A downloadable game for Windows

📢 Join the Alpha Test!

Your feedback will help us finetune the game! Join our Alpha Test or drop your comments below. The first 20 Alpha Testers will receive free keys for the final release and all testers will be included in the credits

Want to join? 

Fill out this Google Form: https://shorturl.at/9Kl46


🕵️ Welcome, detective. 

Obsidian is an once thriving city where ancient powers are at play. A series of strange murders is shaking the city and as the bodies pile up, the dark truth remains elusive—will you uncover it before it's too late?

We’re launching an Alpha Test for Obsidian Moon, a text-based detective adventure-simulator that puts you in the shoes of a 1930s homicide detective. This is your chance to play early, provide feedback, and help us shape the future of the game. Are you ready to put your detective skills to the test?


🕵️ About the Game

Obsidian Moon challenges you to think and act like a real homicide detective. With minimal hand-holding, you’ll need to follow leads, analyze evidence, and make tough choices that will shape the fate of the city - and your sanity.

  • Solve ~10 intricate murder cases that interconnect into a larger, sinister plot, including side-cases that reveal the backstories of the main characters.
  • A haunting mystery - Psychological and chthonic horror inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and the mythologies of the Mediterranean Sea cultures.
  • Use detective tools & abilities - inspect clues, conduct surveillance, or even use a fully equipped 1930s forensics lab. And yes, you can shoot too…
  • Multiple Investigative Options - Cases can be solved in different ways and the same applies for individual puzzles.
  • Impactful Choices - Time, budget, moral and investigative choices can impact the course of the investigation – and your sanity. Different aspects of the game lore will be revealed and alternate solutions and endings will be available depending on your choices.
  • Genre-bending gameplay - Mixes card-based mechanics (like Stacklands, Cultist Simulator), roguelite economy elements (like Papers, Please), and classic Point & Click adventure-style puzzle-solving.
  • Three game modes—From Story Mode to a hardcore permadeath detective challenge.


📌 Current state of the game

This early build includes:

✅ Core game mechanics

✅ One murder case (with alternative solutions) to showcase gameplay 

🚧 Placeholder AI art

🚧 limited balancing

🚧 Rough edges - needs polishing and refinement

Updated 11 days ago
Published 29 days ago
StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows
Rating
Rated 4.3 out of 5 stars
(3 total ratings)
AuthorsLost Cabinet Games, l a r i
GenreAdventure, Card Game
Made withUnity, Adobe Photoshop
TagsAtmospheric, Detective, Horror, Lovecraftian Horror, Mystery, Narrative, Noir, Psychological Horror
Average sessionAbout a half-hour
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Mouse
AccessibilitySubtitles
LinksDiscord, Twitter/X, facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

Download

Download
Obsidian Moon Alpha.zip 187 MB

Install instructions

- Place the zip file to a folder of your preference

- Extract the zip file

- Click on the executable

Comments

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Really good game, made easier when I found the manual in settings. Found it tricky to know what I had already done and not done as even though the journal is colour-coded it was hard to decipher which was which especially when the case took multiple days. It might be good to have a gameplay option where the player writes their own deductions from the clues or maybe remove the endless 'this did....nothing' as it filled up the pages so much that it was hard to find what was relevant. I played on a laptop with a trackpad and when I pressed Q+E separately or together the zoom function didn't work so I couldn't read some of the clues or the journal entries in yellow. A couple of clues kept freezing and they wouldn't let me open or combine them. Every time I tried to put a clue in the case note folder slots it would bounce out until I did it a 3rd time where it would stay in the slot. Other than those teething problems, love it and can't wait for the full release especially as it felt like I just got the hang of it and then it was over haha, great job pals!

Great feedback! We are very glad you enjoyed it despite the issues this early version has. Many many thanks!

Has a lot of potential! It was confusing as to whether one should be sending a statement or evidence to the lab, inspect it or do something else with it. Lost a lot of time unnecessarily trying to see what worked. Would suggest to remove unnecessary/irrelevant actions to minimise confusion.A tutorial at the start would prove very helpful; it might have been shown earlier but I didn't know we could combine clues until towards the end.

Thank you for the super feedback! Indeed, a tutorial seems to be needed as well as for the assists that you  mentioned, so well spotted! The idea is that the game will eliminate redundant or illogical actions in STORY and NORMAL mode, but give no such assists in the HARD mode.

I see. I played in Normal mode actually. But I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and deduction. Thanks!

Great to hear you enjoyed this early version! thank you!

This sample definitely makes you want more! It'll be so cool to see all the elements come together in the final game. The core mechanics are solid. There is some learning curve to it that other people have brought up. Maybe if there was something relatively low stakes to start off the story so players get their feet wet before diving into a full investigation...? But on the other hand, it does motivate you to do multiple play-throughs the way it is set up now. I like that there are multiple avenues for uncovering clues and establishing connections. You don't lean on all the available options in the first investigation (surveillance didn't seem relevant in many circumstances, even if you attempt it), so it'll be very interesting to see how those factor in. It kind of reminds me of word or number puzzles where you get that dopamine hit when you finally unlock a new part of the overall picture. So it definitely feels like it's all heading in the right direction!

Thank you so much for your comments! We are glad that this early version left such a positive aftertaste! Since you mentioned it, there IS a solution that involves Surveillance (but I will not spoil it for you! :) ) 

Now I have to go back and find it!! lol

hehe!

Obsidian Moon looks absolutely incredible! The blend of deep detective work, psychological horror, and meaningful choices is exactly what the genre needs. Can’t wait to dive into the mysteries of Obsidian and uncover its dark secrets

Thank you for your kind words!

If you want to play a good detective game that you don't just spam all the options until you win,but need to consider every decision so you solve the case in time Obsidian Moon is your game!
Also huge positive that has multiple ways to solve the case or to find the clue!
Gem!

You are so kind! This is exactly what we are aiming for!

(+1)

Quite good feeling of the detective.
Though I am not big fan of detective games, it has a good feeling of being an actual detective. Definitely needs a tutorial of somehow Because you get lost to the whole process.
Graphics is a plus here along with the typewriting mechanic.

Thank you for your review and recommendations!