Methods: The Detective Competition on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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One hundred detectives compete against each other in a crime-solving competition.
Methods: The Detective Competition is a indie, comedy and jrpg game
developed by LockedOn Games
and published by LockedOn Games and Erabit.
Released on June 01st 2020 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 2 languages: English and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 604 reviews of which 554 were positive and 50 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 19.50€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Methods: The Detective Competition into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Methods: The Detective Competition through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS: XP
- Processor: 1 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Storage: 2 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: 10.6
- Processor: Apple M1 or Intel Core M
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Storage: 2 GB available space
Linux
- OS: Ubuntu 12.04 or newer
- Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 260 or equivalent
- Storage: 2 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Basically a VN about a mysterious detective contest that consists of 100 chapters, many weird characters, and dozens of mini mysteries. The separation to 100 chapter is a neat way to make it digestible for me who rarely manage to finish a VN. In my opinion, interesting concept that's not executed well enough. The art, the mystery, the writing, the characters, all just feels too shallow or half-baked to me. The premise is obviously not meant to be taken seriously, like Ace Attorney's or Layton's tongue-in-cheekness or Dangan Ronpa's over-the-topness, but it doesn't really work for me and the tone just become confusing and all over the place, But... I finished it. And the funniest part is, it just make me want to play the sequel/prequel that I know improve on everything that I think are half baked. So, well done to the dev, I guess.
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Ughh my head. I can't say if it hurts from having just beat this or the fact that I haven't ventilated my flat in a while, but does the method matter if the result is the same? ...don't answer that, it's rhetorical. Anyway. I don't remember how I found this game. What I do remember is thinking, "wow, this looks... uhh...". Weird art style, bunch of wacky characters. A somewhat intriguing premise. This is probably going to suck. Luckily, I will hate myself forever for having thought about Wuppo like this, so I took my idiotic evaluation as proof that I need to play it. There's security in knowing for a fact that you can't trust yourself. I was, of course, right about that. Does this make me less of an idiot? Step 1: The WHAT The most natural point of comparison would be Danganronpa. Bunch of vibrant characters, a set of murder mysteries, and an overarching meta-mystery. Ironically, putting Methods next to Danganronpa actually showcases how much better Methods is in certain aspects... but more on that later. There isn't a single protagonist. You're going to play as over 10 characters in total, and that doesn't mean you'll just follow them - playing as a character makes you also privy to their thoughts, the way they perceive the world and other characters, and, of course, their investigation methods. And that's what the game is really about. It's in the title...? Step 2: The HOW See, this isn't entirely true. This isn't Danganronpa, where the characters have some weird nigh-supernatural abilities. Their methods just provide clues, but it's still up to their very mundane intellects to connect the dots. And the way they think and talk to each other... Okay, you know how BBC's Sherlock is considered bad because the protagonist is written like a stupid person's idea of a smart person? Essentially a wizard? This isn't the case here. I've seen smart people argue about high concept ideas. And so has the author, evidently. The detectives make mistakes, forget things, miss stuff, reconsider, and make excellent deductions (which you participate in, partially) in ways that are very believable. They feel human. Flawed. Real. Wait, did I say detectives? Step Z: WOH ehT No, that's- look. What even is a detective. If you deal with mysteries, are you a detective? Yes? No? It doesn't matter. There's more to this competition than meets the eye, and then there's even more. I don't want to say anything here, because learning about what's even the scope of what's going on is part of the buildup. You know, the way good mysteries are crafted, there's a certain flow to them? Step 10: Knox' Decalogue Well, Methods takes this flow and twists it into a Moebius strip which it then uses as toilet paper. It is almost awesomely disrespectful to the classic rules of mystery storytelling. But make no mistake: whatever order it builds out of this anarchy is an excellent one. Unfamiliar, but it will still leave you hooked. If you don't know what Knox' Decalogue is, go and read Umineko already let's say that this is like outsider art of mystery fiction. Breaking established rules is bad, unless it's good. And in this case, it's good, even if a little strange at times. Step 772: The Clown Detective And that works, because the characters themselves are strange; but at the same time, they're just "normal" enough to be relatable and easy to understand, and their methods are something that feels possible to replicate. My favourite is Detective 772, who acts like a clown, and his methods involve cracking jokes and doing headstands... but who's also incredibly smart, and deeply philosophical - to the point of incomprehensibly. The one detective who seems inhuman is Red July, who claims to solve crimes by "osmosis". She takes in the scene and... everything just kinda pops into place for her. And even this seemingly ridiculous method feels human, especially once you learn its costs and limitations. Step 3: Submit the Solution If it feels like this review went off the deep end at some point, that's because it has, and that's because the game does the same thing. But it doesn't stop anyone from pressing on. Watching the characters grow and try to outsmart each other is honestly fantastic in a way I didn't know I wanted. In particular, one detective who's established as a bit of a slow and boring fellow ends up pulling off an amazing gambit that... you know what, just read it yourself. Yes. It's really good. It's almost definitely better than you think. And if the visuals are giving you pause, let me just tell you that there's a lot of scene pictures, and these display a lot of cool emotion. It works. And that's all there is to it. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42922988/]My curator page
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Usually, I prefer branching paths or various routes in VNs. Usually, I prefer in-depth interaction in mystery-solving games. Usually, I prefer character designs that are pleasing to look at. Methods has none of those things, yet it's one of the very few visual novels that I've thoroughly enjoyed. The writing is colorful, engaging, funny, and clever. The dialogue is natural. The storytelling and scene-setting are intriguing. All of that added up to my sincerely caring about these characters, their interactions, and their success or failure, as well as my genuine interest in the detective competition and how the story would end. So few VNs hit the mark in their writing--in the "novel" part of "visual novel"--that when one does, as Methods most certainly does, I absolutely appreciate it. The writing and storytelling are so good, in fact, that by about a third of the way through, I realized that the character design was no longer off-putting to me--everyone in this world was endearing to me in their distinctiveness. Another large part of what drew me into Methods was the graphic design, particularly the attractively drawn and nicely animated chapter-title screens. Great use of typography there, too. The jazzy musical score is the cherry on top. I am very glad I played Methods --and honestly, I wish I hadn't waited so long to do so!
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Fun visual novel with enough gameplay. Not all of the mini mysteries make 100% sense, but they are short and make sense within the framework of a competition featuring detective games/puzzles. I really enjoyed the narrative and think that's the highlight of the game. I look forward to playing the prequel. Played on the Steam Deck without issue.
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角色设定>剧情>解谜，如果角色对上电波+不当本格推理游戏玩，就会玩得很愉快。 虽说如此，最后一案玩起来很刺激。 我永远喜欢7哥 喜欢7nell
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Frequently Asked Questions
Methods: The Detective Competition is currently priced at 19.50€ on Steam.
Methods: The Detective Competition is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 19.50€ on Steam.
Methods: The Detective Competition received 554 positive votes out of a total of 604 achieving a rating of 8.57.
😎
Methods: The Detective Competition was developed by LockedOn Games and published by LockedOn Games and Erabit.
Methods: The Detective Competition is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Methods: The Detective Competition is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Methods: The Detective Competition is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Methods: The Detective Competition is a single-player game.
There are 2 DLCs available for Methods: The Detective Competition. Explore additional content available for Methods: The Detective Competition on Steam.
Methods: The Detective Competition does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Methods: The Detective Competition does not support Steam Remote Play.
Methods: The Detective Competition is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Methods: The Detective Competition.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 07 June 2025 00:38 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 08 June 2025 13:51 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2025 12:24 |
| Steam reviews | 14 June 2025 14:06 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Methods: The Detective Competition, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Methods: The Detective Competition
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Methods: The Detective Competition concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Methods: The Detective Competition compatibility
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Online players
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Developer
LockedOn Games
Publisher
LockedOn Games,
Erabit
Release
01 Jun 2020
Platforms