WEIRD DISCOVERIES

Quirky examples of the genre

PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY

■ Thanks to a bumbling police force that frequently nabs the wrong culprit, Wright ends up having to undertake his own investigations to find evidence to prove his clients’ innocence. The courtroom battles where you strike down the lies in witness’s testimonies are the game’s highlights.

DANGANRONPA

■ In the surreal Danganronpa games, the twisted stuffed bear Monokuma initiates a bizarre killing game where the students he’s imprisoned in an enclosed area are encouraged to murder each other. When a murder occurs, a trial is held. If the culprit is correctly identified, they are executed. If not, they are free to leave, and the others killed. SNATCHER

■ Hideo Kojima’s cult classic cyberpunk detective adventure features some elements that haven’t aged well, such as the creepy option to smell female NPCS. However, its tale of mysterious body-snatching boogeymen can still prompt some intriguing thoughts on ‘the fear of the other’ and offer an early look at Kojima’s love for breaking the fourth wall.

D4: DARK DREAMS DON’T DIE

In SWERY’S silly and surreal title developed to help showcase the Xbox One Kinect’s capabilities, you play as a detective suffering memory loss who has gained the ability to travel back in time by touching ‘mementos’. He uses this power to try and track down his wife’s murderer.

GHOST TRICK

The mystery that you must solve in Ghost Trick is the main character’s own identity and how he met his end. You learn snippets about this mystery as you use protagonist Sissel’s newfound ghostly powers to prevent other people’s murders, rewinding time and possessing and animating objects to avert their ghastly fates.