Detective Butler and the King of Hearts

The members of a university Detection Club find themselves entangled in a series of murders. Follow Detective Butler through the eyes of his sidekick Gilligan as the two set out to find the culprit. Can they unravel the truth before the serial killer claims another victim?

PLAY THE CHAPTER 1 DEMO  (bottom of page)

OR Wishlist on Steam now!

Detective Butler and the King of Hearts is a linear murder mystery visual novel, with emphasis on a fast-paced, character-driven narrative. The story is divided into 15+ chapters, each with its own mystery, while at the same time asking you to piece together a deeper mystery spanning across all chapters. No prior knowledge of the Detective Butler storyline is required to play.

• Estimated 20-30 hours of content across 15+ chapters
• A unique hand-drawn art-style with animated sprites and backgrounds
• Fully voiced dialogue and narration (both optional, English language only)
• One big murder mystery, plus at least one small mystery per chapter
• Case Notes and Lecture Notes to help solve each mystery
• A large cast of characters with secrets to uncover
• Thought-provoking themes on truth, happiness, life, and death
• Original soundtrack

Three years after the events of Detective Butler: Maiden Voyage Murder, Gilligan Golder is now CEO of his late father's life insurance company, where Butler also now works as a fraud investigator. At the same time, Gilligan has been attending classes at the prestigious Diamond University. The company's investors have great expectations for Gilligan upon his graduation.

One day, Gilligan and Butler learn about a Detection Club at the university. At the same time, a serial killer has been targeting the female students, each victim's heart ripped out from a gaping wound. As none of the hearts have been found -- apparently stolen -- the killer has been nicknamed "The King of Hearts."

Tensions have grown on campus as the female students fear becoming the next victim, and the male students fear being falsely accused as the killer. In the midst of all this, Gilligan falls in love with one of the girls, but lacks the confidence to pursue her.

Eventually, a new victim is discovered: one of the members of the Detection Club.

And the prime suspect?

Detective Butler.

Gilligan refuses to believe it. With Butler as the brains and Gilligan doing the legwork, they work together to pursue the truth and catch the true killer.

The other members of the Detection Club all have secrets they want to remain hidden. Will Gilligan come to regret the truth he ends up discovering?

What are the consequences of telling comforting lies over the harsh truth?

And what are the consequences of believing them?



The primary gameplay is within your own mind as you try and solve the mysteries yourself. The game will provide you with Case Notes and Lecture Notes to help you keep track of the characters, clues, and other important information.

You will encounter choices to personalize your experience and test your skills of deduction, but they won't significantly influence the outcome of the story. Instead, you'll be taken on an emotional rollercoaster, with many exciting twists and turns as the mysteries slowly unravel themselves.

In addition to the overarching mystery of the King of Hearts Serial Murders, each chapter has at least one dedicated mystery for you to solve. Please enjoy solving all of them!

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The Chapter 1 demo is about 1-2 hours long. It introduces you to the major characters in the game and sets up a few mysteries to solve.

Please follow us here or on our mailing list to be notified of any updates to the demo and any crowdfunding campaigns!

Thank you to everyone for your patience and continued support!

-- Kinjo Goldbar

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You can also play the previous Detective Butler game for free: