Detective/Mystery Video Game Tier List

My ranking of every detective/mystery game that I've played

This is purely my opinion, If you disagree, please I encourage you to make your own list! I'd love to see more people talk about this genre, the games they love and why they love them.

This is very subject to change with time and thinking.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
This is just flat out my favourite game of all time I'm sorry

1

The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition
The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition
VERY debatable if it should be on this list

2

The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve
The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve
The literal only issue I can think of is case 1 is kinda okay at best. Aside from that, absolute zenith fiction.

3

Persona 4
Persona 4
Another debatable, but there is a murder and it is the major mystery. I also love persona 4 so.

4

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru
I love this game but some days I remember Ryukishi as a human and hold a gun very tightly.

5

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
This game made me more poltical than I ever expected to be. God bless you Kim Kitsuragi

6

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
I am Hajime Hinata's most impassioned fan, he is my favourite protagonist in this franchise he is so great.

7

AI: The Somnium Files
AI: The Somnium Files
Kaname Date Cringe Compilation 1 of hopefully thousands more to come.

8

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
I love the ending, I think it's great. That is the basis for it being this high.

9

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
I AM VIRTUES LAST REWARDS BIGGEST DEFENDER I WILL NOT HEAR SLANDER FOR MY GOAT!!!! ZTD RUINED EVERYTHING WRAGHHHHHHHHHH

10

Ace Attorney Investigations 2
Ace Attorney Investigations 2
Edgeworth might be the best written character like ever maybe possibly.

11

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
I had to live through the trenches of this game being considered bad for this generation to realise how great it is if you ignore the boring (corner) and awful (seranade) cases

12

AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative
AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative
I have a thing where I compare media to Jojo part 5, 7 and 8. Part 7 is a flawless masterpiece, part 5 is consistently good, and part 8 has great themes with messy execution.

This is Part 8.

13

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies
I WILL SLOG THROUGH 50 MORE APOLLO JUSTICE'S IF IT MEANS PEOPLE REALISING THIS GAMES GREAT!

14

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
This game holds up so well even though comparing its case writing to later games feels really strange. It feels quaint by later games standards but not archaic or outdated.

15

Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
I like genuenly some days hate episode 2 and 4. Episode 2 is a filter that make most people drop the game because it takes so long to take off, and episode 4 is MISERABLE. But oh my god when dread of the grave starts playing I forgive you.

16

Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
This is the start of Uchikoshi writing cool fun facts about topics he finds interesting and apparently a story unfolds around it. It's kinda goated.

17

Process of Elimination
Process of Elimination
This game has a lot of heart and spirit. It got that moxxy. It is swinging FAR above its weight class being here but it earns it for me. A absolute sleeper hit.

18

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Shu Takumi should be allowed to cook more often. I love ace attorney but please let his shackles loose more.

19

The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures
The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures
This game has the charm, the writing, the music, the presentation and the character to make up for some of the most mediocre case writing in the series (ignoring case 3 and 5)

20

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
Kodaka I'm begging you, please keep writing Komaeda Males and not Teruteru Males. You have the ability to write really good characters man please stop writing perverts.

21

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
This game has a atmosphere that the later enteries never manage to really capture. Just this has the most wonky character writing out the series, its either the best or the worst no in betweens.

22

Paradise Killer
Paradise Killer
So like what I said about Great Ace Attorney. I adore everything about this game aside its main muder mystery, it's kinda not that impressive when actually solved but OH MY GOD THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD AND THE ART IS AMAZING AND I HAVE MULTIPLE PIECES OF MERCH FROM THIS GAME IT'S OOZING CHARISMA!

23

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
I'm not as stauch a defender of SOJ as I am DD but I still think this has really strong moments and cases, Magical Turnabout and Turnabout Time Traveller are some of my favourite cases in the series. Just, fuck the civil trial.

24

Chaos;Child
Chaos;Child
This game took me like 3 years on and off to get through because man this has really good ideas and writing but MAN THE DELUSION MECHANIC SUCKS AND I WOULD PREFER IF YOU DIDN'T FORCE DOGSHIT ECCHI BULLSHIT INTO THIS MAN. Anyway yeah its pretty great if you ignore the central mechanic of the game.

25

Higurashi When They Cry
Higurashi When They Cry
I wish I liked you as much as Umineko

26

Return of the Obra Dinn
Return of the Obra Dinn

27

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

28

Unheard
Unheard

29

D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Season 1
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Season 1
How I wish this was finished

30

Shadows of Doubt
Shadows of Doubt
This is very strange to count on the list, I'm aware, I like the game alot but by the metrics I judge games on this list this feels right here.

31

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All
I genuenly despise you some days, but Farewell stops you from being the worst

32

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

33

The Sexy Brutale
The Sexy Brutale

34

L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire

35

Contradiction: Spot the Liar!
Contradiction: Spot the Liar!
Mystery kinda sucks but oh my god its so funny

36

Eunae Liaro in: Fowl Play
Eunae Liaro in: Fowl Play

37

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
The character writing is so good but the case writing is so awful jesus christ

38

The Crimson Debt
The Crimson Debt

39

Murdered: Soul Suspect
Murdered: Soul Suspect

40

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
Not awful just I don't care much for sonic so alot of the charm is lost on me

41

Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain

42

Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
Absolute joke of a game

43

The Failure of Aniconfuku: Convention Murder Episode
The Failure of Aniconfuku: Convention Murder Episode

44

Murders in Space
Murders in Space

45

Life is Strange
Life is Strange
I have seen a lot of other lists count this as a mystery game, and yeah there is a disappearence/murder I guess. Funnily means that something is LOWER than ZTD, so good for it, it's the only praise it'll ever get out of me

46

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