Abandonware DOS title

The most popular detective, mystery games

A murder to solve! A criminal to apprehend! Detective and mistery games have the recipe for a perfect crime story. Police investigations, finding clues, mysterious killings, a noir atmosphere are all ingredients that makes a good detective / mystery game worth playing. The Police Quest series, the Tex Murphy series, games based on Sherlock Holmes are just some of the most popular detective games ever published in the last century.
policequest1-2

Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel

DOS1987 Sierra On-Line
Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel is an adventure game released in 1987 by Sierra On-Line, designed by former police officer Jim Walls. It's the first installment in the ...
voyeur-05

Voyeur

Windows XP/98/95Mac OSDOS1993demoNSFW Philips Interactive Media
wheretimecarmensandiego-1

Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

DOS1989 Broderbund
Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? is an educational computer game and television game show franchise created by Broderbund. It focuses on teaching geography and history while playe...
fish-03

Fish!

DOS1988 Magnetic Scrolls
Yes, it’s called Fish!, and yes, it’s as quirky as the exclamation mark suggests. This is a puzzle-platformer with personality, placing you in surreal environments that...
amnesia-splashb

Amnesia

DOS1986 Cognetics corporation
In Amnesia, you wake up in a hotel room with no idea who you are, where you are, or why someone wants you dead. And no, this isn’t a gritty FPS—it’s a text advent...
pq4-1

Police Quest: Open Season

DOSWindows 3.x1993protected Sierra On-Line
policequest3-3

Police Quest 3: The Kindred

DOS1991protecteddemo Sierra On-Line
Police Quest 3: The Kindred is an adventure video game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1991. It is the third installment in the Police Quest series, which was designed...
blade-runner-10

Blade Runner

Windows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1997protected Westwood Studios
One of the best licensed games of the '90s, Blade Runner (1997) puts you in the rain-soaked shoes of Ray McCoy, a detective tracking down replicants in a world where it's always ni...
circuitsedge-2

Circuit's Edge

DOS1990 Westwood Studios
Circuit's Edge is a cyberpunk-themed role-playing game developed by Westwood Associates and published by Infocom. It was released in 1990 for MS-DOS. Set in a dystopian future, Cir...
la-abadia-del-crimen-03

La Abadia del Crimen

DOS1987 Opera Soft
La Abadía del Crimen (1987) is famously unforgiving, and it knows it. Inspired by Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, this is an isometric adventure where breaking the...
policequest2-2

Police Quest 2: The Vengeance

DOS1988protected Sierra On-Line
Police Quest 2: The Vengeance is a graphical point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1988 as the second installment in the...
jamesbondview2kill-splash

James Bond 007: A View to a Kill

DOS1985 Angelsoft
Based on the James Bond film of the same name, James Bond 007: A View to a Kill arrived in 1985 and delivered a mixture of action and adventure sequences inspired by the movie. Pla...
colonelbequest-3

The Colonel's Bequest

DOS1989protecteddemo Sierra On-Line
The Colonel's Bequest is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1989 for various platforms, including MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST. T...
sherlockserrated-splash

The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel

DOS1992 Mythos Software
Back in 1992, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel set the bar for pixelated deduction. A famous actress is dead, and every gentleman in London seems...
fascination-4

Fascination

DOS1991NSFW Coktel Vision
Fascination, released in 1991 for DOS, is a point-and-click adventure that clearly wanted to be edgy, mysterious, and just a little bit scandalous. Set in a neon-soaked future full...
sam-and-max-01

Sam and Max Hit the Road

DOSWindows XP/98/95LinuxMac OS1993protecteddemo LucasArts
Sam & Max Hit the Road is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1993 and is based on the characters Sam and Max created by c...
laurabow2-2

Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra

DOSWindows 3.x1992protecteddemo Sierra On-Line
Laura Bow 2: The Dagger of Amon Ra is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1992. The game is a sequel to The Colonel's Bequest and follows ...
deja-vu-2-1

Deja Vu 2: Lost in Las Vegas

DOS1990 ICOM Simulations
In this 1990 point-and-click adventure, you find yourself in Las Vegas with no memory of how you got there. Solve puzzles, gather clues, and uncover the mystery behind your amnesia...
sherlock-rose-tattoo-05

The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo

DOS1996 Mythos Software
Released in 1996 for DOS, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo brings you back to foggy Victorian London, where murders, morphine, and moustaches abound. ...
cruise-for-a-corpse-5

Cruise for a Corpse

DOS1991 Delphine software
A murder has been committed on a luxury yacht, and in Cruise for a Corpse, you’re the detective tasked with unraveling the mystery before the killer strikes again. The game u...
eagle-eye-mysteries1-01

Eagle Eye Mysteries: The Original

DOS1993 Stormfront Studios
Before London called, Eagle Eye Mysteries: The Original laid the groundwork with a simpler, more classroom-friendly approach to detective work. This is edutainment done with confid...
eagleeyemystlondon-4

Eagle Eye Mysteries in London

DOS1994 Stormfront Studios
Set in a foggy, postcard-perfect version of the British capital, Eagle Eye Mysteries in London takes the educational detective formula and gives it a polite accent. You play a youn...
sleuth-splash

Sleuth: A Murder Mystery

DOS1983freeware Norland Software
return-of-the-phantom-06

Return of the Phantom

DOS1993protecteddemo MicroProse Software
Ever wondered what would happen if The Phantom of the Opera got his hands on a time machine, a vengeful streak, and a point-and-click interface? In Return of the Phantom, you step ...
1893-world-fair-04

1893: A World's Fair Mystery

Windows XP/98/95Mac OS2003
1893: A World's Fair Mystery is an interactive fiction game developed by the American studio Illuminated Lantern and released in 2002. Set during the Chicago World's Columbian Expo...
corruption-0002

Corruption

DOS1988 Magnetic Scrolls
In Corruption, you’re a businessman trapped in a web of deceit, murder, and paperwork. It’s an interactive fiction game where every conversation could be a clue—o...
igor_objective_uuklaonia-01

Igor Objective Uuklaonia

DOS1995 Péndulo Studios
Igor: Objective Uikokahonia—or however many vowels you can fit into that kingdom's name—arrived in 1995 as a delightfully oddball adventure game. Its humor leans absurd, its pu...
thelegacy-5

The Legacy: Realm of Terror

DOSLinuxMac OS1993protected Magnetic Scrolls
The Legacy: Realm of Terror is a first-person view survival horror RPG set in the modern world, in a haunted house. The Legacy was developed by Magnetic Scrolls and published by Mi...
mindshadow-05

Mindshadow

DOSMac OS1985 Interplay Productions
deadline-2

Deadline

DOS1982 Infocom
Released in 1982, Deadline is one of Infocom’s classic text adventures, and it doesn’t pull punches. You’re a detective with twelve in-game hours to solve a murde...