Preview
This might not be the most popular genre of gaming but when you think about it, most of the games have some criminal aspects in them. From simple thefts and killings like in the GTA series, or more subtle ways like letting through suspicious people in Papers Please. Mystery Investigation Games are awesome and I am about to prove it, and prove why do we need more of Mystery Investigation Games
I will look into some games based mainly on the mystery/criminal aspects and prove why do we need them to shape the path for all the other titles. I will also take a look at the genre filled with filth and puzzles.
Mystery Investigation Games
In Mystery Investigation Games the main thing most people do not know about is that almost every game has some mystery behind it. Simple unknowns from the story are the mystery. Every good narrative should have some mysteries which will be answered end perhaps create some new that would need to be answered in the future installments in the series.
Since most of the games are focused on action, killing is just a normal thing in games, but in reality, it is a crime. Criminal games just make it the focus of the gameplay when other titles make it a means to an end or some point in the story.
The focus in Mystery Investigation Games is most often the atmosphere and the story. You always get some action, some shooting but more often than not you are left with the question mark inside your head trying to crack on the case or put some events in order.
These games are often great by themselves, and as a fan of this genre I am all for making more of these games, but there is an additional purpose of creating those titles and putting them in the spotlight. Mystery Investigation Games deserve more recognition in the gaming world.
L.A. Noire
One of the best Mystery Investigation Games which focuse is on solving mysteries and fighting crime. The game is set in the 1940s, with the heavy Noir theme all the way. Developed by Rockstar, it shows how ambitious a simple cop game can be. Mostly known for its innovational techniques of face capture called MotionScan. It is not commonly used nowadays, but it was a sneak peek into the future of gaming. The technology used was pretty expensive, but it motivated other studios to focus more on facial animations. The game showed how much difference can one little smile makes.
You can conduct interrogations, make assumptions and accusations about the suspects. The above-mentioned system helps you with that a lot. You start to notice certain ticks within people and on their faces, weird looks in their eyes, and more.
The game was also created with separate cases and the main plot. Many games after L.A. Noire was created in an episodic way, which gives it a feeling of a TV Series.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Another example of a great Mystery Investigation Games is Batman: Arkham Asylum. When it comes to gameplay, it was quite revolutionary. It was your standard action-adventure game but it introduced two new mechanics that in my opinion changed the landscape.
The first one is the combat system. One of the best-designed gameplay parts that not only looked awesome, felt rewarding but could be challenging as well. It turned simple button-mashing into a beautiful dance, where using counters, special attacks and finishers gave an incredible amount of fun.
The other mechanic, which is the main focus in this scenario is the scanning mechanic. It was not a huge breakthrough because many games before had similar systems, but the one used in Batman: Arkham Asylum was the one to popularize it on such a scale. These days almost every game has its investigation mode. In Witcher and Spider-Man we had some senses, in the Hitman series we have the mode that helps us locate items and targets. In The Last Of Us series, we use instinct to help our gameplay.
The main assumption of this mechanic is to help us investigate the environment.
Summary of Mystery Investigation Games
We NEED more of these games because almost every game has elements of these games in it. Making more Mystery/Criminal Games are a way to focus on these aspects, helping all the other bigger or smaller productions as well. We need to focus sometimes on these aspects as the main thing and not like addition or one of the millions of mechanics in it. To create something innovative and/or revolutionary you need to put it in the spotlight and that is the purpose of creating more games of this genre. They are the pillars of many mechanics in modern games and the future of gaming.
For more on Batman: Arkham Series check out this article: https://www.gamesatlas.com/articles/why-the-batman-arkham-series-provides-the-best-superhero-experience
