The Next Big Cozy Video Game Franchise Might Already Exist on Netflix

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In recent years, “cozy” games have become incredibly popular, moving from a small, specialized genre to a major trend. Games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley were huge hits and helped change what players wanted in a game. Now, some movies are starting to feel like they could be the next big cozy game experience. Specifically, stories focused on mysteries, taking place in limited locations, and encouraging viewers to solve the puzzle alongside the characters are becoming increasingly common in streaming and interactive formats. A prime example of this is the Knives Out series created by Rian Johnson.

The movie Knives Out, led by Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc, has breathed new life into the mystery genre and given audiences a compelling new investigator. Though only three films have been released, the series has strong potential to continue for many years. Recently, the franchise expanded with Dead Man’s Party: A Knives Out Game on Netflix, but the game doesn’t quite measure up to the quality of the films. The series might find more success by focusing on the ‘cozy mystery’ style, which could easily establish it as a beloved game classic.

What Kind of Game Is Dead Man’s Party: A Knives Out Game?

The new game based on Knives Out, called Dead Man’s Party: A Knives Out Game, doesn’t quite capture what makes the movies enjoyable. It’s a social deduction game – meaning players try to figure out who among them is a killer – similar to popular games like Among Us and One Night Ultimate Werewolf. While it’s free to play with a Netflix account and needs at least four players, unlike Jackbox Games, everyone has to download a separate app to play. The game’s story is straightforward: one or two players are secretly the murderer, and the others have to solve the crime. Players can exchange items and secretly check what others are holding, and there’s a “gossip” mode where they can ask each other questions – though the number of questions is limited.

Although Dead Man’s Party includes a mystery, the game primarily asks players to figure out who committed the murder. However, the story is quite basic and leaves many questions unanswered. We don’t know much about the characters or why they’re at the party, and it’s unclear why Benoit Blanc relies on the players instead of solving the case himself. If Blanc already knows the killer, as the game suggests, why does the murderer escape if the players fail? Despite appealing visuals, the game feels underdeveloped, like Benoit Blanc was simply added to capitalize on the Knives Out brand. Ultimately, Dead Man’s Party: A Knives Out Game has interesting ideas, but it doesn’t quite blend the Knives Out style with the social deduction party game format.

The Knives Out Franchise Is a Revitalization of the Cozy Mystery Genre

The Knives Out movies are a great example of ‘cozy mysteries,’ a popular type of detective story. These mysteries typically feature everyday people – not professional police officers – solving crimes, often murders. Unlike gritty crime shows, the violence isn’t usually graphic, and the stories are often set in close-knit communities filled with interesting characters who help (or hinder!) the detective along the way.

Benoit Blanc isn’t your typical small-town detective. He’s become a bit of a celebrity, with connections to famous people and even appearing on talk shows like The View. This fame is actually how he gets involved in cases – often, minor celebrities from his past reach out to him when they need a murder solved. These clients then work with Blanc as his assistants, helping him investigate and giving the audience someone to follow without revealing the mystery’s solution too soon.

Though he’s known for more thrilling mysteries, Benoit Blanc actually has a connection to the classic cozy mystery series, Murder, She Wrote. Like Jessica Fletcher, played by Angela Lansbury, Blanc proves that these detectives aren’t limited to small-town settings. While Murder, She Wrote is often remembered for taking place in Cabot Cove, Maine, Jessica Fletcher traveled extensively for her writing and frequently solved crimes around the world. Benoit Blanc carries on that tradition, demonstrating that cozy mysteries can happen anywhere, involving cases of any size.

Knives Out Could Stand Amongst Cozy Mystery Game Classics

The Knives Out films are enjoyable, gentle mysteries, making a game adaptation a natural fit for the “cozy” gaming genre. While “cozy games” often make people think of farming simulators like Stardew Valley or life simulations like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the category is actually quite broad and includes many different types of gameplay. Given that Knives Out started as a movie series, the Full Motion Video (FMV) game style would be a particularly good match.

Games that use full-motion video (FMV) work really well for mystery stories, and a game based on Knives Out could let players truly feel like they are Benoit Blanc or one of his clients. A good example of a similar, more relaxed mystery game using FMV is Contradiction, where you play as Detective Jenks investigating a murder in a small town. Many people also consider the Ace Attorney series to be a cozy mystery series, even though it centers around murder investigations. The visual novel style used in Ace Attorney would also be a great fit for a Knives Out video game. Players could play as Benoit Blanc or an assistant, examining clues and finding inconsistencies to uncover the killer.

While the Ace Attorney games offer a good model for future Knives Out games, other cozy mystery titles could also inspire the franchise. Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, for instance, centers around solving puzzles and gathering clues through questioning suspects – a gameplay style that aligns well with Benoit Blanc’s methods of investigation. Plus, Duck Detective’s point-and-click style could be a natural fit for a Knives Out game.

Many cozy mystery games, such as Frog Detective and the Murder, She Wrote series, use a similar style, but the Nancy Drew: Mysteries video games are the most famous example of this format. The series has released 34 games and remained popular for decades. Players control Nancy as she investigates and solves crimes in different settings. Though some games lean towards paranormal or horror themes—and even include the possibility of Nancy facing danger—the central focus always remains on Nancy Drew solving mysteries.

The success of recent mystery games suggests that a Knives Out video game would be a great fit, and could even thrive on platforms like Netflix Games, which already hosts similar, relaxing titles. The Knives Out series is well-suited to a cozy mystery game format, allowing players to repeatedly enjoy Benoit Blanc’s unique personality and explore a world filled with new cases to solve. A game like this has the potential to be very popular.

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2026-05-22 00:07