Homicide Desk Guides Hub

Homicide Desk is a single-player detective simulation Shu’la Lab LLC released on Steam on September 1, 2026. You sit as DET. GHAITH at a CRT-era workstation in Ravenport Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit. Captain Morrison is Superintendent. The city is Ravenport, Republic of Meridia. There is no 3D crime scene to walk, no waypoint, and no dialogue tree. A case file lands. You read nested reports, run the Forensics Lab with your own hands, pin string on the Investigation Board, and type questions until a suspect cracks or lawyers up. Charge the right person and the file closes. Charge the wrong one and Internal Affairs opens a file on you.

This hub is the skill map. It does not tell you who killed Marcus Reeves. If the 13 GB Windows install just finished, start with Getting Started and check the system requirements. The local interrogation model (ollama.exe / llama-server.exe) is why the footprint is large.

How the guide set is laid out

Seven mechanic pages sit under this hub. Use them in order the first time, then jump by symptom later. The dropdown lists every item.

• Getting Started covers first boot, Whitmore on the HR phone, Case #000 The Pawnshop Key, every desk app, and the moment Morrison lets you open a homicide.
• Controls is the mouse-driven OS: dragging 3D evidence, wheel zoom, UV from a desktop right-click, interrogation typing, Read Text on documents, and the world clock on the taskbar.
• Interrogation is free-text questions, presenting evidence, the stress meter, AGITATED flags, Offer a Break, Request Dossier, and why pushing with nothing ends the interview.
• Forensics is the lab you operate yourself: fingerprint alignment, cipher work, chromatograph calibration against the clock, UV on photos, phone records, 3D scans, and locked or sealed documents.
• Precinct is the living station: salary, Store, Game Room blackjack, City Atlas patrol dispatch, Gazette, Certification, and promotions.
• Settings and languages is the ten-language stack, English and Arabic audio, RTL, scanlines, Steam Cloud, and how the demo differs from retail.
• Achievements is the named Steam unlocks from First Collar through Top Brass, without dumping a Case #001 charge.

The walkthrough hub is a different job. Use it for how to solve a case, the evidence board, and charging. The tools hub holds an interrogation planner and the local interrogation model sheet if you want a checklist before you sit someone down.

First hour at the desk

Steam Cloud is on. There is no multiplayer. After launch, apply whatever patch notes are current; week one already shipped black-screen and quit fixes for the bundled AI server.

The desktop is the game. Recycle Bin, Gazette, Cases, Personnel File, Case Files, Game Room, Investigation Board, City Atlas, Settings, Notebook, Email, Forensics Lab, Arrest Warrant, Store, and Certification all live as icons. Whitmore’s HR messages replace pop-up tutorials. Clear the pawnshop robbery (training case) before you touch Case #001 The Overtime. The Steam demo was that tutorial; the full release still expects field certification.

Do not spend salary at blackjack or in the Store until you know Offer a Break and Request Dossier cost pay during questioning. High Roller can wait. First Collar cannot.

After the training file

Cases 001–003 ship at launch. Case #001 is a homicide in Eastdock: Marcus Reeves, 41, Principal Engineer at Vanta Systems, found in Server Room B at 21:47 on 17 March 2024. Sister Dana Reeves. A voicemail about proof in his box. The strongbox is sealed until you earn it. Multiple guilty-party variants exist. Reopen a solved case and the truth can change. This wiki will not name the killer.

Twenty-two Steam achievements include First Collar, Swift Justice, Inspector’s Eye, Case Closer, Flawless Record, Top Brass, Clean Sweep, Master Cryptographer, High Roller, Collector, The Regular, and Leave No Stone. Chase them on the achievements page after you can close a file without Internal Affairs.

Launch reviews sat near 81% positive on a small sample. Read the review if you still want a buyer’s take, and keep official links for the Steam page and Shu’la Lab channels.

Operators learn the desk here. Case order lives in the walkthrough. Do not hunt a name in a controls article.