Flatfoots and Fools

Continuing on from last week, John and Andrew dive into the four expansions to the Rise of the Golden Idol. These juicy cases provide about the base game again worth of cases, with lots of head scratchers and a good variety of puzzle types. We talk about our favorites, which bits we didn’t like, and the limits of the UI. Spoiler zone: 6:55 to 41:53 Game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app...

We are back to the classics, with The Rise of the Golden Idol base game. Andrew and John dive into this sequel, talking about what’s new, what’s the same, and where our tastes differ. This deduction classic offers a heap of new cases, characters, and deaths to unravel. We really enjoy this one, and think you should try the demo if you have any level of interest for it! Spoiler zone: 14:25 to 38:20...

Today we delve into the case of The Incident at Galley House. This 2026 game from William Rous and Evil Trout is the voice acted and graphical interface adaptation of William Rous’ 2025 Type Help. This mystery has you uncovering the events surrounding a mansion where everyone dies, and you have to piece together what happened scene by scene. Type Help was the first timeline mystery, and this is th...

Today John and Andrew buckle up for a double header of Archive Dives: “A Hand with Many Fingers” and “Another Night at the Archive.” Both games are all about combing through archives to solve a mystery, but have different systems, and different ways of presenting the problem. We compare and contrast the games both before and after spoilers. Spoiler zone: 18:05 - 25:55 A Hand with Many Fingers: htt...

Today we take a break to reflect on our first full year of podcasting, with a focus on everything besides the games. What went well, what we want for the future, and some random revelations. Discuss this episode or any other detective games on our Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/CMxrckaqN4⁠ Podcast edited by Peter Crevier Podcast art by Lalita Gross https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitagross Music by At...

John and Andrew change things up with a reverse detective game today! After committing a crime, we have to cover our tracks in Overboard!, from Inkle studios. This time loop game has you running around a ship, ferritin out other passengers secrets and using those to escape your crime. We also discuss the GDC talk given by Jon Ingold after the release of the game, where he talks about detective gam...

Andrew and John take a trip to the south west Pacific in 1941 with The Red Pearls of Borneo, from Bushmonkey Games. We talk about this timeline mystery in a superb historical setting on a plantation in Borneo 1941. You uncover the timeline of what occurred on that fateful day, with local and world events converging. Two additional stories let you follow the characters to the next part of their sto...

Today Andrew and John get cozy with Little Problems, the 2025 game from Posh Cat Studios. This cozy detective game utilizes the Golden Idol formula of dioramas with mad-libs style sections to fill in, but offers some interesting variations and innovation that caught our attention. We also chat a bit about cozy crime in general after the spoiler zone. Spoiler zone: 8:00 - 18:15 Game on steam: https...

Andrew and John lay out their best de-duck-tions with Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping, Happy Broccoli's 2025 sequel to The Secret Salami. The second game continues the misadventures of Eugene McQuacklin into another series of crimes to be investigated. More wacky characters populate this bite sized adventure, which hides some serious deducting behind the cute cast. Spoiler zone: 8:00 - 2...

Jeremy Johnston and Robin Ward of The Roottrees are Dead , and soon The Incident at Galley House join Andrew and John for our first developer Interview. We discuss their work on the Itch version of Roottrees, the Steam version, and what they are doing next! General Roottree Discussion 0:00- 57:40 Spoiler Roottree Discussion 57:40 - 1:23:50 The Incident at Galley House talk 1:23:50 - 1:34:40 The in...

Today Andrew and John make their way up and town Tangle Tower, SFB’s 2019 game. This is the second game in the Detective Grimoire series, featuring P&C Adventure style investigation with deduction challenges. SFB continues to deliver top notch character and music, making this world a pleasure to play in. After Recording, The Mermaid Mask’s release date was confirmed as July 16th 2026 Adventure...

Put on your Hideous Tie, because this week it’s time for Disco Elysium - The Final Cut! John and Andrew describe our journeys through Revachol in 2019’s entry for one of the best written games of all time. This RPG where your stats have a dialog with is probably the best known detective themed game of the last decade. We talk about the game itself, what we loved, and what was bleak. We also touch...

Whip out your rail guides and sit back in your seats of choice as Andrew and John are here for the ride of Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders. The first of the Modern Poirot series, this cell shaded story closely follows the book of the same name. The deduction mechanics are light, but do a solid job of bringing you down the solution paths. Amusing note, R.U.S.E. was re-listed on Steam between the...

Clear out your corkboards and get a fresh roll of string! Today Andrew and John dive into The Roottrees are Dead, and Roottreemania. With limited search tools, you must reconstruct generations of a family tree and uncover the secrets behind the sweet facade. We both really like this one, with John staying up way too late because he couldn’t put it down.  Spoiler zone between 11:43 and 24:15 Game o...

Today we dive into Utter a Name, an investigation of a Victorian manor full of ghosts and bodies. In the Obra Dinn lineage, this is probably the most direct descendent, being almost a 2D version. After the game, we chat a bit about why there are so few games like this. Spoiler zone between 7:10 and 14:55 Game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3213430/Utter_a_Name/ Discuss this episode o...

Today, John and Andrew wade into the bog with 2014’s Detective Grimoire. This Detective - Point & Click Adventure hybrid has become the first of a series two release games, and one upcoming. In addition to some of the best music in detective games, this charming adventure’s wacky cast is a delight to investigate.  Spoiler zone between 9:38 and 25:50 Game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.co...

This week we return to the foundations of the modern Detective Game Renaissance, with Andrew and John going through The Return of the Obra Dinn. It’s difficult to overstate the influence of Lucas Pope’s 2018 game on players and developers. It’s visually striking, and leaves the player to discover everything about this twisted tale for themselves. Seven and a half years on, this detecting experienc...

This week we continue Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All! Andrew and John and Lynx return to discuss the lows of case 3, the highs and quirks of case 4, and the how the title of the game becomes pivotal. We come out positive on the game overall, and Andrew finally understands more about the timeline and why Phoenix was being a pill to Edgeworth. Spoiler zone starts at the beginning, an...

This week we dive back into the Ace Attorney Series, with the second game Justice for All! Andrew and John are joined by Lynx for a two part discussion on this Mystery Adventure. This mixture of Investigation and courtroom drama keeps pulling from a deep mystery roots while delivering courtroom theatrics that would make Hamilton Burger’s head spin. We talk about the game in general, as well as cas...

John and Andrew dive deep into Her Story, what True Crime might look like as a game. From 2015, this game about sorting through interview clips to understand the disappearance of a husband has depth and secrets that we loved digging through. It’s one of the most inspirational games in the detective space, yet it only takes up one session. Spoiler zone is from 12:00 to 33:12, and I really, really r...

Today, Andrew and John Follow the Meaning! We tour through this surreal Point and Click, coming away with different feelings, and wondering where the remaining cats were. Afterward we have a more general discussion, so come back after the spoiler zone on this one. It was recorded a bit ago, so the overlap with the New Year discussion was unintentional. Spoiler zone from 5:52 to 14:13 Game on Steam...

In this Episode, Andrew and John talk about their favorite entry in the Poirot series so far: Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express. Developed by Microids Lyon, this game takes the classic story, puts it in a modern but throwback setting, and adds the ability to play a past case instead of just hearing it described during the story. We have varied feelings on the parts of the game added p...

In this episode, Andrew and John discuss John’s thoughts on The Case of the Golden Idol Base game, and then our thoughts on the DLC’s. We chat about both the Spider of Lanka and the Lemurian Vampire, as well as a bit of thoughts on Case as a whole. We enjoyed this game, and look forward to playing and discussing Color Gray Games’ projects! Major Plot spoilers are between 16:15 and 32:17 Game and D...

Andrew and John discuss the first half year of the Podcast. What were our favorite games that we covered, what did we regret not getting to? What are we looking forward to in 2026? Discuss this episode or any other detective games on our Discord: https://discord.gg/CMxrckaqN4 Podcast edited by Peter CrevierPodcast art by Lalita Gross https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitagross Music by Atonic Music ht...

In this episode, Andrew and John talk about the second Darkside Detective game, A Fumble in the Dark. This is a Point And Click Adventure from Spooky Doorway, and is a great sequel to their previous Darkside Detective Game. Sadly, this one is mostly spoilers, but we recommend this for any P&C Adventure fans, and especially if you enjoyed the last one from Spooky Doorway. Please note this episo...