The Case of the Worst Day Ever now open on Steam and itch.io

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Cozy deduction-style mystery about one miserable family available now for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Holiday season is nearly upon us, which means lots of family gatherings where everyone is in a festive and happy mood. At least, that's the hope. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is true for one very miserable family at the center of The Case of the Worst Day Ever, the newly released deduction game by indie husband-and-wife (and corgi) team Hero Game Co.

With one of the children graduating, the congratulatory banner hangs proudly as the family gathers together. The problem is, none of them feel like celebrating – including the pets! But why? And who even are these people? These questions and many more are for players to figure out as you piece together the "mishaps and mayhem" that have afflicted them all on the same "single disastrous day." From "the family dog to the grumpy grandma," you'll need to "peek inside their unfortunate lives and investigate the events leading up to the party." The only way to get to the bottom of it is to "snoop thoroughly, read carefully, and put your deduction skills to the test." 

As you might guess from its title, The Case of the Worst Day Ever is a game very much in the mold of The Case of the Golden Idol. But while many such games deal in murder and darker themes, this one is described as "cute yet challenging," with its bright cartoon art style and jaunty music that belie the misery of its participants. There are ten cases to solve, from "a doggy daycare disaster to a country club bake off gone wrong to a rowdy game of senior citizen bingo." But make no mistake: despite the "silly" nature of the mysteries in a "lighthearted game full of laughs," there's a serious challenge here with each case "trickier than the last." To succeed you must thoroughly scour slideshow-style vignettes for "clues that point to identities, motives, and misadventures." Then, using any highlighted, colour-coded words you've collected, you must fill in the blanks of a text statement on your "Conclusions" screen. If you need a little help as the cases ramp up from "easy-peasy to truly brain-teasing," an in-game hint system will provide a progressive series of hints to give you a nudge in the right direction.

If that sounds like your idea of fun, you're about to have a very GOOD day, as both the full game and demo for The Case of the Worst Day Ever are available now on Steam and itch.io for Windows, Mac and Linux.