Methods: The Detective Competition

One hundred detectives compete against each other in a crime-solving competition.

Methods: The Detective Competition is a interactive fiction, visual novel and puzzle game developed by LockedOn Games and published by LockedOn Games and Erabit.
Released on June 01st 2020 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux in 2 languages: English and Simplified Chinese.

It has received 559 reviews of which 511 were positive and 48 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. 😎

The game is currently priced at 7.80€ on Steam and has a 60% discount.

The Steam community has classified Methods: The Detective Competition into these genres:

Interactive Fiction Visual Novel Puzzle JRPG Female Protagonist RPG 2D Detective Funny Dark Humor Story Rich Anime Investigation Cartoony Adventure Stylized Drama Mystery Indie Crime

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Methods: The Detective Competition through various videos and screenshots.

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Requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows

OS: XP
Processor: 1 GHz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Storage: 2 GB available space

MacOS

OS: 10.6
Processor: Apple M1 or Intel Core M
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Storage: 2 GB available space

Linux

OS: Ubuntu 12.04 or newer
Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: GTX 260 or equivalent
Storage: 2 GB available space

Reviews

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

Dec. 2024

Ughh my head. I can't say if it hurts from having just beat this or the fact that I haven't ventilated my flat in a while, but does the method matter if the result is the same? ...don't answer that, it's rhetorical. Anyway. I don't remember how I found this game. What I do remember is thinking, "wow, this looks... uhh...". Weird art style, bunch of wacky characters. A somewhat intriguing premise. This is probably going to suck. Luckily, I will hate myself forever for having thought about Wuppo like this, so I took my idiotic evaluation as proof that I need to play it. There's security in knowing for a fact that you can't trust yourself. I was, of course, right about that. Does this make me less of an idiot? Step 1: The WHAT The most natural point of comparison would be Danganronpa. Bunch of vibrant characters, a set of murder mysteries, and an overarching meta-mystery. Ironically, putting Methods next to Danganronpa actually showcases how much better Methods is in certain aspects... but more on that later. There isn't a single protagonist. You're going to play as over 10 characters in total, and that doesn't mean you'll just follow them - playing as a character makes you also privy to their thoughts, the way they perceive the world and other characters, and, of course, their investigation methods. And that's what the game is really about. It's in the title...? Step 2: The HOW See, this isn't entirely true. This isn't Danganronpa, where the characters have some weird nigh-supernatural abilities. Their methods just provide clues, but it's still up to their very mundane intellects to connect the dots. And the way they think and talk to each other... Okay, you know how BBC's Sherlock is considered bad because the protagonist is written like a stupid person's idea of a smart person? Essentially a wizard? This isn't the case here. I've seen smart people argue about high concept ideas. And so has the author, evidently. The detectives make mistakes, forget things, miss stuff, reconsider, and make excellent deductions (which you participate in, partially) in ways that are very believable. They feel human. Flawed. Real. Wait, did I say detectives? Step Z: WOH ehT No, that's- look. What even is a detective. If you deal with mysteries, are you a detective? Yes? No? It doesn't matter. There's more to this competition than meets the eye, and then there's even more. I don't want to say anything here, because learning about what's even the scope of what's going on is part of the buildup. You know, the way good mysteries are crafted, there's a certain flow to them? Step 10: Knox' Decalogue Well, Methods takes this flow and twists it into a Moebius strip which it then uses as toilet paper. It is almost awesomely disrespectful to the classic rules of mystery storytelling. But make no mistake: whatever order it builds out of this anarchy is an excellent one. Unfamiliar, but it will still leave you hooked. If you don't know what Knox' Decalogue is, go and read Umineko already let's say that this is like outsider art of mystery fiction. Breaking established rules is bad, unless it's good. And in this case, it's good, even if a little strange at times. Step 772: The Clown Detective And that works, because the characters themselves are strange; but at the same time, they're just "normal" enough to be relatable and easy to understand, and their methods are something that feels possible to replicate. My favourite is Detective 772, who acts like a clown, and his methods involve cracking jokes and doing headstands... but who's also incredibly smart, and deeply philosophical - to the point of incomprehensibly. The one detective who seems inhuman is Red July, who claims to solve crimes by "osmosis". She takes in the scene and... everything just kinda pops into place for her. And even this seemingly ridiculous method feels human, especially once you learn its costs and limitations. Step 3: Submit the Solution If it feels like this review went off the deep end at some point, that's because it has, and that's because the game does the same thing. But it doesn't stop anyone from pressing on. Watching the characters grow and try to outsmart each other is honestly fantastic in a way I didn't know I wanted. In particular, one detective who's established as a bit of a slow and boring fellow ends up pulling off an amazing gambit that... you know what, just read it yourself. Yes. It's really good. It's almost definitely better than you think. And if the visuals are giving you pause, let me just tell you that there's a lot of scene pictures, and these display a lot of cool emotion. It works. And that's all there is to it. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42922988/]My curator page

Sept. 2024

Usually, I prefer branching paths or various routes in VNs. Usually, I prefer in-depth interaction in mystery-solving games. Usually, I prefer character designs that are pleasing to look at. Methods has none of those things, yet it's one of the very few visual novels that I've thoroughly enjoyed. The writing is colorful, engaging, funny, and clever. The dialogue is natural. The storytelling and scene-setting are intriguing. All of that added up to my sincerely caring about these characters, their interactions, and their success or failure, as well as my genuine interest in the detective competition and how the story would end. So few VNs hit the mark in their writing--in the "novel" part of "visual novel"--that when one does, as Methods most certainly does, I absolutely appreciate it. The writing and storytelling are so good, in fact, that by about a third of the way through, I realized that the character design was no longer off-putting to me--everyone in this world was endearing to me in their distinctiveness. Another large part of what drew me into Methods was the graphic design, particularly the attractively drawn and nicely animated chapter-title screens. Great use of typography there, too. The jazzy musical score is the cherry on top. I am very glad I played Methods --and honestly, I wish I hadn't waited so long to do so!

July 2024

Fun visual novel with enough gameplay. Not all of the mini mysteries make 100% sense, but they are short and make sense within the framework of a competition featuring detective games/puzzles. I really enjoyed the narrative and think that's the highlight of the game. I look forward to playing the prequel. Played on the Steam Deck without issue.

July 2024

Really good for what it was trying to do. If you expect super high stakes thriller, you won't find it here, but it delivers on what it was going for.

June 2024

角色设定>剧情>解谜，如果角色对上电波+不当本格推理游戏玩，就会玩得很愉快。虽说如此，最后一案玩起来很刺激。我永远喜欢7哥喜欢7nell

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Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates

Steam data	15 November 2024 15:06
SteamSpy data	23 December 2024 22:30
Steam price	23 December 2024 20:25
Steam reviews	24 December 2024 00:04

-60% 19.50€ 7.80€

8.5

511

Online players

Developer

LockedOn Games

Publisher

LockedOn Games, Erabit

Release 01 Jun 2020

Platforms