Free Detective Games on Steam
Steam currently has 3,499 Detective games available to download and play. Explore our list of the best free games ranked by popularity and ratings. Data for this list is calculated from reviews and player counts reported directly by Steam and will be updated in real-time. Free Detective game rankings were last updated on 4/30/2026.
Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:
- Best detective games on Steam
- Best detective Steam Deck games
- Best detective Steam games for Mac OS
- Best detective Linux games on Steam
- Free Steam games
- Most played Steam games
- Best rated Steam games
1. GeoGuessr Steam Edition
Explore the world with GeoGuessr Steam Edition! Compete against others, climb divisions, and prove your geography skills. Travel to stunning locations, analyze clues, and make your best guess. Quickplay Duels is unlimited Free-to-play, Competitive Duels is subject to payment/subscription.
GeoGuessr Steam Edition holds the #1 spot for "best free Detective game on Steam" with a Player Score of 67. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 25,513 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 17,279 positive reviews and 8,234 negative reviews — making it "Mixed" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
2. The Red Pearls Of Borneo
A detective noir puzzle deduction game. Explore a non-linear timeline as a clairvoyant investigator in 1941 Borneo. Jump between time and locations to uncover motives and discover what truly happened in the Goodwill tobacco plantation that fateful night on the eve of the WW2 Japanese invasion.
The Red Pearls Of Borneo has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #2 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,164 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,152 positive reviews and 12 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, there is no confirmed information regarding Steam Deck support for this game.
| Release Date | 3/27/2026 |
| Developer | Bushmonkey Games |
| Publisher | Bushmonkey Games |
| Steam App Id | 4488860 |
3. Fear Surrounds
Fear Surrounds is a horror-tinged take on the werewolf-style social subterfuge genre, where two evil spirits hide within a group of players and attempt to sabotage and murder them.
Fear Surrounds has achieved a Player Score of 84, placing it in the #3 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 10,840 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 9,302 positive reviews and 1,538 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, there is no confirmed information regarding Steam Deck support for this game.
| Release Date | 10/20/2021 |
| Developer | SaltyEgg Studio |
| Publisher | Yooreka Studio |
| Steam App Id | 1526490 |
4. Cube Escape: Paradox
The tenth Cube Escape follows the story of detective Dale Vandermeer who finds himself trapped in two different universes and needs to escape. Cube Escape: Paradox will be released together with the accompanying Paradox: A Rusty Lake Film.
Cube Escape: Paradox has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #4 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 11,715 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 11,369 positive reviews and 346 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Cube Escape: Paradox on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 9/20/2018 |
| Franchise | Rusty Lake |
| Developer | Rusty Lake |
| Publisher | Rusty Lake |
| Steam App Id | 909080 |
5. Buy a Croquette!
March 2012, Nagano. The brave and clever high school girl, Chio Aozora, is facing a major crisis: she doesn’t have enough money to buy a croquette! Navigate through the streets and alleys of Nagano, interact with a variety of characters, solve complex puzzles, collect 380 yen, and buy a croquette!
Buy a Croquette! has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #5 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 7,422 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 7,332 positive reviews and 90 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Buy a Croquette! on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 4/27/2024 |
| Developer | 越青 |
| Publisher | Eternal Dream |
| Steam App Id | 2167960 |
6. Police Chief Simulator: Prologue - Early Days
Free introduction to the full Police Chief Simulator game takes you to Winston Springs Police Station! Handle incoming reports, renovate and expand the station, solve cases, and fight crime!
Police Chief Simulator: Prologue - Early Days has achieved a Player Score of 78, placing it in the #6 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 263 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 221 positive reviews and 42 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Police Chief Simulator: Prologue - Early Days on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 4/20/2026 |
| Franchise | Perfect Circle Team S.A. |
| Developer | Perfect Circle Team S.A. |
| Publisher | Perfect Circle Team S.A. |
| Steam App Id | 4224800 |
8. Adventure Escape Mysteries
Play a story-driven room escape game with unique puzzles enjoyed by tens of millions of players. Solve mysteries, puzzle through escape rooms, and find the clue that will crack the case in a critically acclaimed puzzle adventure game!
Adventure Escape Mysteries has achieved a Player Score of 82, placing it in the #8 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,106 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 962 positive reviews and 144 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Adventure Escape Mysteries on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 5/5/2020 |
| Developer | Haiku Games Co |
| Publisher | Haiku Games Co |
| Steam App Id | 1141020 |
9. Life Makeover
Explore Life Makeover: Unleash your style, dye outfits, and design freely. Dive into unlimited dress-up, build your dream home - all for free.
Life Makeover has achieved a Player Score of 80, placing it in the #9 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,565 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,307 positive reviews and 258 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Life Makeover on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 11/15/2023 |
| Developer | Archosaur Games |
| Publisher | Archosaur Games |
| Steam App Id | 2626940 |
10. Operation: Tango - Friend Pass
Download the Friend Pass and play for free with a friend who owns the full Operation: Tango game. It takes two to save the world, but it only takes one to pay for it.
Operation: Tango - Friend Pass has achieved a Player Score of 82, placing it in the #10 spot for the best free Detective games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,223 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,909 positive reviews and 314 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Operation: Tango - Friend Pass on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 8/28/2020 |
| Developer | Clever Plays |
| Publisher | Clever Plays |
| Steam App Id | 1377150 |
More Free Detective Games
Explore even more rankings for the 100 best free Detective games available on Steam.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,569 | 5/8/2025 | 67 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 1,653 | 3/27/2026 | 93 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 291 | 10/20/2021 | 84 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 251 | 9/20/2018 | 94 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 175 | 4/27/2024 | 95 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 156 | 4/20/2026 | 78 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 155 | 7/28/2025 | 66 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 142 | 5/5/2020 | 82 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 124 | 11/15/2023 | 80 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 119 | 8/28/2020 | 82 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 83 | 11/24/2022 | 85 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 58 | 4/4/2024 | 91 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 58 | 2/16/2021 | 87 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 49 | 9/30/2022 | 82 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 47 | 10/15/2024 | 44 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 36 | 4/27/2016 | 58 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 30 | 10/12/2019 | 89 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 26 | 10/10/2019 | 87 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 26 | 7/23/2020 | 84 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 26 | 12/31/2025 | 91 | Free | Steam Charts |
Soures & References
Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Player counts and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 30). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 30). GeoGuessr Steam Edition on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, May 2). The Red Pearls Of Borneo on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 3). Fear Surrounds on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 25). Cube Escape: Paradox on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 3). Buy a Croquette! on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, May 1). Police Chief Simulator: Prologue - Early Days on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 28). Sherlock: Hidden Object & Match-3 Mystery on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, May 3). Adventure Escape Mysteries on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 3). Life Makeover on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2026, April 25). Operation: Tango - Friend Pass on Steam. Steam Store.