Obsidian Moon
A downloadable game for Windows
🕵️ Welcome, detective.
A series of ritualistic murders is shaking Obsidian City and as the bodies pile up, the dark truth remains elusive—will you uncover it before it's too late?
Here is an Alpha Demo 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 (on release)
Obsidian Moon is a text-based detective adventure-simulator that puts you in the shoes of a 1930s homicide detective: you’ll follow leads, analyze evidence, question persons of interest, utilize era-appropriate forensic capabilities and make choices that will shape the investigation -and test your sanity..
- 10 intricate murder cases that interconnect into a larger plot involving a sinister cult that aims to resurrect an ancient dark entity.
- Optional 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.
- Detective tools & abilities - Inspect clues, conduct surveillance, or even use a fully equipped 1930s forensics lab.
- Multiple investigative options - Each detective has their own investigative approach. Surveil suspects, ask around for leads, dig into criminal records, or use your magnum to extract a confession (seriously, don't do this)
- Impactful choices - Your conduct counts. Build cases through methodical evidence collection, burn time and money on risky leads, use costly surveillance operations and questionable tactics to get what you want. Put your sanity at risk, or don't - its your choice.
- Genre-bending gameplay - A fusion of card-based mechanics (e.g. Stacklands, Cultist Simulator), economy elements (e.g. Papers, Please) and classic Point & Click adventure puzzle-solving.
- Three game modes - From story mode to a hardcore permadeath detective challenge.
- Noir Mode - Switch to a classic black & white graphics mode for a more immersive experience.
“…when the shadows devour the moon, SHE will rise again”
📌 Current state of the game
This early (alpha) 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
Download
Install instructions
- Place the zip file to a folder of your preference
- Extract the zip file
- Click on the executable
Development log
- 🚨 Demo v0.1.40 (and other updates!) 🚨3 days ago
Comments
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Hi ! I'm fond of detective stories and games and I'll be happy to test your game :) ! Would it be possible to get a Linux build ?
Hello! We will try to accommodate your request. We have not yet tested a linux build, so it might take a while. It would definitely help the case if there was adequate demand for it.
Cool game! I especially liked the innovative investigation mechanics which made me feel like I was a detective.
I was unclear from the story whether I was Sam Carter or his rookie partner? Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention. Also I was expecting more red herrings and not to have it be such a cut and dry case. Still, it was a good level of challenge to figure out which clues to combine and what investigative techniques to use on which clues.
The time factor I found somewhat annoying to constantly pause the clock and make sure it wasn't running. It did make me feel pressure to solve things quickly which adds realism.
Overall I think this is a really good start! The writing, the art, the overall story definitely provide a strong noir atmosphere, and it provided a good level of challenge to keep me engaged.
Thank you very much for your comments! We are so glad your overall experience seems to be positive, and we will certainly look into making the time mechanic more engaging!
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!
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!