Crimesight is a social deduction game released on Steam on April 4, 2022, developed and published by Konami. Players assume the role of up to 4 AI based on characters from the Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Sherlock, Watson, Irene, and Moriarty. Gameplay centers around a "murder simulation", with six people trapped in a house during a blizzard serving as "pawns" that can be controlled by anyone. Sherlock and Watson win by deducing who among the pawns are the killer and their target and keeping the target alive until rescue arrives, while Moriarty and Irene win by successfully guiding the killer to carry out the deed.
London, 2075, a time where serious crimes can be predicted and prevented, thanks to an analytical system developed using data harvested online. The result: a 90% decrease in the global crime rate. Until, that is, the system predicts a crime that could irrevocably plunge the world into chaos. This alarming discovery leaves the system's architects little choice but to act, pouring their resources into developing an AI whose sole purpose is to keep this apocalyptic crime from happening. They name this AI "Sherlock", after the legendary detective from classic literature. Upon investigating a number of crimes, Sherlock reaches a shocking conclusion. Lurking at the center of this conspiracy like a spider in its web is a renegade AI that rivals even Sherlock's genius; Moriarty.
Crimesight's servers shut down on May 1, 2023.
Tropes:
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: The six pawns are named Agatha, Berkeley, Catherine, Dorothy, Ellery, and Freeman. The first letters of their names are prominently displayed in several places, making it quite a bit easier to track their movements by letter rather than full name.
- Animal Motifs: Sherlock is associated with owls, Watson with wolves, Irene with hawks, and Moriarty with spiders (and butterflies to a lesser extent).
- Apologetic Attacker: If Agatha succeeds at a murder, she will say, "Sorry, no hard feelings, 'kay?"
- Badass Finger Snap: Moriarty does this Once an Episode when he orders the villain to kill, either successfully or to be stopped by Sherlock.
- Camera Abuse: If the villain successfully murders the target, the cutscene portrays it by having the camera adopt the target's point-of-view, followed by the villain attacking the camera and breaking the lens.
- Chess Motifs: There's a number of them, with Sherlock and Moriarty's struggle being likened to a chess game, the controlled characters being referred to as pawns, and Sherlock interacting with a chessboard when selecting a game mode.
- Closed Circle: The six pawns are trapped inside each manor due to a raging snowstorm outside.
- Crossover: In June 2022, there was an event where the typical invading wolf could be replaced by the traitor from Project Winter.
- Gamer Chick: Catherine is described as being top-ranked in online FPS games.
- I Know You Know I Know: A primary theme of the gameplay. Between uncertainty of the villain's and target's identities and the fact that Moriarty can override Sherlock's commands, there is often a chance for bluffs and trick plays.
- Improvised Weapon: All of the villain's potential weapons are things you might find around a house, such as a kitchen knife, statuette, or trophy.
- Lights Off, Somebody Dies: One possible option for Moriarty, who can sabotage fuse boxes to turn off the lights. Causing a power outage temporarily reduces the view range of witnesses to exclusively their own tile. While the power is out, being in the same room (but different tile) as a witness will not protect the target.
- Made of Iron: Pawns can be chewed on by a wolf, hacked by the axe-wielding traitor from Project Winter, or go without food for three days straight. Once in critical state (from two negative afflictions), they can't get any worse, and they can only die if the villain attacks them.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the cutscene where Moriarty gives his villain the final command to murder, that pawn's eyes glow red with black sclera.
- Shout-Out: Quite a few things that Sherlock and Moriarty say are quotes or near-quotes of things they said in the original literature.
- Slasher Smile: Once the villainous pawn is outed, they are shown in portraits and the newspaper with a disturbingly evil grin.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Sherlock wears them, and there's scarcely anyone smarter than Sherlock Holmes. Since this Sherlock is an AI, he obviously has no need for vision correction.
- Smug Smiler: In games where his side wins, Moriarty manifests behind the villain to flash a victorious smirk.
- Teen Genius: While his exact age is not given, Ellery is described as a "caring and energetic boy" who just happens to have a doctorate in physics.
- Trapped-with-Monster Plot: Each game involves one villain, one target, and four witnesses trapped inside a building together. While only one pawn is in any real danger, the trope is otherwise played to form.
