Mysterious Mystery debut uncovered on Windows PC

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Visual novel-styled retro detective series debuts with introductory episode on Steam

If you took a mashup of Sherlock Holmes and Phoenix Wright and crammed it into a low-budget, tongue-in-cheek pixel art buddy cop cartoon, it might turn out something like Mysterious Mystery, a visual novel-styled episodic detective series by indie developer Walker Sheets that recently debuted on Steam.

The series stars Justin Case, an "insanely smart" detective with little use for emotion but possessing a logical mind and an "almost uncanny ability to outwit suspects in a battle of words," and Dakota Kerlin, his decidedly less bright partner with little verbal filter who loves eating, sleeping, and getting into trouble but also has an "almost scary sense of intuition when it comes to evidence gathering." Which is the hero and which is the sidekick is up for debate, but despite their vast differences in talents and personality – or perhaps because of it – they've become friends and together they "join the world renown Super-human Investigations Team (S.I.T.) to solve mysteries that stump the ordinary authorities." Over the course of the series, they will be confronted with a variety of "outlandish" cases in which they will "meet interesting allies, clueless bystanders, as well as nefarious rivals, and ultimately become world class detectives." 

Described as a "fully voiced light-hearted visual novel exploring themes of self-worth and self-discovery," Mysterious Mystery is presented in a minimalist pixel art style like a visual novel, with character overlays appearing against set backgrounds in conversation (which represents most of the game). Rather than using standard point-and-click mechanics, investigation here is entirely menu-driven, controlled by mouse, keyboard, or gamepad. Players will choose between currently available actions, topics of dialogue, and evidence identified at crime scenes. Any clues found and collected in your pseudo-inventory can be used in Ace Attorney-esque interrogations, where you can question people's specific statements and present evidence that contradicts their testimonies. There is no courtroom trial drama to worry about, but you'll have your hands full with the "eclectic cast" anyway, as "some will be pivotal to unraveling the mysteries you contend with, others meanwhile will harbor dark secrets, and some are just innocent witnesses to the events." As you progress through the series, you'll even be able to "recruit new (and often strange) companions with their own host of investigative skills," leading to "deeper insight into more complex cases."

Available now on Steam for Windows PC, the first case for Justin and Dakota, subtitled "The Duo Dilemma," sees them solving the murder of a rich train owner aboard her own luxury locomotive, with separate cases to follow later.