Years ago, I bought a round of Hunt A Killer for my mom; the mystery-in-a-box subscription service delivered meticulously crafted items to inspire would-be sleuths. My mom was a big fan of that series for a long time until HAK was acquired and the quality nose-dived. But back in the good ole days, I did a few boxes with her, and the best part about them was being able to pick up and look at “real” clues, like a program for an art gallery opening or a locked wooden box. Mini Murder Mysteries recreates that same vibe in a bite-sized video game.
For each of nine cases in Mini Murder Mysteries, players review about a dozen pieces of evidence and read four suspect statements. The title is point-and-click, so the main gameplay is when players select words that have been “discovered” (easily highlighted from clues and interviews) and match them into the right places of a sentence to solve the case. This feels reminiscent of The Case of the Golden Idol, but decidedly easier.
If you’re looking for a mystery amuse bouche, you might enjoy the 90 minute playtime of Mini Murder Mysteries.
Clues Abound
There is no introduction plot to Mini Murder Mysteries; players dive right into the bite-sized conflicts.
The best part of Mini Murder Mysteries is the range of clues. There is artwork for each bit of evidence, but the contents are helpfully transcribed into writing. I enjoyed connecting the dots between co-workers’ emails, a poker table photo, and a vintage weapon. Some clues are more involved, like cross-examining fingerprints or translating hieroglyphics or piecing together a torn-up note. As a lover of mystery games, I am always on the lookout for games that actually ask the player to pay attention, and I liked that developer BUNKWORKS understood that core element of the genre.
Mini Murder Mysteries reminds me of those logic problem books I always see near bookstore checkouts, but better executed. The straightforward visuals are charming, helped along by a loop of subtle jazz music. The protagonist (whose name is never introduced) embodies the stereotypes of a detective by wearing a fedora and trench coat. Snazzy Case Closed! wrap-up screens provide color commentary after successfully solving a mystery.
I appreciated that the game had three optional hints per case, along with a chance to briefly reveal the final answer (with no punishment). When the player requests hint help, the detective thinks aloud with ideas. This thoughtfulness around hints goes a long way, especially when there are some missteps.
Something Afoot
While I enjoyed Mini Murder Mysteries overall, there were a couple places where the game stumbled for me.
While impressively stylish, the user interface in Mini Murder Mysteries could use a little work. For example, each item that can be viewed appears as a question mark. Once examined, it turns into a small picture of the item. In comparison, there are four people to speak to each time, but their speech bubble cards don’t turn into their portraits once interviewed. As a result, I occasionally had to click back-and-forth between multiple speakers trying to find the interviewer I wanted to speak to, and it made the case overview screen feel a little less immersive.
I played this game on Steam Deck, and the built-in controls require using the right thumb pad to replicate a mouse. Unfortunately, this meant that I could not drag some of the word clues all the way over from the left screen to the right hand of the screen. I often had to maneuver my fingers at weird angles to try and drag-and-drop, and eventually I resorted to simply dragging a clue into the wrong place so that way I could then move it slightly closer to where it needed to be.
This technical struggle augmented a content frustration I had; sometimes the solutions felt very fussy. In a few cases, multiple words could be used to describe the same situation, but only one specific iteration would be accepted as correct. It’s one thing to be wrong about the gist of the case, and it’s another to simply not describe it the same specific way as the developer; thus, I really appreciated the “reveal answer” option so I didn’t spend hours force-clicking (not fun) through different words!
In the review version I played, I did notice a few typos. It’s not the end of the world by any means, but in visual novel games, it’s always a pet peeve of mine since these games depend so much on the written word. The writing overall works well enough, even if some of the mysteries felt a little underbaked. The protagonist not having a name or really any discernible personality qualities is another example of where a little more oomph in the overall writing could have gone a long way. Even if the logic here was a fun challenge, the heart-and-soul is missing compared to a title like Duck Detective.
Cozy In Name Only
Mini Murder Mysteries is billed as a “cozy whodunnit,” and I suppose it’s “cozy” in that there is zero time or action urgency. However, nothing else qualifies this game as “cozy” in my book.
When I think about cozy games, I think about vibes — soft music, gorgeous art, affectionate friends, and just being somewhere safe. Mini Murder Mysteries does not deliver on these hallmarks of the genre, especially as compared to another murder mystery interactive novel like last year’s Best Served Cold.
To be fair, “cozy games” are a relatively recent phenomenon with a definition that changes depending on whom you ask. There is nothing wrong with Mini Murder Mysteries‘ stylistic approach, but cozy fans specifically looking for cozy will be disappointed.
A Sherlock Appetizer
The mysteries themselves are fun. Over the course of nine cases, the mysteries did get a bit more complex as the game went on, but not by much; don’t expect Ace Attorney levels of growth. I played the entire game in one sitting. I enjoyed my time with it, especially the heightened stakes of the final few cases. I can imagine it being a lot of fun on mobile for the size and drag-and-drop play.
When I started Mini Murder Mysteries, I was surprised that there was no intro plot, and so I clicked around on the menu screen for context. I found an info button that led to a screen highlighting developer BUNKWORKS’ two other games: first, a 2025 “comedy corporate thriller” called The Biggleboss Incidident, and second, the upcoming (TBD) The Murder of Ava Munroe featuring the same unnamed detective. This clue helped me understanding the greater mystery of this short-and-sweet little game.
If I consider Mini Murder Mysteries as sort of an extended demo of a longer murder mystery to come, then I think it totally makes sense as a sample platter. As long as you don’t go in expecting a full entree here, you’ll have a good time, especially for its $4.99 price point.
Score: 7.5/10
Mini Murder Mysteries, developed and self-published by BUNKWORKS, released on June 23, 2026, for PC, Mac, and iOS. MSRP: $4.99. Version reviewed: PC (Steam Deck).
Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher.
Amanda Tien (she/her or they) loves video games where she can pet dogs, solve mysteries, punch bad guys, play as a cool lady, and/or have a good cry. She started writing with The Punished Backlog in 2020 and became an Editor in 2022. Amanda also does a lot of the site's graphic designs and podcast editing. Amanda's work has been published in Mothership, Unwinnable Monthly, Poets.org, Salt Hill Journal, and more. She holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Pittsburgh. Learn more about her writing, visual art, graphic design, and marketing work at www.amandatien.com.
