Link Steam
indiegame.fan
Dark Alley header art

Dark Alley

A narrative noir thriller set in Kyoto. Detective Thomas Bennett investigates the disappearance of a British agent, only to collide with the Yakuza, a shadowy conspiracy, and a truth that should never surface.

Steam Page
Developer
CheesecakeGames
Publisher
JanduSoft
Release
Coming Soon
Steam Reviews
No reviews yet

Does this feel indie?

Vote based on whether this game feels indie to you. You can change your vote at any time. Results earn an IGF score after 10 accepted votes.
No votes yet
Vote on More Games
Game contextLatest: IGF Team
ContextThe evidence factors used to assess whether this game belongs on IndieGame.Fan.Status
Notes
Latest Contributor: IGF TeamEdit notes
Search Google: Who developed Dark Alley?Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
Search Google: Who published Dark Alley?Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher.
Search Google: Is Dark Alley self-published or published by JanduSoft?Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified.
Search Google: How is Dark Alley and JanduSoft funded?FundingThe known source of funding behind the game.
Search Google: Who controls the creative direction and IP for Dark Alley and CheesecakeGames?Creative controlWho appears to retain creative control of the game.
Search Google: What is the release status of Dark Alley?Release statusWhether and how the game has been released.

Media

14 items

About the Game

Dark Alley is a standalone case within the Detective Bennett: Solved Cases saga, a cinematic narrative thriller with psychological tension and dry, noir humor.

Kyoto, 2013. A British detective vanishes without a trace. London sends Thomas Bennett to close the case quietly. But Kyoto doesn’t do “quiet.” Beneath red lanterns and rain-slicked alleys, Bennett finds a city built on rituals, secrets… and people willing to kill to protect them.

What starts as a missing-person investigation spirals into a dangerous web involving the Dragon Vein Yakuza, a mysterious informant, and a cold institutional presence that watches every step Bennett takes. The deeper you go through nightclubs, temples, bamboo forests and mirrored corridors, the more mystery arise around the case… until the question isn’t who took Hale, but why the truth was never meant to survive.

Key Features

  • A complete story you can finish

  • A focused narrative experience designed to be played from start to end, no filler, no grind, just the case.

  • Noir investigation in modern Kyoto

  • Explore Gion’s red-lantern alleys, Nishiki Market area, a secret onsen nightclub, abandoned temples and bamboo trails.

  • Cinematic storytelling with Bennett’s signature voice

  • Internal monologue, sharp dialogue, and a protagonist who masks fear with sarcasm, until the case breaks through.

  • Evidence-driven gameplay

  • Inspect scenes, collect clues, use your notebook to document evidence, reconstruct events, and unlock new leads without getting stuck.

  • A city of factions and shadows

  • Cross paths with allies and enemies: Hiroshi Tanaka, the Yakuza leader Katsuro, and a mysterious man behind a black car.

  • Part of the Detective Bennett universe

  • Dark Alley is a key chapter that shapes Bennett into the man you’ll meet later in The Empty Desk.

A Story About Truth, Memory, and Survival

Kyoto’s rain doesn’t wash sins away, it hides them. In Dark Alley, every clue carries a cost, every ally has a limit, and every answer drags Bennett closer to something bigger than a single disappearance.

Can you solve the case before the city, and the truth, swallow you whole?

Indie Game Fan