- A hand-drawn adventure set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1937
- Positive reviews at Tokyo Game Show and over 20,000 wishlist items… Emerging as a highly anticipated indie title
Brazilian indie game studio Mother Gaia Studio officially released the time-loop murder mystery adventure game ‘The Posthumous Investigation’ on Steam on March 31.
The game involves accumulating clues within a repeating day to uncover the truth behind a murder case, and it is garnering attention for its unique worldview and narrative inspired by Brazilian literature.
Track down the murder of a deceased client… A combination of time loops and mystery
‘Postmus Investigation’ is a mystery adventure with a unique premise of tracking down the murder of a deceased client. Players take on the role of a private detective and must solve the case of businessman Bras Kuvas, who is both the client and the victim, within a single day.
The game is set in Rio de Janeiro in 1937. You must explore various parts of the city, rendered in a black-and-white hand-drawn style, to interrogate a total of 14 characters and uncover their alibis. The core of the game is a time-loop structure. Time resets at the end of each day, but the information and clues collected by the player remain intact. It is a structure where clues to the case accumulate as the time loop repeats.
The collected clues are organized by directly connecting them to a physical evidence board called a ‘Thinking Board’ to reconstruct a timeline. The ultimate goal is to identify the culprit by directly confronting the suspect based on the evidence gathered while exploring various settings such as narrow alleys, abandoned lighthouses, and library bookshelves.
A game based on the works of the Brazilian literary master Machado de Assis.
The game’s worldview is inspired by the classic novels of the Brazilian literary master Machado de Assis. Characters and settings from his representative works, such as ‘The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas’ and ‘Dom Casmurro’, are reinterpreted and appear in the game.
The original work’s distinctive satire, cynicism, and humorous narrative are infused throughout the game, and some players have even shown interest in the original novel as a result of playing the game.
Mother Gaia Studio… A new release from an indie studio with 15 years of experience
Mother Gaia Studio is an indie studio based in Bauru, Brazil, that has been active since 2007. It has steadily built up its artistic merit and awards through previous works such as ‘Legend of the Skyfish’ and ‘Slash Quest’.
“I wanted to create a detective game where the background itself becomes the puzzle,” said game director Bruno Toledo. “By combining time loop mechanics with the satirical world of Machado de Assis, we created a mystery where even failure becomes another clue.”
Anticipation Rising Amid Positive Reviews at Tokyo Game Show… Switch Version Also in Preparation
The game received positive reactions at global gaming events even before its release. The development team reported that at the Tokyo Game Show, they observed players immersing themselves in the characters and the noir atmosphere inspired by Brazilian classical literature.
In fact, it proved the interest by surpassing 20,000 items on the Steam wishlist and emerged as a highly anticipated title after winning awards at various gaming events. Critics are also giving favorable reviews, calling it an “original and polished indie game.” In particular, the structure in which all characters are organically connected and the clue system that gradually expands through repetitive gameplay were cited as strengths.
‘Postmus Investigation’ is currently available on Steam at a 10% launch discount, and you can experience the game in advance through the demo version. The developer is also currently developing a Nintendo Switch version, and further information will be released later.
Information regarding The Posthumous Investigation
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Mother Gaia Studio (Mother Gaia Studio, Bauru, Brazil) |
| Publisher | CriticalLeap, Infini Fun |
| Genre | Time Loop Murder Mystery / Adventure |
| Release platform | PC (Steam · Nuvem) / Nintendo Switch (Under development) |
| Release date | March 31, 2026 |
| background | Rio de Janeiro, 1937 |
| Original | Machado de Assis novel (Brás Cubas’ posthumous memoirs, Dom Casmouro) |
| Characters | 14 people |
| core system | Time Loop, Thinking Board, Heritage Point |
| Steam Page | https://store.steampowered.com/app/2466900 |
