Epic Games Store is giving away a paranormal game called “The Darkside Detective” – a hilarious point-and-click adventure that mixes spooky mysteries with non-stop laughs. In this game, you enter a town where ghosts ride trains, zombies run the mafia, and Santa battles Krampus in a mall.
You play as Detective Francis McQueen, a tough, trench-coat-wearing cop with a sharp tongue and sharper instincts. He’s the boss of the underfunded Darkside Division, which handles all the paranormal junk no one else wants. His sidekick? Officer Patrick Dooley, a goofy rookie who’s equal parts helpful and hopeless. Their buddy-cop banter is gold—McQueen snaps orders while Dooley trips over ghosts. It’s like Lethal Weapon meets Scooby-Doo, but with demons.
Twin Lakes City
The game is set in Twin Lakes City—population 75,666, elevation 13. Sounds normal, right? Wrong. This foggy town hides a “Darkside,” a ghostly mirror world full of tentacles, cultists, and cursed socks. Regular folks ignore the horrors, but McQueen and Dooley dive right in. From haunted libraries to zombie riots, every corner buzzes with satire on horror tropes and pop culture nods.
Playing is Simple and Fun
No complicated controls here. Just point, click, and solve! Search rooms for clues, talk to suspects (or ghosts), and use items like tin-foil hats or plungers in clever ways. Puzzles are logical—no moon logic frustration. You can flip between the real world and Darkside for extra hints. Each case lasts 20-45 minutes, perfect for quick sessions. It’s beginner-friendly but rewarding for veterans of classics like Monkey Island.
Nine Bizarre Cases to Crack
- Malice in Wonderland: Hunt a missing kid and a sneaky babysitter.
- Tome Alone: Calm stormy ghosts in a library.
- Disorient Express: Stop a haunted subway train.
- Police Farce: Battle gremlins at the precinct.
- Loch Mess: Find Dooley and tame a lake monster.
- Don of the Dead: End a zombie uprising.
- Buy Hard: Save Santa from Krampus (Christmas special!).
- Polterguys: Exorcise a VHS ghost.
- Baits Motel: Free a genie from a tourist trap.
Each pokes fun at movies like Die Hard or Dawn of the Dead.
Conclusion
Born from an 8-hour game jam, it exploded into a series. Sequel A Fumble in the Dark (2021) adds nine longer cases via Kickstarter success. Bundles, sales, and free Epic giveaways keep it alive. Play on PC, Switch, consoles, even mobile.
In conclusion, The Darkside Detective is pure pixelated joy. Short, smart, and side-splitting, it’s the perfect intro to point-and-clicks or a cozy revisit.
Claim the Giveaway
In order to claim the giveaway game, you can visit Epic Games store webpage https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/the-darkside-detective-02fd5a, login to your Epic Games account and then click on the Get button. You will have to use Epic Games Launcher in order to download and install it.