16 Mystery Games with Plot Twists That Make You Restart Right Away
Mystery games have a unique ability to pull players into their complex worlds, where every clue and character could lead to an unexpected revelation. As the story unfolds, the thrill of unraveling a twisted plot often leads to moments where everything you thought you knew gets turned on its head. These plot twists can be so shocking and clever that they make you want to restart the game, eager to see how different choices or perspectives might change the outcome. Each new discovery challenges your assumptions, forcing you to rethink your strategy and dive deeper into the mystery. The suspense builds as you try to piece together the truth, and with every turn, the game reveals something that keeps you hooked.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps keep this content free. Please read our disclosure for more info.
The Return of the Obra Dinn
Set aboard a doomed merchant ship, this game puts players in the role of an insurance investigator who must uncover the fate of the crew members. As the player explores the ship, they witness the deaths of various crew members, each scene captured in a freeze-frame moment. The plot twist comes as players realize the key to solving the mystery lies in identifying how each person met their demise.
The game’s black-and-white art style enhances its atmosphere, making the player’s discoveries even more impactful. Players must rely on their memory and logic, as the clues are scattered throughout the game and are often ambiguous. Each twist forces players to reconsider previous deductions, often leading to a restart to see if a different approach can solve the case. The game’s clever puzzle mechanics keep players on their toes throughout the experience.
L.A. Noire
Set in 1940s Los Angeles, L.A. Noire immerses players in the role of a detective investigating a series of crimes, including murder, fraud, and arson. The plot twists are a central feature, as players must interrogate suspects, analyze crime scenes, and connect the dots between different pieces of evidence. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.
The game’s innovative facial animation technology allows players to determine whether suspects are lying or telling the truth based on their facial expressions. The deeper the investigation goes, the more intricate the web of deception becomes, forcing players to re-evaluate their judgments. With every shocking revelation, players may find themselves restarting a case to uncover new secrets that were previously hidden. The intricate narrative and attention to detail make this a classic mystery game.
The Silent Age
In this time-traveling mystery, players assume the role of Joe, a janitor who stumbles upon a secret government project that involves time travel. The twist occurs when Joe is thrust into a post-apocalyptic future, where he learns that the fate of humanity rests in his hands. As players progress, they must solve puzzles that involve manipulating time itself. The game’s minimalist design and atmospheric soundtrack contribute to its sense of isolation and mystery.
The narrative unfolds with surprising turns, keeping players guessing until the very end. Each twist reveals more about the dark forces at play, leading players to reconsider their actions and sometimes restart sections to unlock hidden truths. The story is engaging, and the puzzles provide an intriguing challenge that keeps players invested.
Gone Home
In Gone Home, players explore a large, seemingly empty house, uncovering clues about what happened to the family that once lived there. The twist in this game is gradual, as players slowly uncover the family’s secrets, particularly the emotional journey of the protagonist’s younger sister. As players investigate the house, they discover letters, journals, and other objects that paint a vivid picture of the family’s dynamics.
The deeper players go into the house, the more they realize that the story is not what they first assumed. The game’s non-linear storytelling encourages players to restart certain sections to uncover new details or gain new insights into the characters’ lives. The emotional depth of the plot twists makes this game an unforgettable mystery experience.
Oxenfree
Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller that follows a group of friends who accidentally open a rift to another dimension while exploring an abandoned island. The game’s twists and turns revolve around the group’s growing tension and the secrets they uncover about the island’s dark history. As players progress, they realize that their choices affect not only the outcome of the story but also the very fabric of reality.
The narrative structure and dialogue choices keep the game fresh and unpredictable, with each twist forcing players to reconsider their previous actions. The eerie atmosphere and strange occurrences build up to a climax that makes players want to restart and explore new possibilities. The game’s haunting storyline and the characters’ complex relationships add depth to its mystery.
Myst
A classic mystery game, Myst immerses players in a strange world filled with intricate puzzles and enigmatic characters. The plot twist lies in the fact that the world itself is a prison, and the player must figure out how to free the inhabitants by solving various puzzles scattered across different environments.
The game’s setting is mysterious and atmospheric, with every twist of the story revealing new layers to the world’s history. Players must collect books that act as portals to different worlds, each one holding a clue to the larger mystery. The non-linear gameplay means players can experience the story in different orders, with each playthrough offering new insights and surprises. The twists keep players on their toes, often prompting them to restart certain puzzles to uncover hidden secrets. Myst’s innovative gameplay and immersive storytelling make it a must-play for mystery enthusiasts.
The Forgotten City
Set in an ancient Roman city, The Forgotten City combines mystery-solving with time-loop mechanics. Players must solve the mystery of a city cursed by a mysterious golden rule that punishes its citizens for immoral acts. The twist in this game is that players can restart the loop, using their knowledge to solve puzzles and gather information they couldn’t before.
The choices players make impact the outcome of the story, with each twist leading to new insights about the curse and the people involved. The game’s compelling narrative and rich historical setting make it an engaging experience for mystery lovers. The time-loop mechanic keeps the player engaged, as they experiment with different actions and learn more with each restart. The story’s unraveling and the many twists keep players constantly reevaluating their approach to the mystery.
The Room
The Room is a puzzle mystery game that revolves around solving intricate, mechanical puzzles to uncover a deeper secret. The plot twist comes as players move from room to room, discovering that the puzzles are connected to a larger mystery involving a mysterious object. Each level presents more complex puzzles, and the game’s atmosphere adds to the tension as players uncover hidden secrets.
The game’s reliance on tactile interaction and exploration makes it stand out, with each twist in the plot revealing more about the mysterious object at the heart of the game. The further players progress, the more they uncover about the object’s power and its potential impact. Each twist encourages players to restart sections to investigate new clues or unlock hidden details. The game’s intricate puzzles and mysterious narrative make it a captivating experience.
Night in the Woods
In Night in the Woods, players follow Mae, a young woman who returns to her hometown after dropping out of college. The twist lies in the uncovering of a series of strange events in the town, leading Mae to question the reality around her. As players explore the town and interact with its quirky inhabitants, they slowly unravel a deeper mystery that ties the town’s history to Mae’s own past.
The game’s narrative style and character-driven story allow for multiple plot twists, each one altering Mae’s understanding of what’s happening. The game’s charming yet eerie atmosphere makes each discovery feel more intense. The story’s twists encourage players to restart sections and explore new choices that may reveal hidden details about the mystery. Night in the Woods combines emotional depth with mystery-solving to create a compelling narrative.
Tales from the Borderlands
Tales from the Borderlands is an episodic adventure game set in the universe of the popular Borderlands series. Players control two protagonists, Rhys and Fiona, as they navigate a world filled with danger, humor, and constant surprises. The plot twists often come from unexpected character revelations and the complex relationships between the characters. As the story progresses, players learn that their actions impact the course of events, and their choices can lead to surprising consequences.
The game blends humor with moments of genuine tension, making each twist feel even more impactful. The decision-making process and the interconnectedness of the storylines often prompt players to restart certain episodes to explore different choices and uncover hidden outcomes. The engaging plot and memorable characters make this game a standout mystery experience.
Life Is Strange
Life Is Strange is a narrative-driven game that follows Max Caulfield, a student with the ability to rewind time, as she uncovers dark secrets about her school and the people around her. The twists in the game come as Max’s actions in the past change the present in unexpected ways, revealing startling truths about the characters she interacts with.
As the story unfolds, players must make difficult choices that have far-reaching consequences, often leading to moments of self-doubt and regret. The game’s use of time travel adds a unique twist to the mystery, allowing players to revisit moments and explore different paths. The emotional depth and plot twists in the game keep players on edge, often encouraging them to restart to see how different decisions affect the story. Life Is Strange is known for its heart-wrenching narrative and complex characters, making it a must-play for fans of mystery games.
The Wolf Among Us
Set in the Fables comic book universe, The Wolf Among Us puts players in the shoes of Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of a community of fairy-tale characters. The mystery begins when a brutal murder shakes the town, and Bigby must uncover the truth while dealing with corrupt characters and dark secrets. The plot twists are frequent and often force players to reevaluate their perceptions of the characters, as long-held beliefs about fairy-tale figures are shattered.
The game’s story is filled with unexpected turns, as players discover that even the most beloved characters are not as innocent as they seem. Each choice made in the game can lead to vastly different outcomes, prompting players to restart sections to fully explore the various possibilities. The noir-style atmosphere and gripping narrative make The Wolf Among Us one of the best mystery games with plot twists.
12 Minutes
12 Minutes is a unique interactive thriller in which players experience a time loop, reliving the same 12 minutes over and over again to solve a murder mystery. The plot twist comes when players realize that their choices during the time loop affect the events in unexpected ways, leading to different possible outcomes.
The game’s setting is confined to a small apartment, which adds to the tension as players must use their limited environment to gather clues and uncover the truth. As the mystery unravels, players learn more about the dark secrets of the characters involved, and the twists become more complex. The time loop mechanic encourages players to restart the sequence multiple times to experiment with different actions and gather new insights. 12 Minutes keeps players engaged with its innovative storytelling and challenging puzzles.
Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is a narrative-driven thriller that follows four protagonists as they investigate a serial killer known as the Origami Killer. The game’s central mystery revolves around the killer’s identity, and the plot twists come thick and fast as players uncover dark secrets about the characters’ pasts. The game’s branching narrative means that each decision players make can drastically change the course of the story.
As players dive deeper into the investigation, they find themselves constantly reevaluating their choices and actions, often leading to a desire to restart sections and explore different outcomes. The game’s emotional depth and the moral dilemmas it presents add complexity to the twists, making them all the more impactful. Heavy Rain’s gripping plot and its ability to make players question their decisions make it a standout in the mystery genre.
The Sexy Brutale
The Sexy Brutale is a puzzle-based mystery game where players must relive a single day over and over again to solve the mystery of a lavish casino mansion. The twist is that each day, the player must prevent the deaths of the mansion’s guests by uncovering hidden details and using the environment to alter the course of events.
The game’s time-loop mechanic allows players to experiment with different strategies to prevent each death, revealing new clues and secrets along the way. As the player unravels the mystery, they uncover dark secrets about the mansion and its inhabitants, with each twist making the story more compelling. The game’s unique approach to time travel and puzzle-solving encourages players to restart and explore new possibilities. The striking art style and intriguing narrative make The Sexy Brutale an unforgettable mystery experience.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Until Dawn
Until Dawn is a survival horror mystery game where players control a group of friends who must survive a night in a remote mountain lodge. The game’s twist comes from the constant shifting of trust and suspicion between characters, as well as the unexpected supernatural forces at play.
Players must make quick decisions that affect the survival of each character, with every choice potentially leading to a plot twist. The narrative is full of shocking revelations, often forcing players to restart certain sections to change the outcome or uncover hidden details. The game’s cinematic presentation and branching narrative make it a thrilling experience for mystery lovers. Until Dawn’s twists are unforgettable, making it a game that will keep players on the edge of their seats.
This article originally appeared on Avocadu.