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Memory Auction Inquest

Solve a murder by bidding on stolen memories at a black market and cross-checking witnesses who each rewrite their own past.

24% of Detective Cyberpunk games found an audience, yet few came out lately. 9 of 45 judged games reached 1,000 reviews, and 21 came out in the last three years.

What it feels like

You feel like a sharp, broke detective catching a lie in a story that sounds almost right.

The core loop

  • Bid: Spend limited credits on memory lots at the auction, judging each from a short preview.
  • Replay: Step through a memory scene and tag details such as objects, timestamps and voices.
  • Cross-check: Lay memories side by side and mark where accounts of the same moment disagree.
  • Accuse: Commit to a theory, and watch the case and the city react to your choice.

One sitting

One sitting is one auction night: bid on a few memories, replay them, and file a verdict. It fits in under an hour and ends with a clear result.

What sets it apart

  • You build the case by spotting contradictions yourself, so the game never tells you which tool to use next, unlike Nobody Wants to Die.
  • Verdicts carry lasting consequences in later cases, which answers the wish for choices that add up.
  • Memory replays are short, self-contained pixel scenes, so there are no long walks or repeated puzzles as in Tales of the Neon Sea.

The first playable

One auction screen with three memories of the same crime, each replayable in a short scene. Add a board where you link contradictions and a single accusation at the end.

Scope

  • Three memory scenes of one murder
  • Contradiction board with simple linking
  • One verdict screen
  • Placeholder text and sound
  • Four to six cases of rising difficulty
  • Auction budget and a simple reputation system
  • Fully edited English script
  • Save and a case selector for replay

Art

Low-resolution pixel art with a neon palette on dark backgrounds, with memory scenes using a glitchy color shift. A lit auction hall and a glowing memory capsule give a clear capsule image.

Risks

  • Detective play can collapse into following prompts, which reviewers of close hits criticized. Never highlight the answer. Let players make wrong accusations and see the consequences.
  • Heavy text and weak writing can sink an otherwise good-looking game. Keep dialogue short, show contradictions in scenes, and pay for an editor before launch.
  • Mystery and investigation lean toward the misses, so the pitch can read as generic. Lead the store page with the memory auction hook and pixel noir look, not the word mystery.

Price

$10 to $20: Games in this band found an audience far more often than cheaper ones, and a case-based game of a few hours fits it.

Detective Cyberpunk games that found an audience

The other idea

Neon Tide Coroner

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