Steam’s annual Detective Fest returns, and the biggest titles have made the largest sales yet. Selected titles are up to 90% off until Jan. 19 at 10 AM PST. Crime-solving gamers are excited to experience multiple games, but maybe not everyone has the hardware to run modern games.

Thanks to Steam, every game gives us the minimum PC system requirements to run it. And some titles have been given a remaster or remake for the new generation without the need for older hardware, or out of their respective reputations. Here are five past titles you can try to solve the case!

5. Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse

Steve Purcell’s Sam & Max first captured the hearts of point-and-click adventure lovers with their first game, Sam & Max Hit the Road, by LucasArts. When their game division shut down, the marmaduke and the ferocious lagomorph transferred to Telltale Games. The Freelance Police later changed the point-and-click formula in their third season, Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse.

What made the episodic tale special was that the buddy-swap mechanic became more than negotiation tactics. Max possesses the Gift that allows him to use the Toys of Power through psychic abilities. In Save the World Beyond Time & Space, players found themselves stumped during crime investigations.

They relied on Max as a hint system unless the hint level is turned off in the options. With Future Vision, players can help these cartoon detectives by seeing the results of a puzzle. Then there are the options for two endings that shaped Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, with multiple choices to reach a specific outcome.

On Aug. 14, 2024, the 2010 classic got a remastered version from its current studio, Skunkape, named after the space gorilla featured in-game. The original version struggles to be played on newer hardware, in certain areas, experiencing video stuttering. The Devil’s Playhouse 2024 version contains updated visuals, brighter colors, and added content, like Maximus’s missing newboy cap. The game is optimized to play on Windows 7 PCs thanks to its simpler asset designs.

4. L.A. Noire

Three years after Rockstar launched Grand Theft Auto 4, the developers dove back into the series’ past in 1947 in the spinoff, L.A. Noire. Instead of committing crimes, players tread in the shoes of Detective Cole Phelps. The former Marine puts his USMC training to use as a Los Angeles police officer. On the day he rose to the rank of investigator, he was tasked with learning the ropes from Roy Earle.

Like Grand Theft Auto, players have the freedom of exploration in between story missions. Since Cole is a law-abiding citizen, he can’t abuse his firearms or fists to harm civilians. He can take stranded cars from the parking lots and flash his LAPD badge to get into an occupied one. The game plays more like an open-world visual novel, preserving the action for suspect brawls, car chases, and shootouts.

L.A. Noire’s strongest suit is the negotiations. Depending on the evidence Cole finds, they can help him identify multiple suspect and their motives. Rockstar implemented facial expressions and body gestures for players to spot a lie. Studying the clues will help Cole find contradictions in a witness’s testimony.

What’s great about this gameplay is that it leads to multiple outcomes and initiative actions. Instead of chasing a possible suspect, you could immediately arrest the person based on the evidence Cole presented or the testimonies he doubted.

The game is playable on Windows 10 with Intel Dual Core support and requires a Rockstar account. GOG does have L.A. Noire: Complete Edition on their Dreamlist for game preservation. Since 2024, the petition has risen to over 5,500 votes to have an offline DRM installer available.

3. Return of the Obra Dinn

If you grew up playing Myst and enjoy older graphics, Return of the Obra Dinn is for you. You play as the Inspector of the Honorable East India Company in the 1800s. Instead of solving murders or chasing a criminal mastermind, the Inspector examines and deduces the cause of death for those aboard the Obra Dinn.

Creator Lucas Pope went with the black-and-white aesthetics in a 3D space that gives it that wonderful 1980s charm. It also plays the noir detective style as you are alone with only a pocketwatch and a catalogue from the surgeon Henry Evans. And the atmosphere sends chills from every corner you search, which could surprise you with a death waiting. Return of the Obra Dinn is the most hardware-friendly on the list, for it can work on Windows 7 with older Intel i5 processors.

2. Detroit: Become Human

Quantic Dream set the stage for interactive cinema when they released Heavy Rain for the PS3. While it suffered some technical issues with real-time reaction and quick time events, it became well-known for risking multiple narratives by swapping perspectives and continuing story lines when a protagonist dies.

Then, in 2018, the developers perfected the interactive mechanics in Detroit: Become Human. It follows Heavy Rain’s narrative and mechanics with the improvements of the PS4. It was later ported and optimized on Steam in 2020. Players are responsible for three protagonists instead of four to view their perspective on the artificial consciousness rising in 2038.

The leading character, Connor, is an RK800 android prototype part of the Detroit City Police Department. His gameplay combines Heavy Rain’s of Detective Shelby and Norman Jayden. The player assists Detective Lieutenant Hank Anderson with hostage situations and various investigations. He will even conduct forensic analysis through his eye scanners.

Detroit: Become Human is a must-play sci-fi thriller that still holds relevance to the detective gaming genre to this day. Windows 10 owners are happy that they can still play this Quantic Dream masterpiece on an i5 2300 processor.

1. Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

For those searching for a detective game outside the visual novel and traditional point-and-clicks, look no further than Disco Elysium: The Final Cut. This RPG has expanded on how the genre can be played. The world is a fictional post-apocalypse that blends 20th-century technology, 1970s aesthetics, and the effects of World War II. Players take the role of Lieutenant Harrier Du Bois, who’s destined to fall into multiple paths of a man of justice.

Unlike the previous picks, Disco Elysium offers endless replayability through its game mechanics that can affect reality. Harry’s investigations can change the course of politics, individuals, and himself. The Thought Cabinet keeps track of potential risks and their current status. They are affected based on the player’s choices, and not all of them will be found in a single playthrough.

Disco Elysium also has a D&D-like system using Skills to overcome various obstacles, including interrogations. Active Checks will test the player if their ability score is lower than the difficulty, and Passive Checks will allow players bypass the challenge. No NPC plays the same way, which enhances the storytelling. Because of game studio ZA/UM’s innovations, this detective game won four Game Awards in 2019, with “Fresh Indie” being the most honorable. And despite its complex detective mechanics, Windows 7 can run the game.