Sep 30, 2025

Casebook 1899: The Leipzig Murders Review

Rabiya Rizwan

In an era where modern graphics are the norm for good standards, we are seeing a rise in many pixelized games lately. If you happened to be fond of old-school detective games back in the early 2000s, Casebook 1899: The Leipzig Murders will make you feel nostalgic in a great way. It does a good job at revitalizing a genre in the industry which was almost forgotten.

In our Casebook 1899: The Leipzig Murders review, we delve deep into its gameplay mechanics and narrative design to show you how it contributes to the mystery genre.

For more information about the game, check out the Steam page.

The art style of the game immediately captured my attention. The game is set up in 19th-century Germany, which is a promising setting for a mystery game, considering the turmoil and unrest in society during that era. Not to mention the experience feels even more authentic when all characters are fully voice-acted in the German language.

The game also features a handful of intriguing characters whom you will learn more about as you progress through the cases. You may make the wrong assumptions about them, or they may come across as weird, but that isn’t nearly enough to decide if they could really take a life. There is much more to them after all, which you need to uncover.

The gameplay is fairly simple. During the first case, you start off at the Police Station to get familiar with the basics, which the game does well at explaining. The first case feels easier, actually, but this difficulty is gradually increased as you become sharper at solving cases.

Your job is then to visit the scene of the crime and take note of anything interesting. Some of them may even stand out to you without searching too deeply, while at times you may overlook things that are lost within pixels. So the game emphasises you being thorough to uncover all clues to reach the truth. There are also some challenging puzzles you need to solve, but you can choose to skip them if you wish.

As you investigate, you will get new “notes” if you stumble on something interesting. You may even get them while talking to the people interested. Not everything you talk about will be important, but it still adds some depth to the case or may even provide you with some comic relief.

You can also consult your notebook while talking to notable individuals to ask about something they may know. Once you have gathered them all, you can combine them to reach new conclusions. You are a detective after all, so you have to use your best deduction skills to uncover who is responsible.

You will then get to make decisions on a case. There is some freedom here, but to reach the correct truth, you need to select the ones that make the most sense. This is determined by everything you have learned, so the entire case will come full circle. The old lady that you are telling the story to listens to your story of the case and then tells you what she thinks.

As you keep solving the cases, you are left with a gnawing feeling that something feels missing, but the game doesn’t leave you hanging here. The final case of the game will satisfy all your amiss thoughts about previous cases, and the plot twists near the end are gripping and unexpected.

Overall, Casebook 1899 is highly recommended if you are someone who loves old-school Sherlock Holmes games. If you are missing a good point-and-click classic with a touch of suspense, plot twists, and mystery, you will love this one.

Developer: Gregor Muller

Country of Origin: Germany

Publisher: Homo Narrans Studio

Release Date: September 4, 2025 (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Linux)

This review is based on a copy of the game provided by the developer. The PC version of the game was played for this review of Casebook 1899: The Leipzig Murders (Steam).

Thank you for reading our review of Casebook 1899. If you are playing the game, you can check out the complete walkthrough here.

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