Comparison

Asterlock Archives vs Cold Case Bureau

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Asterlock Archives

Engage in a compact terminal investigation, searching archived files and decoding encrypted evidence to solve cases. The game offers a tutorial and a mystery inspired by classic detective fiction, with optional purchases for additional content. No account or online profile is needed to play.

Highlights
  • Terminal-based investigation
  • Archived file searching
  • Keyword collection
  • Evidence decoding
  • Case solving
  • Tutorial and mystery cases
Read full description

Asterlock Archives turns detective work into a compact terminal investigation. Search archived files, collect keywords, decode encrypted evidence, and close each case using only the clues you can prove. The starter archive includes a tutorial case and a larger mystery inspired by early public-domain detective fiction. Optional purchases add more archive cases and cosmetic extras. No account is required. No online profile. Just the files, the facts, and your own brain. Use the terminal directly or tap the active dossier to inspect evidence, open locks, and track your next lead.

About

Cold Case Bureau

Engage in a slow-paced mystery game where you analyze case files, evidence, and suspect testimonies to uncover contradictions. Piece together clues on your investigation board to solve crimes and advance your detective career through increasingly challenging tiers.

Highlights
  • Analyze case files and evidence
  • Identify contradictions in testimonies
  • Use an investigation board
  • Progress through difficulty tiers
  • Offline play
  • Reputation system
Read full description

One case a day. The same case for everyone. Nothing to buy, no ads, no account. Cold Case Bureau puts a case file on your desk: the victim, the suspects, the evidence, and somewhere inside it, one story that doesn't hold together. Read the file. Find the two statements that can't both be true. Pin them on the board and watch the string pull tight. Then build your theory, not a guess from a menu, but an argument, element by element. Get part of it right and that part locks in. Get part of it wrong and the case tells you exactly which part, and lets you keep working. THE DAILY CASE Every day the Bureau opens one case, and it's the same case for every player in the world. Solve it, keep your streak alive, and share your result. A spoiler-free grid that shows how you did without giving anything away. INVESTIGATE Four Case Hours, and a case that offers more than four hours of leads. Press a suspect with a piece of evidence and what they say depends on what you chose to show them. Pull records nobody asked for. Send evidence to the lab. Earn a warrant with proof from your board. A wasted half hour is on you, but the case can always be closed from the file alone. Nothing is ever locked behind a guess. THE INVESTIGATION BOARD Real red string. Connect two pieces of evidence that contradict each other and the connection is established permanently. The board is where you prove people are lying. THE ARCHIVE More than ninety past Daily cases, free to work in any order, from quick Rookie files to five-suspect Senior investigations with paper trails that close like a net. FAIR PLAY, GUARANTEED Every case is verified solvable from its own evidence before it ships. Every question has exactly one answer the file supports. If you reason correctly, you win - that's the whole promise. No ads. No purchases. No timers that want your money. Just cases.

Screenshots

Cold Case Bureau4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Asterlock Archives at 5.0 against Cold Case Bureau's 4.1. Cold Case Bureau's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (8 vs 1). On price, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Asterlock Archives sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Cold Case Bureau asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Asterlock Archives holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cold Case Bureau has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Asterlock Archives versus Cold Case Bureau: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAsterlock ArchivesCold Case Bureau
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.1 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better
Update frequency—Every 2 months
Ads—No
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
Devices—iPhone — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB21 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperJeffrey MunsonThomas Masters

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Asterlock Archives

One-time3
  • Operator Skin Pack$0.99
  • Founder Supporter File$1.99
  • Archive Pack Vol. 1$2.99
None

Cold Case Bureau

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Asterlock Archives free?
Asterlock Archives is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cold Case Bureau free?
Cold Case Bureau is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Asterlock Archives or Cold Case Bureau?
Asterlock Archives is rated higher. Asterlock Archives averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Cold Case Bureau averages 4.1 from 8 ratings.

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