When a biological weapon released in the 1990s hit the atmosphere, 80% of the Eurasian population was wiped out. The areas hit by the after effects become unsuitable for human life and the event is dubbed the Catastrophe. A half decade later, the year is now 2047. Japan has been invaded by bioroids who begin to kill people and taking over their spot in the populous and are dubbed Snatchers. This leads to a team being developed called Anti-Snatchers who must try to solve what the Snatchers are and a means of stopping them. Control Gillian Seed who works for the Anti-Snatchers task force J.U.N.K.E.R and learn about your past and relation with the Snatchers.

Before Policenauts, Kojima had made several other games. However, one of Kojima’s best games made from his early titles was Snatcher which mirrored Policenauts in many ways. Players would experience a first-person world to explore using various moves such as ask, talk, investigate and move. Also, like Policenauts, there were times players could shoot at enemies also via a first-person perspective. The world of Snatcher would lead to numerous homages in the form of Gillian’s personal assistant Metal Gear—a small robotic device—and other small nods in later games of his creation. Snatcher is considered by some to be even better than Policenauts and while here at Honey’s Anime, we respect both titles, we can see why many people believe this. Important to note by the way, Snatcher is a lot easier to obtain seeing as how it was released in the US with English being included unlike Policenauts.

Okabe Rintaro a self-proclaimed mad scientist is about to create something amazing by complete accident, a literal time machine. However, unlike traditional time machines, this one uses a microwave oven and a cellphone to send texts to the past thus changing the world line. Okabe’s invention has given him the means of control time and altering it with just one click of a button on his cellphone. Though Okabe is about to learn that he wasn’t the first to try time travel, and his creation has garnered attention from the dreaded SERN. Even worse, Okabe’s interference with time will lead to horrible consequences that even he is not prepared for.

If you’re a fan of anime—hopefully you are—then most likely you have heard of Steins;Gate before. However, here at Honey’s Anime we do meet a lot of people who forget Steins;Gate was first a visual novel before an anime. Players control main character Okabe and must choose various responses which in turn changes the game’s ending depending on the player’s choice of response. There are numerous similarities to be found in both Steins;Gate and Policenauts—one being both using anime inspired ideals—making this a must for our 6 Games Like Policenauts list. With several endings—some are incredibly dark, we might add—Steins;Gate should be definitely played by fans of the series and visual novels in general.

Zoe Castillo is a 20-year-old girl who has a story to tell. While her mortal body is in a coma, Zoe reclaims the events leading to her predicament. When Zoe’s boyfriend goes missing during an investigation of Project Alchera—a brainwashing conspiracy led by a Japanese toy company called WatiCorp—Zoe learns of their actual schemes being already set forth in the form of numerous test subjects, one being a girl named Faith. Zoe and Faith will eventually join forces as they attempt to show the world the true horrors of Project Alchera. However, these two girls will soon realize that they are up against an incredibly powerful foe and a world that is anything but small.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is truly a breathtaking sci-fi adventure game with ideals and themes fans of Policenauts will love. Players are given a lot of room to explore various locals and talk to NPCs which in turn reveal a lot of the story and lore that makes up Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. With a long narrative, some great puzzle mechanics and plenty to explore it’s easy to recommend Dreamfall: The Longest Journey to fans of Kojima’s Policenauts. Trust us folks, you won’t want to miss out on this epic journey.

Based off the hit 1982 film, Blade Runner for the PC tells a different story then seen from the film. Players will take control of Ray Mccoy who is a rookie Blade Runner. Ray’s job is to take down Replicants. Recently a bunch of animals have been murdered—a horrible crime due to the fact that in 2019, all animals are nearly extinct—and the Blade Runners believe this to be done by a group of Replicants. Ray must investigate various people—some of which are from the film—to see if he can track down where the Replicants are hiding. However, Ray will soon remember that in the year 2019, LA isn’t a kind place to either Humans or Replicants.

Blade Runner is a rather unique third person point and click adventure. Like Policenauts, Blade Runner fuses exploration and combat in rather interesting ways. Blade Runner functions in a real-time element which can be seen when at times the player’s reports about the Replicants and recent investigation are updated by other Blade Runners. This can happen randomly and gives Blade Runner a feeling of being a truly living world unlike most point and click titles. Die-hard fans of sci-fi themed stories echoing Policenauts will really love Blade Runner. Plus if you haven’t seen the film—the original 1982 one though a sequel is slated for October 2017—we highly recommend doing so, it’s a classic for a reason.

Junpei and eight others have found themselves in a terrible nightmare. Kidnapped by a man calling himself Zero, these nine souls have been thrown into a living game of death aboard a sinking sea liner. Zero tells the nine that they have nine hours to find a means of escape which is only possible by finding a door labeled nine. However, each of the rooms leading to it are filled with dangerous puzzles and deadly traps. Can Junpei and his new comrades survive the deadly Nonary Game?

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors—999 to most—may at first seem like a story straight out of a film but there’s more to this story then first seen. Like Policenauts, 999 is a visual novel with puzzle solving mechanics and choices to be made. With 6 endings—one being a true ending—players will find plenty of reasons to restart and choose a different path. Great graphics, a good ambiance and simple but deep gameplay makes 999 a great game for those who loved Policenauts.

The High-Degree Murder Division—HMD—are a special unit that investigates high end murders within a special city that’s split into 24 Wards. HMD is activated when Kamui Uehara—a past serial killer—seems to be murdering various people. Your team will have to see if they can find Kamui and figure out if he’s the one really behind these murders. Can your team stop the brutality that has fallen the 24 Wards? Find out in The Silver Case.

One thing that made Policenauts so awesome was the gameplay. Players were given a lot of freedom in how to explore and investigate various areas and in many ways this gameplay theme can be found in The Silver Case. Players will explore a sci-fi world in first person and imitate conversations with a very diverse cast of characters. The Silver Case is a fun game despite its old age and we know you’ll enjoy. Plus it was recently re-released for PC, OS X and PS4 so you don’t have to struggle to find a copy of the original PS1 version.