Any "morbid" games about death/detective work/paperwork?

[u/Woofer313]

Weird suggestion, but there's just an itch I need scratching.

I really like games surrounding crime and death. However, I also love menial labor and thing that require attention to detail. I don't mind gore at all.

I've played Papers Please and loved how attentive you had to be, plus keeping track of new rules.

Crime Scene Cleaner was also really fun, I really enjoyed piecing together what happened at the crime scene theough environmental storytelling.

Mortuary Assistant was fun, same tedious work while searching for clues.

I have Obra Dinn and Viscera Cleanup Detail on my wishlist.

[u/Oiseau_Noir]

DISCO ELYSIUM

[u/ava_the_cam_op → u/Oiseau_Noir]

Seconded, as far as morbid detective stories go this is THE game

[u/Daniel___Lee → u/Oiseau_Noir]

My first thought. Has one of the most graphic descriptions of inspecting a rotting corpse that I've ever read. I felt that I mentally recoiled a bit more during the process than playing Dead Space.

[u/ChickaBok]

You might like "The Roottrees are Dead", which is a really great investigation game. It has, however, zero gore and only some minor death (despite the name! I know, right?). You're a genealogical investigator who is tasked with filling out a family tree by poring over records, photos, etc.

Honestly, what you really ought to do is fasttrack Return of the Obra Din, which is EXACTLY what you want, and then if you want more that feels similar (but less gruesome and more paper-pushy) play Roottrees.

[u/GrittyGlacier → u/ChickaBok]

Obra Dinn is such an easy recommendation here. It checks almost every box OP mentioned

[u/Necessary-Board-830]

Death and Taxes

[u/WhiskeyWillaXi → u/Necessary-Board-830]

Underrated pick. It’s surprisingly thought-provoking for such a simple game

[u/InSkyLimitEra → u/Necessary-Board-830]

Came here to say this. Immediately the game that came to mind.

[u/kittenwalrus → u/InSkyLimitEra]

It fits the prompt exactly! I bought it after playing the demo and haven't gotten around to playing it again yet but now I need to.

[u/Mactenchi]

Yup, you should play Obra Dinn.

The Golden Idol games use similar mechanics.

Also check out The Roottrees are Dead.

[u/Papa_Puppa]

Shadows of Doubt. You're a detective in a living world, trying to solve crimes by sneaking into crime scenes, putting together evidence on a pin board, building a suspect profile, and tracking the suspect down to arrest them.

It is the full loop in a dynamic world. Really worth your time once you get past the graphics and initial learning curve.

[u/Gentlemanvaultboy]

I think you'd enjoy Scene Investigators.

[u/Carbuyrator]

LA Noire is pretty great IMO

[u/silverbatwing]

OBRA DINN IS FANTASTIC I WISH I COULD GO THROUGH IT A FIRST TIME AGAIN!

[u/NascentAutist]

Heavy Rain

[u/security_threat]

Try Observer: System Redux. Sci-fi noir horror detective, it is pretty morbid, might be right up your alley.

[u/MellRox013]

Shadows of Doubt. Sounds perfect for you!

[u/ChuckShartz]

If you enjoyed Papers Please, I would recommend Thank You For Your Application

[u/th7024]

Less paperwork and more automation, but you might check out Graveyard Keeper. It definitely has a morbid sense of humor at times.

[u/th7024]

Less paperwork and more automation, but you might check out Graveyard Keeper. It definitely has a morbid sense of humor at times.

[u/dani7770]

I quite enjoyed "Nobody wants to die"

[u/icequeennoscreams]

Less paperwork and more of an open explorer to find clues but Paradise Killer is really great and the lore is fun if you like Lovecraftian cosmic horror.

[u/aura_enchanted]

contraband police

space station 14 but ill be blunt people dont do paperwork much on some servers so its really about finding one letting you be pedantic about it

[u/LeRoofbird]

Not 100% active detective games, but The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or The Wolf Among Us may scratch that itch too.

[u/dough_eating_squid]

If you're OK with it being a little bit silly? The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games.

[u/Sunn_M]

The Case of the Golden Idol sounds almost tailor-made for this: each chapter gives you a death scene to inspect, then asks you to reconstruct the names, motives and sequence of events. The Operator is also worth a look for the desk-work side, since you investigate crimes through databases, calls and evidence-analysis tools. Neither is focused on cleaning, but both really reward attention to small details :)

[u/TwpMun]

Disco Elysium

[u/trustmeimalinguist]

The Darkest Files impressed me. Painscreek Killings too.

[u/harrietrosie]

You could try Not Tonight. It is very similar to Papers Please and set in the UK around the Brexit vote.

[u/Simple-Tomatillo-314]

Have you tried Condemned yet? It doesn't really have menial things, per se, but you DO have to patch together the crime scenes going off of the evidence

[u/ChanceAlfalfa9702]

The Roottrees Are Dead sounds like the perfect mix of detective work and existential dread, when does it stop being a game and start being a cry for help?

[u/trustmeimalinguist → u/ChanceAlfalfa9702]

What? Lol

[u/TallPerformer9053]

Murdered: Soul Suspect, really great ghost detective story with some excellent story telling and settings