Broken Minds for Windows

Solve your own arson case

Broken Minds is a thrilling adventure video game wherein you must get to the bottom of your own strange case. Developed by LockedOn, this interesting visual novel features a psychological murder mystery plot and a unique puzzle system that will have you paying close attention to the story. 

With six different endings and various explorable environments, Broken Minds can take a while to complete depending on how fast of a reader and puzzle-solver you are. However, while the minigames can be difficult for most players, there’s an Easy Mode you can enable.

Something’s afoot

Broken Minds takes place in ‘90s Japan. One day, a young 20-something woman named Noa Karada suddenly finds her and her house to be the victims of arson. The suspect is a stranger in a rabbit mask. She decides that only the Yamagata Private Detective Agency would be able to help her. However, she soon regrets this decision when—instead of doing their jobs right—they start acting strange themselves.

What’s unique about this game is that instead of playing as the detectives who have to solve the case, you control the victim herself—who has to actually argue with the detectives about the possible solutions to the case. Basically, you must sniff out the logical fallacies in their reasonings. You’ll need to explore the map, discover clues, and figure out answers in the Wheel of Fallacies minigame for this.

However, while it’s a unique gameplay mechanic, it’s fairly difficult to solve—hence the game’s Easy Mode. Additionally, there are multiple endings and routes but they’re not all that special when compared to each other in the end. What at least elevates the game, though, are its lovely soundtrack and interesting graphics—which is a combination of stylized 2D character sprites and 3D environments. 

A breath of fresh air

All in all, Broken Minds is a nice little VN to dip your toes into if you like detective games and want a little spin on the genre. While it has its failings, there is still some charm to it that at least makes it memorable and a mystery game standout. This is a highly recommended game for those who like visual novels with unique gameplay.