How to play CASE//ZERO well.
You have ten minutes per attempt. The fastest route is rarely asking every possible question. Build a timeline, identify contradictions and use evidence deliberately.
1. Read the briefing before chasing suspects
The briefing tells you what appears unusual about the scene and what the investigation must establish. Note the location, the victim's role and the key timing problem. Those details usually determine which evidence categories deserve attention first.
2. Review evidence as a system, not as isolated clues
A single timestamp is rarely enough. Compare camera footage with access logs, documents with financial records, and physical traces with the areas where suspects worked. The strongest clue is often the one that links two otherwise separate parts of the case.
3. Build a timeline
Write down the last confirmed time the victim was known to be alive, when each suspect is independently placed somewhere, and which events are supported only by a suspect's own statement. Be careful with messages, voice notes and exported files: a digital timestamp can prove that an action occurred without proving who performed it.
4. Interrogate for contradictions
Start broad, then become specific. Ask where the suspect was, what they were doing, who could verify it and what they knew about the victim's plans. When a statement conflicts with reviewed evidence, attach that evidence and challenge the contradiction directly.
5. Do not confuse lying with guilt
CASE//ZERO suspects can hide unrelated misconduct. Someone may lie because they copied files, stole property, breached a work rule or concealed a personal relationship. That can explain suspicious behaviour without explaining the murder. Your accusation should follow the full evidence chain, not the most dramatic secret.
6. Use your notes
Short notes are enough: confirmed times, disputed times, motive candidates and evidence that only one person can explain. The game saves notes to your account so you can resume an active attempt from another device where supported.
7. Accuse only when the chain is coherent
The final accusation asks for a suspect, a motive and supporting evidence. Before submitting, ask yourself three questions: does this person have opportunity, does the evidence connect them to the critical act, and does the motive explain why the act happened? If one of those links is missing, keep investigating.
Statements create hypotheses. Evidence tests them. Your final accusation should be based on the test, not on how convincing or suspicious a character sounds.