History VisualNovel / MurderByNumbers2020

* AnswersToTheNameOfGod: When Honor shouts "JESUS!" after seeing Detective Cross following her escape from the room, he responds that calling him Detective Cross would be enough.

** Case 3: ''Series/SesameStreet'': After hacking open a safe, Scout mixes up "Open Seseme" and the show:

** At the start of game, Honor and Becky were filming a scene where Miss Terri finds a murder weapon hidden inside the butler.

The game was released in March 5th, 2020 for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and March 6th on PC online stores such as [[https://www.gog.com/game/murder_by_numbers GOG]], [[https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/murder-by-numbers Epic Games Store]], and [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1140290/Murder_by_Numbers/ Steam]]. A UsefulNotes/GoogleStadia port was released on March 23rd, 2021.

''Murder by Numbers'' is a 2020 PuzzleGame VisualNovel developed by Mediatonic and published by The Irregular Corporation. Heavily marketed as "''VideoGame/{{Picross}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY mixed with]] ''Franchise/AceAttorney''", the game consists of solving murder mysteries while collecting evidence by way of solving nonograms.

No relation to the 2002 film [[Film/MurderByNumbers with the same title]].

* TheLawFirmOfPunPunAndWordplay: Dick's lawyers are Saez & De Cyste LLP

* AirVentPassageway: After being locked inside Gridmoore Studios' break room by Det. Cross while his team investigates the murder of Blake, Honor and SCOUT escape via an air vent into Blake's office. Obligatory comparisons to [[Film/DieHard John McClane]] were made by Det. Cross once he finds out.

* BadMoodRetreat: Case 2: When Becky is angry and distraught from not getting the Starshine Award, she locks herself in women's restroom, making this overlap with BathroomStallOfAngst.

--> Mom taught me two three things: "Take care of your body," "Don't cuss," and "Don't listen to Pa, 'cause he's a goddamn drunk."

'''SCOUT:''' Yes, the building is on fire.

* MyNameIsQuestionMarks: People talk from off-screen and surprise the characters on-screen get called "???" until they appear on screen.

* OneWordTitle: Case 4: The Clapperboard is for "a production called ''"Radio,"'' directed by Eirin Kino, which is actually [[spoiler:a hint that the Scene and Take numbers written on it are the decryption key for the ''radio'' message]].

'''K.C.''': SCOUT, babe..\\

--> Photos that show [[spoiler:Blake]] involved in "noctural activities" with an unknown woman.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: [[spoiler:When Honor asks Detective Cross about who may have been her dad's partner, she mentions a photo that was taken at his favorite restaurant. Cross mentions the restaurant by name, which Honor points out she did not.]]
* LamePunReaction: In Case 4, Honor gives a SweatDrop at SCOUT's Bee and Sting pun, when [[spoiler:they're infiltrating the Lethe offices]].

* PermanentlyMissableContent: It's possible for the player to finish case 3 without using any hints and still get only an A rank (B if you're playing Easy mode). That's because there is a missable puzzle in the bar that can only be done if the player goes into the bar and finds the puzzle before [[TalkToEveryone talking to everyone]] and advancing the plot. The best time is directly after you meet Crispin for the first time.

--> '''SCOUT:''' I'm almost disappointed by military security -- I found a administrator account with the password "Password123."\\

* VorpalPillow: [[spoiler: Mal Cruz is killed by being smothered with a pillow in the last case. Other characters mention how it's simple, but effective and quiet.]]

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Jack, the CEO of Lethe Security. He used to be involved in the project that created SCOUT and was the one that moved the project into turning SCOUT into a military weapon. He turns out to be behind the murders of Lori and Frank.]]
* BludgeonedToDeath: Blake was killed by being struck on the head with an award.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Becky starts out extremely cold and unappreciative of Honor and everyone else around her, but softens up by the end of case 2.

* FantasyForbiddingFather: Honor's mother is very vocal in her disapproval of Honor's career as an actress, and spends most of the game nagging her to give the whole thing up and pursue a more stable career.

* GuideDangIt: It's possible for the player to finish case 3 without using any hints and still get only an A rank (B if you're playing Easy mode). That's because there is a missable puzzle in the bar that can only be done if the player goes into the bar and finds the puzzle before [[TalkToEveryone talking to everyone]] and advancing the plot. The best time is directly after you meet Crispin for the first time.

* MeaningfulName: Made clear in the final chapter's name, "Scout's Honor", made by "Honor" + "SCOUT", a phrase said when you're telling the truth.

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: The account SCOUT finds in Case 4 has a really simple password:
--> '''SCOUT:''' I'm almost disappointed by military security -- I found a administrator account with the password "Password123."

* OneWordTitle: Case 4: The Clapperboard is for "a production called ''"Radio,"'' directed by Eirin Kino.

* MoodWhiplash: No matter how serious the scene that preceded it, solving puzzles always has a bouncy, upbeat theme.

* TakeYourTime: Case 1: When taking the time to talk to K.C after unlocking the Precinct on the City Map:
** When selecting him as a conversation target the first time, he references the strangeness of taking the time, saying something like "I thought you were running off to free John.".
** When showing him the important Polaroid evidence:
---> Yeah, you're right -- this ''is'' important. Go on, then! Stop hanging around here and go rescue the poor sod!
** When showing evidence he doesn't have specific dialogue for:
---> I thought you were in a rush to get to the police station?

* MeaningfulName: Made clear in the final chapter, Honor and SCOUT make "scout's honor", a phrase said when you're telling the truth.

* DiggingYourselfDeeper: In case one, Honor very nearly manages to talk her and SCOUT out of trouble after the two were caught at an off limits crime scene...only for SCOUT to cheerfully blurt out that they were ''also'' messing around with the evidence at said crime scene. Cue a major tongue lashing from Detective Cross.
* TheDogBitesBack: The motivation for the murder in case [[spoiler:two.]] The murderer kills the victim after suffering years of abuse by their hands, and only after the victim had removed all other means that the murderer had to get back at them.

** By the end of the game [[spoiler:it's not the first time that Cross is partnered with a hot headed Mizrahi.]]

** In SCOUT's backstory, [[spoiler: during a test of his weapons, a misfire caused him to kill the lead hardware engineer Tom, prompting SCOUT to realize he broke one of the laws of robotics and erase his own memories in guilt. He was halted from erasing everything, but believing the project was over, he was thrown in the trash.]]