Solve puzzles and mysteries in Blameless

Blameless is a free 3D adventure game in which you play an architect hired to complete an unfinished building. When you find a suspicious bloodstain in the building, however, the job turns into a mystery. Collecting objects and solving puzzles around the building will help you piece together the clues and learn the identity of the mysterious shadowy figure who seems to be following you.

Simple mechanics, intriguing story

At its heart, Blameless is a familiar type of adventure game: collect objects and figure out how to use them in combination to get to new areas of the building. Many of the puzzles have more than one possible solution, which deals with some of the frustratingly linear play that can sometimes sour the enjoyment of adventure games. It’s not terribly long — essentially a single “level” you should be able to solve in a session of play. What sets it apart is its effectively-established horror/mystery atmosphere and story. The unfinished house is particularly nice, with environments that are both realistically cluttered and suitably sinister.

An engaging slice of mystery

Blameless is a short, free game more focused on story and atmosphere than challenge. It’s a fascinating and worthwhile look at how a designer can use puzzle adventure gameplay as a storytelling tool, and its tense atmosphere is effective without being overdone.