Non Criminal Detective Games

Detective fiction is dominated by murder investigations, kidnapping, etc. And those are cool of course but I want to give more exposure to the games that get away from that type of thing. I should clarify, non criminal doesnt necessarily mean your investigation never uncovers any criminal activity but more so you are not investigating from the context of a criminal investigation, official or not. This is going to get kind of hair-splitting but hopefully my own examples help illustrate what I mean

Paws of Coal
Paws of Coal
I'm actually attempting something similar for my final uni project; i.e an epidemiological detective game. Being a doctor/disease tracker is basically like being a detective anyways.
Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds
Im not the biggest fan of the game but I think it counts
A Hand With Many Fingers
A Hand With Many Fingers
Admittedly there is some crime in here but its more about uncovering a conspiracy than a strict criminal investigation in the conventional sense
Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island
Frog Detective 1: The Haunted Island
A stand in for all the frog detective games.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Looking into the mystery of an inheritance. Presumably other layton games are also like this but I havent played em
Subsurface Circular
Subsurface Circular
Investigating disappearances, but they are robot disappearances and the whole game is about their conflict and rights vs humans so Im counting it here, also I want to shout it out.
Hypnospace Outlaw
Hypnospace Outlaw
Most of the game is about being a website moderator, admittedly copyright violations can be criminal but c'mon be real
Chants of Sennaar
Chants of Sennaar
Haven't played it yet but I trust Drax's word on it
Heaven's Vault
Heaven's Vault
In a similar vein, its an archeological/historical detective game
Touch Detective
Touch Detective
suggested by @Kaeruk
Puzzle Agent
Puzzle Agent
Suggested by @Corrugated_Fox
Pathologic Classic HD
Pathologic Classic HD
Suggested by @DeemonAndGames
Sethian
Sethian
Suggested by @ThinkingFella
Norco
Norco
Suggested by @Cowboy_Josh
Eagle Eye Mysteries
Eagle Eye Mysteries
Suggested by @ZapRowsower
Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy
Suggested by @ZapRowsower

12 Comments


8 months ago

you always bring my eyes to awesome stuff, subsurface sounds interesting!

8 months ago

I love this idea for a list!
The Touch Detective games might fit!(?) The crimes are all a bit on the silly side (theft of dreams, murder of a flea, etcetera).

8 months ago

@kaeruk Thanks. Sure, that sounds cool

8 months ago

Puzzle Agent would work here.

8 months ago

@Corrugated_Fox Yep, thanks

8 months ago

Rad list and rad collection of games. I also belive that Pathologic could count for similar reasons that Pawls of Coal does; in two of the campaigns you are a doctor that is triying to find the origins of a disiease and a cure to fight back against it, that plus some missions within the game and I think it fits on here.

8 months ago

"Sethian" and "The Gostak" or both also about deciphering a fictional language or text like heaven vault and chants of sennaar. idk if they fit just for that tho

8 months ago

Great list! I want to say Norco fits here but it's been a while since I played it; I might be forgetting some criminal elements. You're not like a cop or anything though and you're investigating for the purpose of your own elucidation, not like trying to "crack the case".

8 months ago

@DeemonAndGames, @ThinkingFella, @cowboyjosh Thanks for the suggestions!

8 months ago

This comment was deleted

8 months ago

Such a great idea :D
great choices as well~

8 months ago

@JapaniKatti Thanks, I'm glad more people were interested in this topic


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