Round-up
The best detective games for iPhone
By Joel Rightler · Updated 2026-10-19
A detective game should make you do the detecting. Plenty of games with "detective" in the title just move you along a story and tell you who did it at the end. The ones below leave at least some of the work to you, and the entries say how much.
What makes it a detective game and not a mystery story
The test used here: does the game ask you to reach a conclusion, or does it hand you one? Games where you name a suspect, make an accusation, or decide what happened are at the top. Games where the plot resolves on its own are further down, and they are still good, just a different thing.
The games
1 of 8
Unread: Phone Detective OURS
What you do: You are sent a murder victim’s recovered phone and solve the case by reading what is on it: messages, photos, voicemails, browser history and a locked vault app.
How a case ends: One accusation across six axes (who, what, when, where, how, why), scored into verdict tiers. You get one shot.
Cost: No upfront price. The tutorial case and the first full case are included and stay yours; every case after those two needs Unread Pro or a $4.99 single-case unlock.
By J&B Creations LLC · iOS and Android
2 of 8
ColdTrace: Cold Case Mystery
What you do: Navigate a stranger’s phone (messages, photos, notes, voicemails), rebuild the timeline, and decide whether the death was really an accident.
How a case ends: Multiple threads to follow toward one answer; no scored accusation step.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Saclic Studio · rated 4.77 from 6,102 ratings · 9+ · updated 2026-10-07 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
3 of 8
Suspects: Mobile Detective
What you do: Stories told through the phones of the characters involved: chat messages, photos, video, voice notes and social posts, released as cases.
How a case ends: You follow a case across days of in-story time and work out who did it; there is no six-axis scoring.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Bonus Round Limited · rated 4.37 from 11,302 ratings · 12+ · updated 2026-09-01 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
4 of 8
Who Is The Killer (Episode I)
What you do: An open-ended investigation puzzle: you question and dig at your own pace rather than following a fixed path.
How a case ends: You name the killer yourself. The listing shows no update since January 2017.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Long Jaunt Ltd · rated 4.17 from 25,289 ratings · 9+ · updated 2017-01-17 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
5 of 8
I Am Innocent
What you do: A detective game with puzzle elements, investigated through in-game calls, a messenger, documents, photographs and some light hacking.
How a case ends: Case-based across a series of murders. The listing shows no update since November 2020.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Long Jaunt Ltd · rated 4.16 from 10,428 ratings · 12+ · updated 2020-11-07 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
6 of 8
Stalkie · Mobile Detective
What you do: A narrative investigation inside a simulated phone: fake apps, hidden data, deleted photos and private conversations to dig through.
How a case ends: Story-driven, following the investigation to its conclusion.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Gregoire Collin · rated 4.55 from 2,888 ratings · 12+ · updated 2026-07-30 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
7 of 8
An Elmwood Trail
What you do: A story-led investigation into the disappearance of 18-year-old Zoey Leonard in the town of Riverstone: interact with people, gather clues and build a trail.
How a case ends: Narrative and choice-driven, played out across chapters rather than a single accusation.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Sparsh Tyagi · rated 4.87 from 263,884 ratings · 9+ · updated 2026-08-26 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
8 of 8
Criminal Case: Hidden Objects
What you do: Hidden-object crime scenes: search hand-drawn locations against the clock, run lab analysis on what you find, interrogate suspects, then make the arrest.
How a case ends: Each case closes with an arrest once the evidence lines up. Energy and star systems pace how fast you can play.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Pretty Simple · rated 4.66 from 35,949 ratings · 17+ · updated 2026-08-17 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
Which one to start with
If you want the deduction itself to be the game, Unread, Who Is The Killer and I Am Innocent all make you commit to an answer. If you want the investigation to carry a story, Suspects and An Elmwood Trail are the strongest. ColdTrace and Stalkie are the other two built inside a simulated phone.
Unread is our own game, which is why it is marked. Every other app here is described from its own App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19; ratings and prices move, so check the listing before relying on them. We take nothing for the recommendations.