Dupery: A Game of Solo Deduction

Dupery: A Game of Solo Deduction is a single-player deduction roguelite set in a noir city infiltrated by a criminal syndicate. The player takes the role of a detective who must identify and arrest syndicate members and uncover the head of the network. Roles fall into four categories: Innocent, Meddler, Underling and Traitor. More than 175 handcrafted roles appear across the cases, and many of them give false information.

Each case is procedurally generated on a grid containing a mix of good and evil roles. The player uses clues given by the characters to work out whose statements do not hold up, and can record findings on an in-game detective board using strings, pins and pen. Some roles have special effects, such as one that announces the sum of all evil role addresses and another that doubles reputation loss. Arresting a good-aligned role lowers the player’s reputation, and if it falls too low the detective is fired. Arresting every evil role solves the case and raises reputation, after which the player picks the next case. Between missions the player chooses which roles to add to cases and can acquire quirks and modifiers that shape the run.

The game has three campaigns set in distinct regions, each with its own mechanics and roles. Each region ends with a confrontation with that region’s syndicate general, which provides clues. Winning a region unlocks new tiers of roles and quirks. After all nine tiers have been unlocked across the regions, the player can enter the Syndicate’s region for a final run against the syndicate mastermind, drawing on what was encountered earlier.