Dark Alley is out now on Xbox Series X|S for £10.49, and it’s an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so one purchase covers your console, Xbox on PC and Handheld.
Developed by solo studio CheesecakeGames and published by JanduSoft, the cinematic detective adventure is available on the Xbox Store today, 5 November 2026. It isn’t on Game Pass.
A missing detective in Kyoto
The Xbox Store opens the case with three words: “Kyoto. 2012.” British detective Edward Hale has vanished, and London sends Detective Thomas Bennett to Japan expecting a straightforward missing-person job. What he finds instead is a city where everyone seems to know more than they’re willing to admit.
From quiet temples and narrow backstreets to hidden clubs and traditional ryokans, Bennett follows a trail that refuses to stay simple. The Yakuza are involved, JanduSoft says, but they are far from the whole story. In the publisher’s words: “In Kyoto, every alley hides a story. And some are better left undiscovered.”
Bennett isn’t the kind of detective who kicks down doors. The store pitch puts it neatly: he watches, listens, asks uncomfortable questions… and usually annoys the right people.
How Dark Alley plays
Dark Alley is built around exploration, observation and storytelling rather than combat systems. You gather evidence, examine objects, question witnesses, take notes and revisit old leads. Environmental puzzles keep the investigation moving from one discovery to the next, and progress comes from paying attention to the small details other people overlook.
Along the way you meet characters with their own motivations, form uneasy alliances and decide who deserves your trust. JanduSoft frames it as a fully self-contained mystery designed to be completed in a single memorable adventure, with locations inspired by modern Kyoto, including Gion’s lantern-lit streets, Nishiki Market, hidden temples, bamboo forests and traditional ryokans.
Dark Alley at a glance
- Genre: cinematic detective adventure
- Developer: CheesecakeGames
- Publisher: JanduSoft
- Released: 5 November 2026 on Xbox Series X|S (Xbox Play Anywhere)
- Price: £10.49 / US$12.49
- Rating: PEGI 16 (Strong Violence)
- Xbox Play Anywhere: Yes (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Handheld)
- Game Pass: No
- Buy: Xbox Store
Dark Alley is available now on the Xbox Store. It isn’t on Game Pass. For the basics in one place, see our Dark Alley hub and everything we know page. It was also flagged in our new Xbox games this week round-up.
Source: JanduSoft press release; JanduSoft; Xbox Store.
So, are you heading into Kyoto’s backstreets with Bennett, or leaving those alleys undiscovered? Tell us on X or Facebook.
