With a quirky art style, great soundtrack, and well-made characters, Danganronpa is a visual novel that has gained such a fanbase that even after years of not having a new game, rereleases, ports, and expanded content continue to be sold and showcased even today. Its murder mystery presentation makes this game such a gem having you solve a case that was done because of the circumstances the story presents, with a black and white bear being said circumstance.
While the game is truly good, you can’t help but feel that you want to do more puzzles, solve more mysteries, or want to try something that can capture the same essence of adventure this game offered. It may not be an exact clone of the 2D sprite classic, but its themes can be felt across a lot of games today, some of which are listed down below. With that in mind, let’s dust that detectives cap, put on some tunes, and get to searching.
It’s worth pointing out that the list you’ll see will be in no particular order, as different people will have different opinions on rankings and that’s perfectly fine. With that said, we’ll be looking at some examples of games that you may deviate to if you find something about the game interesting and want to play something close or loosely similar to it.
15. Saw: The Video Game (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows)
An unorthodox start to this list, Saw is known for being a gory, violent, and eye-popping (sometimes literal) movie. From here, it’s surprising that a video game interpretation of the movie has been done not once, but twice. Where the similarities are, besides the whole mastermind and doll that governs the game, is that both this game and Danganronpa give you that eerie feeling when you start to investigate the scene. Granted, Danganronpa’s more colorful art lessens it by quite a bit, but the dread of what’s inevitable, which is execution is still present and something to keep you on your toes.
14. Root Series (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch)
A mix of adventure and mystery, the Root series serves up a two-game hunt for the truth, both having different premises while being the same overall feel in terms of the end goal. Both explore the themes of solving a murder that appeared and interrogating whoever has or is suspected of being involved in the case, which is Danganronpa in a nutshell. This is geared more towards a purely visual experience than needing mini-games making this a little more laidback in terms of presentation, but still a welcomed addition to murder mystery stories.
13. World’s End Club (iOS, macOS, Windows, Nintendo Switch)
A fun little adventure game was written partly by the creator of Danganronpa. This is more like a casual puzzle game that serves its little fun in knowing the characters as you venture through Japan after an explosion near Tokyo wiped almost everything and everyone out. While the story is linear to a degree, a bit of jumping through various endings is needed to unlock the full truth, making this a much longer playthrough than Danganronpa when you piece everything together. On that note, to those wanting a lighter adventure puzzle game, join the Go-Getters Club in their journey across mystery, truth, and lots of classroom bickering.
12. Steins:Gate (Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android, Xbox 360)
If solving mysteries is what you need, then Steins:Gate will put you in the shoes of that scientific mind (quite literally). While being a VN makes it quite straightforward in terms of gameplay, the story still makes it interesting in that time travel is the name of focus in this mystery game. The only way to learn the truth is to dig deep into the story and choose your actions carefully as you determine what fate you’ll learn.
11. Professor Layton (Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS)
If you love solving puzzles and piecing together the clues, then be a detective with the Professor Layton series. Logic is the name of the game and with a lot of them here, you’re going to use more of it compared to the linear presentation of Danganronpa giving endless hours of fun. Being able to play this on iOS and Android is also a plus as you can take the puzzle-solving rush anytime, anywhere.
10. Death Come True (Windows, macOS, iOS, PlayStation 4, Android, Nintendo Switch)
If you take a movie and give it game elements, Death Come True is definitely a result, in that regard. Like the visual nature of Danganronpa, you make decisions via prompts, allowing you to investigate further and go to a different ending as you go. If Danganronpa tackles solving a mystery that was committed, this interactive game does the opposite, making you solve for a crime you did not commit, creating an interesting narrative to the whole murder mystery genre.
9. Umineko: When They Cry ((Windows, FOMA (Mobile), PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo DS)
While being in the same universe as its prequel game, Higurashi, we move away from an occult, provincial setting into a more complex route spanning through timeframes. Like Danganronpa, the game is linear with its story but unlike it, it’s more focused on the experience of the game, than gameplay. Described as a ‘sound novel’, its strong emphasis on atmosphere makes it unique in the sense that you’re relying more on immersion, making for a trippy experience once you get into it. While it may not be one of the most interactive games you’ll see on this list, the uniqueness of its delivery makes it a good game to pick up after the visual-focused nature of Danganronpa.
8. Corpse Party (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)
If there’s one thing you shouldn’t do, one of them is messing with the afterlife, and that’s the thing you’ll be dealing with when you play this popular survival horror game. Set in an alternate version of the games’ original setting, you’ll need to interact with objects to get closer to the truth, kinda how the investigation portion of Danganronpa works. From here, you’ll need to manage your HP from scary creatures surrounding the ruined school and go through some bad endings when you sidetrack or continue playing by the book to get to a true ending. If anything, the game’s shock value is what gives this eerie feeling that Danganronpa doesn’t show often. Corpse Party has a lot of its bright (or dark) spots to properly create an apples-to-apples comparison so you should try it to know what you may be missing out on, and again, mind the scary creatures trying to kill you.
7. Scribblenauts (Nintendo DS, iOS, Android, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch)
A fun little action puzzle game where you let your imagination run wild by solving specific puzzles in more than one way allowing for a lot more freedom. How this connects to Danganronpa is that you solve your way into the story by picking from a certain group of choices, whereas this game isn’t bound by what the puzzles require and limit unless stated only limiting you to what you can think of. You can use convention or go beyond by thinking of wacky ways to solve the issue. Need to cross a broken bridge? You can use a long plank or a flying dragon, it’s that random at times. Either way, give this game a try should you want to expand to more possibilities of solving puzzles the only way you know how.
6. Among Us (Windows, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
If we talk murder, mystery, and debating against one another, then this is as close to an interactive Danganronpa as it can be. At this point, this games’ strong rise in popularity has made it a classic on its own, and having to actively defend or accuse who did it is a far more immersive experience compared to the visual novel presets of Danganronpa. This doesn’t need a long description, have a go at this game if you haven’t, and pro-tip, use electrical vents.
5. L.A Noire (Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
The best way to be a detective in training is to be exactly that. L.A Noire takes you back to Los Angeles in the 1940s, wherein you interrogate people who are accused of their crimes, and present evidence when you happen to do so. A lot of similarities to Danganronpa given that you do the previously stated evidence presentation during accusations, agreeing or disagreeing with the person’s claims and piecing together the bigger truth. Where the biggest difference lies is in the results of your choice, meaning if you were to be in Danganronpa, you picked wrong and most times immediately lets you know, whereas this game keeps the narrative going and only after you realize your choice that the repercussions start to be known, viewed via a 5-star rating system. This is a game you’d likely try, given that Rockstar Games have always been known to make such high-quality games, like Red Dead Redemption and GTA, and/or you just want to experience being a detective in the early days to smoke that cigar in your office after a hard case.
4. Zero Escape (Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, iOS, Windows)
As an opposite to Danganronpa, Zero Escape’s series is what happens if you take the logic of the game, and flip it to too many other universes and possibilities. I describe this as Danganronpa on hard mode, but it’s still an amazing game nevertheless. Spanning 3 games, the series puts your logic to a very interesting twist in that your progress is determined by solving the puzzles of the locked rooms you’ll be escaping from, and with the VN having many different paths and endings, you are in for one hell of a ride playing this.
3. AI: The Somnium Files (Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Premise-wise, AI: The Somnium Files is similar to Danganronpa’s find the culprit by getting witnesses/peoples claim type of deal, but instead of a courtroom in which you find who did it in a session, this one taps into the investigators’ style of connect-the-dots to learn who the suspect is. Out goes the courtroom executions and in goes the race against time to solve the connection using a twisted form of memory in someone’s head to learn who the killer is before the trail goes cold. If you think the logic in Danganropa is tough, then this game will give you a second opinion.
2. Ace Attorney Series (Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Windows, Wii, iOS, Android, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
This courtroom case file classic is one of the games closely linked by Danganronpa fans as the resemblance is highly uncanny. It presents its evidence like Danganronpa, it also progresses the story like the game too. The biggest thing to note here is that Ace Attorney has been around far longer than Danganronpa did, and also branches off to more games than it, offering more games to those who play the series. Most fans have already known and played this game, so if you have not, grab a suit and take a seat and object your way into the case and its answers to call out the guilty.
1. Exile Election (PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita)
The most similar feeling game to Danganronpa on this list, Exile Election puts you on the spot for calling out people’s lies by seeing their words in a different color compared to the rest of the sentence. The game as a whole can be mistaken as a Danganronpa entry in general for how it’s presented. While there isn’t an execution per se, the one voted out will suffer a fate as horrifying as that. The only downside to this game is that it’s not meant to be shipped and played with English texts and audio, making this a very niche game that, should you play it, will require you to brush up on your Japanese should you wish to understand this game.
