Ask wrong, and you might wake something that remembers your name.
Why similar: LGBTQ+ 24.1%, Mystery 23.7%, Detective 15%, Story Rich 10.9%, Atmospheric 9.5%
- #49 Suhoshin
71% matchVery Positive90% of 175 reviews2022
Dev: No More 500
Windows
Median: 4.8 hrsMean: 8.8 hrs≥1hr: 98%
Suhoshin is a 2D Visual Novel set in the medieval Joseon period of Korea. While investigating a series of mysterious murders, you will have to make choices that will lead you down different paths toward different endings.
Why similar: Visual Novel 21%, Text-Based 18.2%, Mystery 17.2%, Anime 12.1%, Story Rich 7.9%
- #50 The Kuon Island Nursery Rhyme Murders: Case Notes
69% matchMixed60% of 82 reviews2026
Dev: RenkaPub: Renka BH1
Windows
A storm-lashed island, a nursery rhyme that foretells death, seven prodigies, serial murders, modern locked-room mysteries, classic locked-room mysteries, astrology, a jigsaw of flesh and blood, a survivor—and one lie told only so you would see this story.
Why similar: Visual Novel 23.2%, Mystery 18.3%, Text-Based 15%, Detective 13.6%, Anime 9.4%
- #51 1997
68% matchVery Positive92% of 252 reviews2023
Dev: Hit'n'Run Digital Studio
Windows · Mac
Detective visual novel about mysteries of rural Russian town in 90-s, anime style.
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.2%, Anime 18.2%, Detective 18%, Mystery 14%, Atmospheric 8.4%
- #52 ENIGMA:
70% matchVery Positive94% of 147 reviews2016
Dev: UzumeyaPub: Fruitbat Factory
Windows
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 5.6 hrs≥1hr: 96%
Enigma is an atmospheric, full-length visual novel where you discover the secrets of Enigma, a worldwide epidemic, and a forest on a lonely island that bears its name.
Why similar: Visual Novel 30.3%, Mystery 18.2%, LGBTQ+ 17.1%, Anime 15.9%, Indie 7.5%
- #53 Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink
69% matchVery Positive92% of 1,157 reviews2014
Dev: Artifex Mundi
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 4.5 hrs≥1hr: 97%
Unburied secrets burn like wild steam – nothing is what it appears!
Why similar: Mystery 37.3%, Casual 17.4%, Adventure 14.9%, Story Rich 7%, Atmospheric 7%
- #54 Last Time I Saw You
65% matchVery Positive97% of 338 reviews2024
Dev: Maboroshi ArtworksPub: Chorus Worldwide Games
Windows
First loves. Family issues. Yokai. 'Last Time I Saw You' is a coming-of-age adventure set in 1980s Japan. Explore a haunted forest hiding a terrible secret, and interact with a vast cast of friendly and deceitful characters in this beautifully hand-drawn story with some light action elements.
Why similar: Mystery 18.3%, Anime 18%, Stylized 14.6%, Linear 12.4%, Story Rich 11.2%
- #55 The Murder Hotel
66% matchVery Positive93% of 73 reviews2025
Dev: Wegenbartho Games
Windows
Interrogate suspects, search for clues, & uncover a dastardly plot, as you solve a string of mystifying murders to help reluctant detective Ilmarinen escape the foreboding Fafnir Hotel.
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.8%, Mystery 20.2%, Text-Based 15.6%, Detective 13.7%, Anime 12.5%
- #56 The Simen Rumors
65% matchVery Positive79% of 426 reviews2026
Dev: 羊之口
Windows
本游戏以视觉小说的形式，收录了十四个奇幻恐怖的短篇故事。从网站专栏的投稿、社团的恐怖故事分享会、到某座设施中的秘密实验……你将以不同的视角，探索发生在鸶门市周边的种种奇妙传闻。
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.1%, Mystery 21.7%, Drama 21.5%, Detective 14.2%, Atmospheric 7.2%
- #57 Rainswept
68% matchVery Positive87% of 309 reviews2019
Dev: Frostwood Interactive
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 7.4 hrs≥1hr: 79%
Rainswept takes you on an emotional adventure in a small town shaken by a double shooting. Join Detective Stone and unravel a tangled web of love, relationships, and unresolved trauma in this character-driven murder mystery game.
Why similar: Visual Novel 31.9%, Detective 20.9%, Mystery 16.3%, Story Rich 10.6%, Atmospheric 9.3%
- #58 The Painting
66% matchVery Positive99% of 77 reviews2024
Dev: Tymedust Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
A short, emotional visual novel following a grieving man who relives memories of days long gone. An exploration of loss presented honestly and kinetically.
Why similar: Drama 24.8%, Visual Novel 20.5%, Mystery 16.5%, Linear 12.5%, Story Rich 7.8%
