Detective of the Dead

Detective of the Dead is an adventure game with cozy cooking, set in the colorful Mexican afterworld Mictlan. As the recently killed detective Alejandro you want to find your killer to save your loved ones.
Your grandma runs a taqueria and helps you. Undercover you prepare great tacos to make suspects talk. With these clues you investigate further and need to solve puzzles and mini-games to progress in your case.
Find out many mysteries of Mictlan! Ultimately your fate is to save the Día de los Muertos. But your decisions lead to several endings in a gripping story about life and death.
Time is running out. You only have time until the Day of the Dead to save the afterworld and your loved ones.

Let’s Taco About It!
Find out which special taco recipes make your customers spill the beans. Then get or buy the new ingredients. Your grandma Lupita knows many things about Mexican food and tacos as well as the afterworld Mictlan.  
Whip up traditional, delicious recipes for your clients… some might be suspects! Besides clues you get paid for a good taco. Use those Calavera coins for buying ingredients, tools and more.

Investigate the Clues
Pursue the gathered clues to uncover the mysteries of the case and get answers to your questions: What does the barkeeper know? Does Frida more than paint? What hides the Royal? Why is this Lucha Libre so friendly? There are many riddles to solve, some involve VIPs you might know. 

Luckily you are not alone on your journey, because always on your side and ready to help is: your companion dog Xolo with many magical abilities. Explore Mictlan also through the eyes of Xolo and use him cleverly to track suspects, get to remote places or find special items.

A new take on being a detective: Things in Mictlan are a bit different than in the world of the living. It's not just these ancient god's powers, that are part of the game, but it all seems a bit surreal and fun. As you might know from Coco, the Disney film, on the Day of the Dead every dead can travel to the world of the living. But what if someone wants to end this, so no one will travel to the living anymore? That would be a disaster for both worlds. The Dead clearly have a problem. And you are their best chance to solve it.

Single Player (a local Co-op mode is planned)

Semi-open 3D world handcrafted full of life (well, dead NPCs)

15 hand-drawn key NPCs for the key case and more for the side quests - all with their unique story.

Top-Down perspective

2 core game-loops: cozy cooking + detective investigation with dialogues and puzzles

ca. 7-10 hours of gameplay with a main quest and lots of side quests.

In-game hint system

Official Currency: Calavera coins

Different endings based on your decisions in the game

Unique soundtrack for each of the levels and scene specific

Authentic Mexican mini-games incl. Piñatas shooting, Lotería (a bit of bingo), Papel picado & more.

Become part of the game with UGC skins and music and your own memories

Release for PC / Steam / Steamdeck (planned also is Nintendo Switch, Playstation and Xbox)

Voice Over in English (German, Spanish & others planned)

Translation into English, German, Spanish, Chinese (more planned)

We support remembering your loved ones: Alejandro is deeply missed in the world of the living. We understand this feeling, and through the game, we provide a space for all players to honor their loved ones. Please get in touch with us, for example, on Discord, to find out more.
For latest updates and exclusives follow us on Kickstarter.