Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders
A downloadable game for Windows and macOS
A thrilling point-and-click adventure game where you play as Di Renjie, ancient China's most famous and gifted investigator, as he tracks a serial killer in the heart of the Tang Dynasty's capital city.
THE STORY
Amid lingering political turmoil, the first and only female empress of China, Wu Zetian rises to power. Within months of her ascension to the throne, murmurs of discontentment and revolution swell as detractors and enemies begin plotting against her. It is against this backdrop that our protagonist, newly appointed investigating magistrate Di Renjie, must solve a gruesome series of murders--which will lead him on a collision course with the Imperial Court and the empress herself.
Will our young detective overcome his own inner demons and his allegiance to the previous emperor? What is the connection between the murder victims and the capital's many political secrets? YOU must uncover the truth...
GAMEPLAY
Playing as the legendary detective, players will explore this unique setting and unravel its narrative twists and turns using familiar adventure gameplay mechanics such as exploration, dialogue choices, interaction with objects and clues, and puzzle-solving. Additionally, we are introducing an original mechanic where you will be able to deduct and reenact the scene of a crime and put your theories to the test.
The pixel art style of the game is also an homage to old school graphics, but we've added our own visual signature and design sensibilities. The game contains over 45 locations (many spanning multiple screen widths), each one pixel-painted with care and attention to detail.
FEATURES
- Distinct 2D pixel art style
- Immersive story-driven experience dripping with historical atmosphere
- Challenging and fun puzzles to solve
- Unique Chinese cultural and historical references
- Fantastic musical score with 13 original tracks
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $10.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
Comments
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Will you bring art book and soundtrack to itch.io too?
I grew up watching Chinese costume dramas and playing point-and-click adventure games--this is a beautiful cross of both worlds. The colors are so vibrant. thanks for a great game!
You're welcome! ;-)
Hi! I purchased this game for Mac but seems like it hasn't been built for 64 bit architecture (and OSX Catalina now doesn't run 32bit apps).
I would really love to play this little gem. Could you upload a new version built with 64 bit support? Thanks in advance!
Hi! Sorry about that. We've got a build in the pipeline to fix that, should be ready in a couple of days :- )
Excellent news! Thank you so much. Looking forward to it! :-D
Hi there! The new Mac version is now online. Please give it try ;-)
Woo-hoo! Thank you! Just in time :-)
I'm a fan of Judge Dee stories from various sources from way back so when I found out about this game recently I was excited. I must say, I'm pleased with the experience. The graphics and music are beautiful and the story and, more to the point, the way it is told are quite good. Most importantly, the game provides the essential core experience I want out of a Di Renjie game: solving mysteries in the mode of a virtuous and intelligent magistrate.
The characterization of Di Renjie himself is excellent, giving the player enough choice in how his character expresses itself to feel real ownership over it. People expecting to see the supporting cast from the Van Gulik stories will be disappointed, but I do not consider them a core part of the franchise. Instead, the game has an array of interesting, quirky, well-sketched characters. Even very minor figures are well written and a lot of effort clearly went into their writing.
Thanks to everyone who made this game possible!
Thank you for the kind words! It's always a joy to hear from a Di Renjie fan ;- )
Does this game support Chinese language?
It does, The Chinese version is called "狄仁杰之锦蔷薇"
Thanks! I thought that only the steam version supports Chinese language. I bought the steam version and liked it a lot, but I also wanted to own a DRM free version of the game so as to increase my local game collection. But I could not find anything about Chinese language support on this page, so I got a little bit confused.
Hi zavez, unfortunately, due to licensing limitations, the DRM-free version does not include the Chinese language version.
Minh - developer
Oh, okay. Thank you for the reply. Although I prefer the Chinese version, I will still buy this DRM free version. I also want to buy a downloadable version of the soundtrack too - not as a DLC on the steam but as DRM free file/files. Will it be released in the feature?