Earlier this week, Nippon Ichi Software announced detective simulation game Tantei Bokumetsu for Nintendo Switch in Japan. If you’ve been curious about this new tale of mystery will be about, look no further!

The developer has released the game’s official opening movie and a metric ton of new details about its story. In particular, players will walk in the shoes of Wato Houjou – an incompetent detective who has to work with 13 other master investigators, in order to uncover the true identity of a mysterious murderer they are trapped with!

Check it all out below (translation courtesy of Gematsu):

• Title: Tantei Bokumetsu
• Genre: Detective Simulation Adventure
• Platforms: PlayStation 4, Switch
• Release Date: May 27, 2021 (Japan)
• Price: 6,980 yen (7,678 yen after tax)
• Director: Munenori Hirose
• Planning and Scenario: Kento Jouhana
• Character Designer: Mio Katsumata
• CERO: D
• Official Website: nippon1.jp

■ About

Every character is a detective! Tantei Bokumetsu is a detective simulation adventure game in which 14 detectives confront a serial killer. Each character is a member of the “Detective Alliance,” an organization made up of top detectives. A range of detectives with unique personalities will appear, from the “Incompetent Detective” protagonist, to the “Armored Detective” clad in armor, “Literary Detective” with an excellent memory and love for books, “Netherworld Detective” who specializes in the occult, and more.

This case cannot be solved by one detective alone. During the game, investigation parts in which the detectives investigate will occur. However, the player’s avatar—the Incompetent Detective—does not have a special skill. So the key is for the player to give detailed instructions to their reliable detective colleagues and have them carry out the investigation on your behalf.

■ Story

“Yatsuzakikou” is a serial killer who has killed more than 100 people and thrown the country into chaos.

To put an end to his murder spree, the finest members of the “Detective Alliance,” an organization made up of only the top detectives, launch a joint investigation.

Around the same time, an ordinary boys’ high school student named Wato Houjou, who longs to become a detective, arrives at a remote island where the Detective Alliance is headquartered under the guidance of a mysterious man named “The Sage Detective.”

On the island, Wato could not hide his excitement at meeting the Detective Alliance he so admired. However, when the detectives suspected him to be Yatsuzakikou, he was at a loss for words.

Yatsuzakikou had already infiltrated the island, and many detectives have been murdered.

To clear his name, Wato and the Detective Alliance leader, the “Ideal Detective,” launch an investigation.

14 detectives remain alive. And Yatsuzakikou is among them.

■ Setting and Keywords

Detective Alliance

A nationally recognized organization made up of 100 detectives. It takes on cases regardless of person, business, police, or government, dispatching detectives deemed qualified for each case and solving a vast number of cases every day. When a case is solved, the detective that led the case is paid a reward and the “Detective Ranking” fluctuates.

Detective Order

The ranking of the detectives in the Detective Alliance. Ranks are determined by each detective’s achievements, and the higher their rank, the more difficult the cases they can be assigned. This hierarchy is inevitable in a group of egoists such as detectives. It exists to avoid conflicts of opinion in situations where detectives disagree and cannot come to a resolution, enabling the opinion of the higher-ranking detective to take precedence unless there is clear evidence supporting the opposing argument.

Morgue Island

An isolated island in the distant sea where the story is set. The members of the Detective Alliance gathered at their headquarters here for a response meeting on the serial killer Yatsuzakikou. However, Yatsuzakikou managed to slip into the Detective Alliance, murdering many of its detectives and staff.

A total of 14 detectives survived on this remote island with no means of communication to the outside world. Survival or death… which outcome awaits the Detective Alliance? The detectives must work together to unravel Yatsuzakikou’s true identity.

Yatsuzakikou’s Traps

Yatsuzakikou has set up traps all over Morgue Island. Both the Detective Alliance headquarters building and the house that the Incompetent Detectives uses as a base for their investigations have been deemed unsafe.

On a remote island with no help from the outside world, the detectives will have to occasionally work together and sometimes question each other to carry out a proper investigation. Smoke out the traitor lurking among the 14 survivors and avoid the worst case scenario.

Yatsuzakikou

“Enterrrrrrrtainnnnnmmeeennnnnttttttt!”

An insane murderer and self-proclaimed “entertainer.” Starting with the real-time broadcast of the tragic death of two men, they are said to have killed more than 100 people in half a year.

They always simultaneously kill two people and leave some form of the Yatsuzakikou icon in the victim’s belongings as a calling card. Their series of crimes is known as the “Yatsuzakikou Murders.”

■ Characters

The Incompetent Detective (voiced by Kei Kobayashi)

“I’ll overturn this tragedy… with my own two hands!”

• Detective Rank: 100th
• Special Skill: Domestic Help
• Major Cases Solved: None

Real name: Wato Houjou. A boys’ high school student who wants to become a detective to solve the mystery of the kidnapping he was involved in as a child.

While working part-time at a detective agency, he was accepted as a member of the detective organization known as the Detective Alliance, and gets wrapped up in an case on Morgue Island.

Although his desire to become a detective is without question, his scholarly and physical abilities are ordinary across the board, and the other detectives have labeled him “The Incompetent Detective.”

The Ideal Detective (voiced by Kaya Okuno)

“Chins up, detectives! The deduction isn’t over yet.”

• Detective Rank: 2nd
• Special Skill: Behavior Prediction
• Major Cases Solved: Attempted Bombing of the Tokyo Government Office Case, Attempted Mass Shooting of Akihabara Case

A mysterious beauty known as the modern day Sherlock Holmes.

The de facto leader of the Detective Alliance, she has prevented numerous difficult cases before they even occurred.

She resembles a girl who was killed in front of an Incompetent Detective as a child, and for some reason calls the Incompetent Detective her “lifesaver” and encourages them to improve.

The Outlaw Detective (voiced by Haruki Ishiya)

“My favorite phrase is ‘world peace’ and my hobby is ‘volunteering.’ Let’s get along.”

• Detective Rank: 4th
• Special Skill: Thinking Like a Criminal
• Major Cases Solved: Shinjuku Rainwalker Case

The most dangerous man in the Detective Alliance, he uses any means necessary to solve a case and commits unjust acts with a smile.

Because he has murdered many people in the past, he is forced to wear a collar-shaped bomb called the “Decapitation Rabbit,” and is normally locked in a special prison.

However, thanks to his excellent deductive skills and ability to think like a criminal, he is permitted a limited amount of freedom by cooperating in the investigations of major crimes.

The Aristocrat Detective (voiced by Karin Oda)

“Ohohohohoho, what a dope. Commoners are awful, so narrow-minded.”

• Detective Rank: 5th
• Special Skill: Aesthetic Sense
• Major Cases Solved: Mona Lisa Alternative Case

A descendant of the world-famous detective company “Pinkerton.”

A highly skilled detective, she has honed her aesthetic sense to determine authenticity since childhood, which is known among the Detective Alliance for its top class accuracy.

She is arrogant towards everyone, especially her rival the Ideal Detective. Although highly capable, she has a tendency to rely on the organization she leads.

The Corporate Drone Detective (voiced by Yuuki Fujino)

“C-c’mon man, cut me slack… I’m still in my twenties, you know? Just barely…”

• Detective Rank: 10th
• Special Skill: Reliable Investigation
• Major Cases Solved: Infinite Night Shift Case

A Japanese man who works as a salaryman during the day and a detective during the night. Deeply sincere and mild-mannered, he always takes others’ needs into consideration.

He has admired detectives for a very long time, and could no longer resist upon learning about the Detective Alliance, so he bowed before his wife and company and was permitted to work as a detective on the side.

While his deductions are not flashy, he aims to be diligent and serious in his reasoning, and between that and his personality, people often say he is barely noticeable.

The Shibuya Detective (voiced by Anzu Suzuki)

“Incompetent-senpai, are your limbs still connected?”

• Detective Rank: 22nd
• Special Skill: Communication Reasoning
• Major Cases Solved: Ikebukuro Ripper Case

A high school student with a profound knowledge of gossip and an information network unique to a high school girl. She specializes in “communication deduction,” in which she formulates her deductions while chatting with others.

Unlike her flashy appearance suggests, she is very caring and quick-witted. She has a sharp tongue when it comes to Incompetent Detectives, but respects etiquette, so she addresses the Incompetent Detectives that are older than her as “senpai” and looks out for them in various ways.

The Netherworld Detective (voiced by Hinata Tadokoro)

“Heh, I get it now. You had them call me after they died, right? That would certainly be possible using the voodoo spirit summoning ritual passed down in Africa.”

• Detective Rank: 7th
• Special Skill: Occult Investigation
• Major Cases Solved: Werewolf Case

The Gourmet Detective (voiced by Akiko Nakagawa)

“I’ve just built up a tolerance to poison thanks to sampling so many ever since my childhood. Though I can’t eat potassium cyanide since it gives me mouth pain.”

• Detective Rank: 9th
• Special Skill: Supertaster
• Major Cases Solved: Sea Turtle Soup Case

The Suffering Detective (voiced by Rina Honizumi)

“It’s not some fantastical power… More like a horrible temperament that makes everyone around me miserable.”

• Detective Rank: 14th
• Special Skill: Temperament of a Great Detective
• Major Cases Solved: Building Six Murder Case

The Literary Detective (voiced by Nanami Yamashita)

“‘They’re all idiots,’ the girl said as she glared at the men in disdain.”

• Detective Rank: 15th
• Special Skill: Visual Memory
• Major Cases Solved: Juujou Family Buried Treasure Case

The Science Detective (voiced by Emiri Katou)

“It’s not a tool! It’s a toolpanion! Please don’t treat my precious toolpanion like a tool!”

• Detective Rank: 20th
• Special Skill: Development of Detective Toolpanions
• Major Cases Solved: VR Murder Case

The Yamato Detective (voiced by Yukari Sakuraba)

“Hey! If a detective forgets how to be sympathetic, that’s it for them!”

• Detective Rank: 25th
• Special Skill: Super Physical Ability
• Major Cases Solved: Southern Cross Kidnapping Case

The Armored Detective (voiced by Shuuta Morishima)

“There is no need to fear. I am wearing the hardest armor ever made, handed down in my family only.”

• Detective Rank: 32nd
• Special Skill: Protection
• Major Cases Solved: Immortal Cyborg Case

The Sage Detective (voiced by Takaaki Uchino)

“For those shining qualities as a detective… I’ll give you 10 points, boy.”

• Detective Rank: Unranked
• Special Skill: Architectural Design
• Major Cases Solved: Building One Murder Case

■ Adventure Parts

During “Adventure Parts,” the story progresses based on your choices. The members of the Detective Alliance gathered at the headquarters on Morgue Island for a response meeting on the Yatsuzakikou Case.

However, the Detective Alliance headquarters is destroyed after an attack by the unidentified Yatsuzakikou, and the detectives are isolated. Investigate leads on the case as you talk with the detectives.

■ Detective Simulation Parts

During “Detective Simulation Parts,” you investigate the case while directing the detectives like pieces on a game board. Investigate suspicious locations on the map, locate any traces left behind by the criminal, and deduce the full story behind the crime. Will you be able to avoid Yatsuzakikou’s traps and solve the masterfully devised mystery?

The detectives on the map will determine their actions on their own. However, you can only “intervene” in and change the actions of detectives whose trust you have earned. Anticipate each detective’s behavior and carry out the investigation with accurate intervention.

—Discovering a detective attempting unnecessary “deduction”…

—Intervene to change their action to “investigate”…

Each detective has stats for “movement,” “deduction,” “verification,” “cooperation,” and “investigation,” as well as different areas of expertise. The Science Detective is weak at investigation, but good at verification; the Armored Detective is weak at deduction, but good in cooperation. An investigation that makes the best use of each detective’s distinctive traits is the key to solving the case.

■ Additional Screenshots