These great Apple Arcade games will bring out your inner detective
Add a little more mystery to your life with these Apple Arcade games.
Apple Arcade is one of the best deals available in gaming. For just $4.99 per month or $49.99 a year, you get access to over 180 games from many genres, with more being added every month. With so many games ready to play, it’s little wonder that there’s something for lovers of every game genre here, including some unique titles full of mystery. So, if you’re looking for a great mystery game to add to your iPhone’s library, consider one of these and consider getting a compatible controller for Apple Arcade to get the entire gaming experience.
Game on!
Apple Arcade
Unlimited games, one price
Apple Arcade has over a hundred premium games with more added regularly each week. There is something here for everyone, and it only costs $5 a month for all you can game!
Best mystery games on Apple Arcade:
The Last Campfire
Tangle Tower
Jenny LeClue
Neo Cab
The Room Two+
Murder Mystery Machine
The Bradwell Conspiracy
The Get Out Kids
Inmost
Where Cards Fall
Hitchhiker
The Last Campfire
Part adventure, part puzzle, The Last Campfire puts you in the shoes of a lost ember, separated from the rest of its kind and washed ashore in a lonely and frightening place. You find your way to a dark forest full of Forlorns, similar lost creatures. If you can solve enough puzzles, helping Forlorns regain hope, you might figure out who you are and why you’re there in the first place.
The Last Campfire leads you through a beautiful world set to enchanting music and moving narration. The puzzles are balanced well — not too easy, but not impossible. There is some platforming, making this an adventure better suited for an iPhone gaming controller. The themes of purpose, helping others, and how we can regain hope by sharing hope are masterfully woven into the story in a way that doesn’t beat you over the head with it.
Although The Last Campfire is available on the major consoles and PC, it was designed primarily for iPhone and iPad, not the other way around, and it’s included with your Apple Arcade subscription.
Tangle Tower
This unique spin on a puzzle game lets you climb up and down the Tangle Tower and uncover its mysteries. You’ll also be on the hunt for a killer.
That’s because poor Freya Fellow has been murdered at the top of Tangle Tower. The only lead you have is a cloaked figure standing over her body, knife in hand. But there’s a problem: your chief suspect is merely a painting.
To solve the crime, you’ll need to examine clues, explore the different rooms of the tower, solve puzzles, and interview tower residents. A recent update has also added an Art Gallery feature, which lets you view concept art and developer notes for everything in the game.
With a unique art style and an inventive mystery, Tangle Tower is a must-play for any mystery game fans.
Jenny LeClue – Detectivu
In this stylized mystery, you take on the role of Jenny LeClue, a young girl living in Arthurton, a sleepy little town where it seems like nothing happens. Jenny has ambitions of being a detective but feels stifled by her sleepy small town.
However, when her mother is accused of murder, Jenny is thrown head-first into a case that couldn’t have higher stakes. To clear her mother’s name, you’ll need to find clues, deduce information, and uncover the real killer. The story also weaves in a metanarrative outside of Jenny’s tale that follows the story’s author, Arthur K. Finklestein. Finklestein may act as your narrator for Jenny’s story, but he also allows you to make choices that change that story.
Jenny LeClue – Detectivu takes the form of a story within a story and explores themes of family and identity as you make choices that shape Jenny’s story. With a charming art style that seems handmade, the game leaves a lasting impression thanks to its world, engaging characters, and more. Mystery fans should definitely check this out with their Apple Arcade subscription.
Neo Cab
In this cyberpunk title, you take on the role of Lina, the last human driver-for-hire in Los Ojos. You pick which passengers you’ll take to their destinations through the Neo Cab app.
As you take your passengers, or pax, where they need to go, you’ll discover that every one of them has their secrets to tell or for you to uncover. You’ll also need to find out what happened to Savy, Lina’s best friend. Behind all this is the continual tension of maintaining your perfect driver rating to stay on the road.
This highly atmospheric, stylized game encourages you to hang on to your humanity as you deal with what every passenger has to throw at you while navigating the city’s traffic grid.
If you’re looking for something that’s a little off the beaten path, download Neo Cab through Apple Arcade.
The Room Two+
A sequel to the 2012 award-winning The Room, The Room Two leads you into a similar “Null-based dimension” with one simple task: find the way out. But, of course, that task isn’t nearly so simple when escaping one room just leads to another, all the while facing increasingly challenging puzzles to find the exit.
The Room Two furthers the story with mysterious letters from a friend who also found themselves trapped in this Null dimension. The letters warn you to move through the rooms quickly… or else.
Much like the first game, The Room Two has been met with critical acclaim, leading to a third, fourth, and even a VR exclusive title. Now, The Room Two has been enhanced specifically for Apple Arcade, so be sure to give this classic escape room game a try.
Murder Mystery Machine
In their investigation of what seems to be a simple murder, you follow two detectives, Cassandra Clarke and Nate Houston. But, as the detectives investigate, they find themselves roped into a complex series of related crimes.
Murder Mystery Machine presents itself as a simple isometric adventure game that puts you in charge of a continually-growing investigation. You’ll investigate crime scenes, find clues, examine the evidence, interrogate suspects, etc.
The game is episodic, with three episodes available in-game right now. And because this is available through Apple Arcade, you won’t have to pay extra for new episodes.
The Bradwell Conspiracy
While The Bradwell Conspiracy begins as a game of survival that requires you to escape a disaster. But as you make your way through the museum in which you are trapped, you’ll find that there is something much more sinister at play and truth to uncover.
In this first-person, narrative-driven title, you play the survivor of an explosion that took place during a museum fundraiser. In communication with another survivor through the Bradwell Guide Glass that you’re wearing, you send pictures to them in hopes that they’ll be able to lead you out of danger.
However, you’ll discover a deeper meaning behind the explosion that rocked the museum and trapped you there. As you progress in your escape, you must solve puzzles and navigate the world to uncover the truth behind your predicament.
The Bradwell Conspiracy features a fully-voiced, story-driven experience with a unique art style and engaging exploration and puzzle gameplay. You’ll definitely want to give this one a try.
The Get Out Kids
When Molly sneaks out of her house with her dog, Moses, to meet her friend Salim for a midnight showing of “Ghostblasters” at their favorite drive-in theater, she thinks she’s in for the best movie event of fall 1984. But what she finds is a night of adventure that she’ll never forget.
On her way to the drive-in, Moses goes missing under mysterious circumstances. Molly and Salim will need to team up to find him. You’ll need to follow the clues to find the dog by solving a wide variety of puzzles.
The story presents itself in a series of three-dimensional dioramas in a fun, playful art style full of puzzles and exciting details that help propel the story forward.
Check out The Get Out Kids for a mysterious, nostalgic adventure.
Inmost
In this moody, atmospheric adventure game, you explore themes of finding hope amidst loss and trauma across two worlds, bouncing between multiple characters as they explore the environments around them and combat the darkness of their worlds.
Each of the three main characters has a unique playstyle that they can use to confront the world’s dangers. Inmost features a single interconnected story set across two different worlds, spinning a profoundly emotional tale brought to life by voice actors Andrew Dennis and Cassandra Lee Morris.
As you venture through the game’s world, you’ll need to discover all of its secrets to defeat the challenges ahead of you. Finally, you’ll need to face off against numerous enemies, dodge traps, and solve puzzles to bring an end to your quest.
Where Cards Fall
Where Cards Fall is a beautiful and immersive story featuring stunning music and visuals and incredibly unique gameplay: puzzles built from playing cards.
You take on the role of an unnamed protagonist who is struggling with their past. Traversing through a dreamlike world, you will relive their memories to find the root of their insecurities and emotional struggles.
Although Where Cards Fall tells more of a slice-of-life story than some of the more dramatic games featured on this list, there is still a mystery: Who are you, and how did you become this person?
Hitchhiker
What would you do if you found yourself in the middle of nowhere with no memories or clue where to go? If you were on the side of the road, maybe you’d be lucky enough that a kind driver would pick you up and try to help you find your way.
That’s the premise of Hitchhiker. However, with a mix of utterly surreal elements and a disjointed collection of memories, some had to play this one through two or even three times to get it.
Add in multiple possible endings, and this relatively short game can keep you busy for quite a while.
Chase down every clue
Apple Arcade has something for every type of gamer, including some excellent mystery-themed games. These are some of the ones we’ve been playing, and they’re pretty enjoyable. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
Updated May 2022: Minor updates made.
