Top-rated visual novel on Steam gets Western release

No objections here

Murders on the Yangtze River, a top-rated visual novel from Chinese developer OMEGames, is out now on Steam, with a fresh twist on Ace Attorny-style deduction. Murders on the Yangtze River originally launched in China in January 2024, where it quickly racked up over 6,000 “overwhelmingly positive” reviews on Steam and sold 150,000 copies – not bad for the studio’s first step outside making escape rooms.

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Murders on the Yangtze River follows John Shen, a law student-turned-amateur detective after he finds his brother dead in a college dorm. Shen discounts the coroner’s accidental death ruling after a fortuitious coincidence – a crime novel he happened to be reading at the time that describes a murder scene with details that match his brother’s death exactly.

The next challenge is proving a connection between the author and his brother’s death. Off Shen goes to Hunan China, recreated in gorgeous brush-painted illustrations, to find the truth, and that’s where you come in.

Like in Capcom’s Ace Attorney games, you’ll divide your time between gathering clues and speaking with witnesses across six cases, before – hopefully – getting the facts right and uncovering the truths behind everyone’s lies. “Hopefully,” because unlike Ace Attorney, you can get it wrong. Murders on the Yangtze River has multiple endings, including ones where you accidentally – or “accidentally” – ruin the lives of innocent people with your mistakes.

Murders on the Yangtze River is out now on Steam, and you can try the free demo if you want to get an idea of what’s in store.

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