Welcome to our weekend segment, where we showcase recent or upcoming Japanese indie games that share a specific theme. This week, we’re putting our detective hats on and unraveling the secrets behind some mystery titles, because everyone loves a good mystery.
Sofia in Exchange for Lies
Taking a page out of M. Night Shyamalan’s movie “Split” is Sofia in Exchange for Lies, a visual novel that revolves around Sofia, a girl with dissociative identity disorder (DID). Sofia is the prime suspect in a case involving the murder of a presidential candidate. As the psychiatrist Philip, you must remotely interrogate Sofia’s five personalities (Isabella, Amy, Olivia, Florence, and Sofia herself) while she remains within the confines of her holding cell.
Each of the personalities reacts differently to your talks and interrogations. When you ask questions with keywords from her testimonies (which are saved on a keyword map), Sofia’s heartbeat will race, causing her to switch personalities. Only by talking to all of them can you piece together her motives and uncover the truth behind the crime.
In addition to the interrogations, you can occasionally give Sofia gifts that can affect her disposition. Just like with questions, each personality will react differently to your presents and may reveal more about themselves. Sofia in Exchange for Lies features multiple endings, with each one determining the fate of Sofia’s five personalities.
Developed by MUTAN and storynote, Sofia in Exhange for Lies is available on Windows (Steam).
Log.in
Whereas the previous game put you on the right side of the law, Log.in by Little Hyou has you playing from the perspective of a kidnapper. Using a dated 2000s computer, you must find a missing girl, the victim of your own crime, by searching through images, videos, and files. and files.
In what appears to be an amnesia-like setting, your objectives are to figure out the girl’s identity, why you kidnapped her, and why you’re trying to kill her.
Log.in has five endings and one secret ending, all of which are influenced by your actions. It is available for Windows (Steam).
Pricolage -IDOLIZED-
Continuing the trend of mystery titles where you play as a morally questionable protagonist, Pricolage -IDOLIZED- puts you in the shoes of a K-pop fan who is cyberstalking the missing idol Sena. After Sena goes missing at the height of her career, you take matters into your own hands by routinely checking an Instagram-like media platform for traces of her.
While the To-Do List serves as a guide for your cyber sleuthing, there’s no stopping you from checking every text, video, and image post as you hunt for Sena’s whereabouts. The posts range from simple, heartfelt messages to raunchy, unauthorized images of Sena. Using clues and key search words that you find, you may end up finding what happened to Sena or uncovering something more sinister in one of the game’s multiple endings.
Developed by Hijiki, Pricolage -IDOLIZED- is available on Windows and macOS (Steam).
Urban Myth Dissolution Center
Things take a turn for the strange in Urban Myth Dissolution Center. Together with the titular institution’s director, Ayumu Meguriya, and its ragtag members, you take on cases of the paranormal kind by collecting evidence, scouring social media posts, and using a little supernatural help of your own.
You play as Azami Fukurai, the newest part-time member of the Urban Myth Dissolution Center. With her special glasses, Azami can see people’s intentions and residual thoughts, making her a top-tier investigator right off the bat.
The game is divided into episodes, with each one focusing on a particular myth. Together with Jasmine, the center’s other part-timer, you investigate paranormal sites (which usually involve crimes) and interrogate bystanders and witnesses. After cross-referencing the evidence with related social media posts and information gathered using Azami’s glasses, you can determine which myth is tied to the case. Once a myth has been identified, Ayumu can use his clairvoyance to unravel the mysteries surrounding the case and solve it.
With its unique pixel art and ridiculously catchy soundtrack, Urban Myth Dissolution Center quickly became one of Japan’s most popular indies in 2025. According to producer Makoto Hayashi, the title was made with “people who don’t play games, and people who’ve stopped playing games” in mind, allowing more players to experience its unique brand of weird.
Developed by Hakababunko, Urban Myth Dissolution Center is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Windows (Steam). A free demo is also available.
Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery!
Wrapping things up is Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery!, another mystery title with a supernatural twist. After your father dies, you become the new landlord of an apartment building. Amongst several human tenants, you must gather evidence and root out disguised Yokai that are living on your property.
There are two ways to discover which tenants are Yokai. The first method is to question them, as they often approach you with complaints, requests, and random small talk. Your conversations can hold vital clues about their or other tenants’ habits and true nature.
The second method has you accessing the building’s security cameras, which are available from the second chapter onward. While placing cameras inside an apartment is illegal, you can still gain vital clues by reviewing the public footage. The yokai won’t reveal their identities easily, however, so you must look closely to find anything strange.
Once you think you’ve found a yokai, you can confront it with the evidence. Simply outing them isn’t enough, as you must also prove that the other tenants are human for them to reveal their true identities. Accusing a human of being a yokai leads others to become more suspicious of each other, and failing to identify the yokai tenant before the night of a new moon leads to a game over.
Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! is divided into chapters, each one with a different season and tenants (including yokai) who replace those who were evicted previously. While there is only one ending, the overarching narrative sees you uncovering why yokai are so keen on infiltrating your apartment building.
Developed by Shadow Glove, Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! is roughly 10 hours long and available on Nintendo Switch and Windows (Steam). A free demo is also available.
Those are five Japanese indie titles that carry deep, often dark surprises. In this age where watching playthroughs and viewing game guides are the norm, we recommend going into these games blind so you can discover their secrets for yourself.
