Some evidence doesn’t just hide — it burns. And only the right words can bring it back.
BANJIHA GAMES, the acclaimed South Korean studio behind Seoul?2033 and FAKEBOOK, has partnered with publisher Sandyfloor to officially announce Cold Case — a text?based detective adventure built entirely around digital forensics, reconstructed truth, and the quiet, gripping work of uncovering what others wanted erased. It’s heading to Steam in the first half of 2027.
The Premise — What Burns Never Truly Vanishes
The story opens with a devastating fire at the home of Inspector Kimball — a veteran investigator who carried the files on eight unsolved cases right to his front door. When the flames died down, the physical records were gone — but the digital fragments survived. As the investigator assigned to pick up the pieces, your job is to recover what remains, piece together the evidence, and answer two questions:
- What really happened in those eight cases?
- And what killed Inspector Kimball?
There are no shootouts, no car chases, no fists to throw. Just words, clues, and your own power of deduction.
How You Play — Every Word Is a Key
Cold Case rethinks the detective genre by making text itself your primary tool. The gameplay loop is elegant, immersive, and entirely unique:
- Search by keyword — Type specific terms into your digital forensic system to restore burnt, incomplete files. Enter the right word, and the missing text fragments reappear. Guess wrong, and the trail stays dark.
- Rebuild the record — As statements, reports, and notes piece together, the story of each case takes shape. Every recovered fragment might reveal another keyword — and another layer of the truth.
- Restore the visuals — Clues aren’t only in writing. Recovered text unlocks damaged photographs, revealing visual details that change how you read the evidence.
- Answer the Chief — Periodically, you’ll face direct questions from your superior. You must dig through what you’ve uncovered and quote or reference the actual text to prove your conclusions. No multiple choice — your own reasoning is the only correct answer.
Eight Cases, One Larger Truth
The game features eight distinct cold cases to solve — each with its own victims, suspects, and tangled history. But as you work through them, you’ll begin to see connections. The cases aren’t isolated — they’re threads in a single, dangerous web that leads straight to the late Inspector Kimball himself.
It’s a structure that rewards careful reading and pattern recognition — ideal for players who love games like Return of the Obra Dinn, Tacoma, or What Remains of Edith Finch, but with a system entirely its own.
From the Makers of Seoul?2033 — A Legacy of Text?Driven Storytelling
BANJIHA GAMES has built a reputation for crafting text?heavy, narrative?rich experiences that respect the player’s intelligence:
- Seoul?2033 — a text?based survival thriller that won three awards including Best Indie Game at the 2019 Google Play Indie Game Festival
- FAKEBOOK — a mystery played out through a simulated social media interface, proving the studio’s knack for turning digital spaces into storytelling tools
Cold Case takes that philosophy forward — applying years of text?crafting expertise to a forensic detective framework where clarity, precision, and attention to detail are your greatest weapons.
Release & Platform Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Developer | BANJIHA GAMES |
| Publisher | Sandyfloor |
| Platform | PC — Steam (Windows & macOS) |
| Release Window | First half of 2027 |
| Steam Store Page | [store.steampowered.com/app/4942330/Cold_Case](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4942330/Cold_Case) |
| Languages | English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified & Traditional Chinese |
| Pricing | To be announced |
Why Cold Case Stands Out
In a gaming landscape often dominated by explosions and spectacle, Cold Case is a bold reminder that the most powerful mysteries are found in the quiet spaces between sentences. It doesn’t hand you answers — it teaches you to hunt for them. It doesn’t rush you — it asks you to read carefully, think clearly, and respect the evidence.
If you’ve ever wanted a detective game where the real investigation happens in your head, not on your trigger finger — this one’s for you.
The files are damaged. The truth is waiting. All you have to do is type the right words.
Find out more on Cold Case
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