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Broken Minds

Broken Minds Game Cover
63%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, music
Most mentioned negative aspects:graphics, gameplay
87% User Score Based on 23 reviews

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Broken Minds Game Cover

About

Broken Minds is a single player puzzle game with horror, mystery and thriller themes. It was developed by LockedOn and was released on May 28, 2018. It received positive reviews from players.

A psychological murder mystery set in 90s Japan.

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Broken Minds screenshot
Broken Minds screenshot
Broken Minds screenshot
Broken Minds screenshot
Broken Minds screenshot
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87%Audience ScoreBased on 23 reviews
story11 positive mentions
grinding2 negative mentions
  • Unique and engaging story with psychological depth, blending mystery, dark humor, and fractured character perspectives.
  • Distinctive and appealing art style combined with a fitting moody soundtrack that enhances atmosphere.
  • Multiple endings and branching paths encourage replayability and reward players who pay close attention to narrative details and logic puzzles.
  • Writing quality is inconsistent, with grammatical issues, awkward dialogue, and occasional lack of original or compelling content.
  • Logic-based minigames can be overly rigid, difficult, and sometimes frustrating, potentially hindering progression.
  • Gameplay and technical presentation feel limited, resembling an interactive e-book with constrained controls and outdated visual formatting.

  • story

    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of the game is a dark, psychological murder mystery set in 1990s Japan, praised for its rich atmosphere, multiple perspectives, and player-driven branching narratives with several endings that deepen character understanding. While many find it engaging, unique, and emotionally intuitive, some feel it is somewhat underdeveloped, lacking in substance or a satisfying conclusion, suggesting it may serve as setup for future installments. Overall, its blend of noir, existential themes, and complex, experimental storytelling is its strongest and most compelling aspect.

    • “Broken Minds is a dark, unconventional visual novel developed and published by LockedOn that leans heavily into psychological tension, fragmented storytelling, and player-driven interpretation.”
    • “The inclusion of multiple endings gives the story a sense of weight, as it becomes clear that understanding the characters — not just the mystery — is central to reaching satisfying resolutions.”
    • “Conversations with members of the Yamagata Private Detective Agency form the backbone of the story, and these interactions are filled with strange logic, shifting motivations, and moments where emotional intuition matters just as much as rational deduction.”
    • “Still, the story and writing feel a little undercooked; this definitely feels like a setup to a more interesting sequel, so I am looking forward to that.”
    • “This story feels like it was written by a recently punished preteen, and this is their revenge on their oppressive parents.”
    • “For a story-based game, this lacks substance.”

  • music

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is praised for its unique, moody, and introspective soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere without overshadowing dialogue, creating a mysterious and charming experience. Players find it fitting as background music for puzzle-solving and appreciate its distinct style and emotional impact.

    • “The soundtrack, composed specifically for the game, leans into moody, introspective themes that heighten tension without overwhelming the dialogue.”
    • “Music often fades into the background during key conversations, allowing emotional beats to land naturally, then resurfaces during moments of unease or revelation.”
    • “The graphics, music, and story all work together to create a mysterious, unique, and wonderful atmosphere.”

  • graphics

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics feature a distinctive and stylized 2D art style that stands out within the visual novel genre, often praised for its cool, quirky, and engaging visuals reminiscent of Gorillaz. This unique aesthetic, combined with atmospheric music, effectively creates a mysterious and enjoyable experience, despite some critiques focused more on writing than visuals. Overall, the art style is a major draw and a highlight of the game.

    • “Visually, the game adopts a stylized 2D aesthetic that fits comfortably within visual novel conventions while occasionally stretching them.”
    • “The graphics, music, and story all work together to create a mysterious, unique, and wonderful atmosphere.”
    • “The art style is awesome, with both myself and others likening it to a style similar to Gorillaz.”
    • “The graphics adopt a stylized 2D aesthetic that fits within visual novel conventions but sometimes feels limiting.”
    • “The art style is the main attraction, but overall graphics may not appeal to everyone.”
    • “There are occasional unexplained references and strange character motivations that affect the visual storytelling.”

  • gameplay

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay primarily involves reading through dialogue and solving logic and reading comprehension puzzles, with limited interactivity beyond clicking through text. Some users hoped for more engaging detective-style gameplay, but the game mostly focuses on puzzle-solving without additional mechanics. Overall, the gameplay is simple and heavily centered on narrative progression.

    • “The gameplay consists of logic and reading comprehension puzzles, and you can't skip to the next part without completing them.”
    • “Some parts of the gameplay allow you to turn on an easy mode in the most complicated logic mini-game, which is based on searching for logical fallacies in arguments.”
    • “I was expecting the reading to be broken up by point-and-click detective-style gameplay similar to Phoenix Wright.”
    • “As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature much in the way of notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
    • “Some parts of gameplay are present, but you can turn on an easy mode in the most complicated logic mini-game, which is based on searching for logical fallacies in arguments.”
    • “To be honest, I was expecting the reading to be broken up by point-and-click detective-style gameplay in a similar vein to Phoenix Wright.”

  • emotional

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game delivers a uniquely emotional experience by emphasizing vulnerability, confusion, and emotional unease over traditional detective control, creating a personal and disorienting mystery. Interactions are driven by shifting motivations and emotional intuition, highlighting fractured minds and unreliable perspectives. The subtle use of music enhances emotional beats, deepening the immersive and unsettling atmosphere.

    • “Rather than casting the player as a detective solving a crime from a position of control, the game flips expectations by centering the experience on vulnerability, confusion, and emotional unease, making the mystery feel personal and disorienting in ways that set it apart from more traditional genre entries.”
    • “Conversations with members of the Yamagata private detective agency form the backbone of the story, and these interactions are filled with strange logic, shifting motivations, and moments where emotional intuition matters just as much as rational deduction.”
    • “In several key moments, the game challenges players to follow abstract lines of reasoning or emotional logic, reinforcing the sense that this is a story about fractured minds and unreliable perspectives rather than clean, procedural investigation.”

  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's humor mostly succeeds, blending dark and noir-inspired comedic elements with existential themes. However, its tone may not appeal to those who prefer more serious or straightforward narratives.

    • “Whenever the game tries to be funny, it mostly lands; and whenever it tries to be impressive, it mostly succeeds as well, but your mileage may vary if you prefer plots that take themselves just a tad bit more serious.”
    • “The story frequently veers into uncomfortable territory, blending noir-inspired mystery with existential dread, dark humor, and moments of deliberate ambiguity.”

  • atmosphere

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is praised for its seamless blend of audio design, graphics, music, and story, creating a mysterious and captivating experience.

    • “Audio design plays a subtle but important role in reinforcing atmosphere.”
    • “The graphics, music, and story all work together to create a mysterious, unique, and wonderful atmosphere.”

  • grinding

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in this game is considered tedious, likened to slowly clicking through a novel rather than smoothly reading it, with navigation adding to the time commitment. Even the skip function doesn't fully alleviate the sense of repetitiveness, making the overall experience feel drawn out without offering notably fresh endings.

    • “Visual novels/e-books are tedious at best... imagine the best novel you ever read, be that Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or 2001: A Space Odyssey or Twilight (if you have terrible taste in literature), but then translate that to a format where the words dribble out and you have to click your mouse every time you want to read the next sentence, instead of just turning the pages.”
    • “Even with the skip function, it takes a bit of time for a playthrough since you still have to navigate through the rooms, etc., so it felt kind of tedious after a while and it didn't feel like the endings offered something surprisingly new for me.”

  • replayability

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability is a key element that significantly enhances the overall gaming experience, encouraging repeated playthroughs and prolonged engagement.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Broken Minds is a puzzle game with horror, mystery and thriller themes.

Broken Minds is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

Broken Minds was released on May 28, 2018.

Broken Minds was developed by LockedOn.

Broken Minds has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked Broken Minds for its story but disliked it for its graphics.

Broken Minds is a single player game.

Similar games include The Zodiac Trial, PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo, Lamplight City, Tokyo Dark, Yet Another Killing Game and others.