Play Hokkaidou Rensa Satsujin:The Portopia Serial Murder Case Online

Hokkaidou Rensa Satsujin: The Portopia Serial Murder Case is one of those old-school NES detective games where you actually have to think like a detective. No hand-holding here—you’re typing commands into a parser, trying to figure out the right words to progress. "Examine body"? "Call witness"? Half the challenge is guessing what the game even wants you to say.

You’ve got a sidekick who chimes in with hints (sometimes helpful, sometimes not), and the whole thing plays out like an interactive mystery novel. The cool part? There are multiple ways to screw up—accuse the wrong person, and your boss chews you out before sending you back to re-open the case. No saves, no music, just you, a notepad, and a phone you can dial random numbers into (some actually work).

It’s janky by modern standards, but there’s something weirdly satisfying about finally stumbling onto the right command after twenty wrong guesses. Just don’t expect it to go easy on you.