Info about Ghost in the SQL Data:

Official game description:
Here is a case. Use SQL to search a year of calls to the Paris Emergency Switchboard. Find who called 14 minutes before the first witness saw the school on fire.
Use SQL to explore the data, filter it and join the tables. The first cases teach you the basics, and the later ones only give you the question.
Use an investigator’s board to pin your results, their charts and your notes, then connect the clues to solve the case.
Every case takes place in Paris: a school fire, a metro ticket with no name, or even a crown stolen from the Musée d’Orsay!

Release date: Oct 29, 2026

Categories: Puzzle Solving, Detective Game, Programming Logic, Database Querying Gameplay, Point-and-click Adventure, Investigation


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 2.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 1.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The review saying half the game was finished in under an hour supports a full game completion estimate near 2 hours, while the report of finishing 4 of 6 cases in one hour supports roughly 1.5 hours for the full set. The separate statement that the game can be finished in a few hours corroborates a short overall completion time, so gameCompletion is set to 2.0 hours. The one-hour report of completing multiple cases also provides a practical basis for a typical session length of about 1.0 hour, while the per-case 10-30 minute estimate reinforces short play units. There is no reliable evidence for a separate story completion time or an endgame phase, so those metrics are null.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Workshop Content Skeptic (no buy)
    - Motivation: Finding a game with substantial built-in difficulty and content rather than relying on community-made scenarios
    - Playstyle: Assesses scenario variety, difficulty curve, and Workshop reliance before committing
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Detective Fantasy Seeker (no buy)
    - Motivation: Living out detective case-solving and reasoning rather than doing technical data extraction
    - Playstyle: Prefers interrogation, inference, and case deduction over repetitive querying or data cleanup
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A
  - SQL Beginner Learner (buy)
    - Motivation: Learning and practicing SQL through an interactive game
    - Playstyle: Hands-on querying and database exploration at a beginner level
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: SQL noob; beginner
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Strong SQL learning tool (weight 0.91): Many reviewers highlight the game as an effective and enjoyable way to learn SQL, especially for beginners. It makes learning queries easier than books or websites and provides a solid introduction to the language.
- Well-made and charming game (weight 0.62): Reviewers frequently describe the game as well made, decent, and generally good despite minor flaws. The overall quality and charm are consistently praised.
- Attractive and pleasant interface (weight 0.39): The visual design and interface are repeatedly called pleasant, attractive, and comfortable to use. UI optimizations and smooth interactions contribute to a positive experience.
- Workshop and custom content (weight 0.33): Steam Workshop integration is well received, allowing players to create and share custom investigations and puzzles. This adds replayability and community engagement.
- Flexible puzzle solutions (weight 0.16): The game does not enforce a single correct solution; players can solve problems in any convenient way without limits on syntax or approach. This flexibility is appreciated.
- Helpful AI and hints (weight 0.16): The AI helper makes the game easier and provides hints when needed, aiding the learning process. It helps players understand syntax and fix errors.
- Customizable evidence board (weight 0.15): Players can customize and pin panels on the evidence board, and arrange input data conveniently. This feature enhances organization and usability.
- Good music and dark theme (weight 0.14): The game features good music and a dark theme option, which are appreciated by some players. These add to the overall pleasant experience.
- Translation issues noted (weight 0.08): Some reviewers mention flawed translation quality, though it is not unbearable. This is a minor drawback in an otherwise good game.
- Smooth performance without issues (weight 0.08): One reviewer reports that the game played without any issues. This indicates technical stability.
- Appreciated Steam features (weight 0.08): Bringing SQL detective puzzles to Steam with achievements and status is appreciated compared to websites. This adds value for players who prefer Steam.
- Open to future improvements (weight 0.07): One player expresses willingness to replay if the game improves. This suggests potential for long-term engagement.

Common complaints:
- Limited official content (weight 0.71): The game has too few official puzzles and cases, with only around 9 quests excluding the tutorial, making it feel short and unfinished. This low content volume is repeatedly criticized as insufficient for the price.
- Poor SQL learning guidance (weight 0.61): The game fails to teach SQL effectively, assuming prior knowledge and lacking structured explanations, examples, and step-by-step tutorials that were present in the demo. Beginners struggle to understand goals and learn commands.
- Interface and usability issues (weight 0.55): The interface is cumbersome and impractical, with problems like non-functional zooming, lack of ERD tools, and missing autocomplete. The dossier UI and memo tool are also disliked.
- Too easy for SQL users (weight 0.52): Experienced SQL users find the puzzles trivial, as most cases require only basic queries and the game nearly gives away answers. It feels like simple practice problems rather than a challenging deduction game.
- Unclear or inconsistent puzzle logic (weight 0.48): Some puzzles have illogical solutions, mismatched hints, or strict column requirements that confuse players. Correct answers may be marked wrong if the query structure differs from expectations.
- Low deduction and investigation (weight 0.42): The game lacks meaningful detective work, focusing on natural-language-to-SQL conversion instead of logical deduction. Players feel like technicians pulling data rather than detectives solving cases.
- Relies on community content (weight 0.36): After the limited official quests, the game depends on player-created content, much of which is achievement-farming or in English, reducing value for many players. The Workshop entrance is prominent, but quality varies.
- Poor translation quality (weight 0.27): Translations, especially Russian and Chinese, are disappointing, with poor quality and machine-like output that is hard to understand. This affects the overall experience for non-English players.
- Lack of story and immersion (weight 0.25): The game lacks a coherent main storyline, with only the tutorial having a continuous narrative. Other puzzles are standalone, making the experience feel disconnected and lacking immersion.
- Uninteresting cases and dialogue (weight 0.23): The cases and dialogue are often seen as boring and poorly developed, failing to engage players. The storyline, where present, is confusing and lacks depth.
- Not worth the price (weight 0.2): Many players feel the game is overpriced given the short length and limited content, especially compared to other SQL learning resources. The value is further diminished by reliance on free community content.
- Steep difficulty spikes (weight 0.19): The difficulty jumps abruptly at certain puzzles like the Elixir quest, where hints expect unused functions or directly give solutions. This inconsistent pacing frustrates players.
- Shallow SQL coverage (weight 0.19): The SQL taught is very basic, not deep enough for those wanting to master the language. The implementation is limited, leaving little to explore beyond simple queries.
- Confusing investigation information (weight 0.18): Most investigation information is irrelevant or confusing, with unclear purpose and overwhelming details like dates and names. This clutters the deduction process.
- Repetitive and rote gameplay (weight 0.17): The game feels like rote command execution rather than an engaging learning experience, lacking the joy of discovery. Players simply follow steps without understanding the reasoning.
- Annoying subway map (weight 0.1): Constantly having to look at the subway map is annoying, and as a detective game it feels unrealistic that criminals only use the subway. This detracts from immersion.
- Tutorial not skippable (weight 0.07): The tutorial cannot be skipped, forcing experienced players to go through basic content again. This is particularly frustrating for those who already know SQL.
- Save transfer missing (weight 0.07): There is no save transfer from the demo, forcing players to replay everything. This is a minor but annoying issue for those who tried the demo.
- Awkward puzzle wording (weight 0.07): Puzzle tasks are worded awkwardly, making it hard to understand what is required. This adds unnecessary confusion to already challenging tasks.

Gameplay feedback:
- SQL learning tool (weight 0.71): Players describe the game as a practice and learning tool for SQL, centered on writing queries in an editor to teach how SQL works. Many note it focuses on basic SQL concepts and can be used to refresh skills.
- Workshop custom cases (weight 0.6): Players can access community-created cases and scenarios via the Steam Workshop, and the level selection screen includes a Workshop entrance. The game supports user-created maps and lets players create their own content.
- Deduction detective cases (weight 0.53): The game frames SQL querying as a detective puzzle where players solve cases by querying databases to identify culprits. Cases combine investigation with puzzle solving.
- Tutorial-friendly for beginners (weight 0.37): A tutorial is designed so that people who do not know SQL can play and learn the necessary commands. The game writes the first query for the player and introduces tutorial-based learning.
- Workshop and community tasks (weight 0.34): The game includes tutorial tasks, your own tasks, and community tasks, with community-created quests in addition to official ones. The Workshop allows users to register user-created cases.
- Hint and dashboard systems (weight 0.31): Puzzles include hints and opening dialogue that suggest SQL functions to use, and the game features a hint system along with a dashboard interface. An AI assistant can also provide hints.
- Basic SQL with joins (weight 0.3): The game involves basic SQL techniques such as WHERE clauses and joins, and players enforce row requirements in queries. Players search through database tables to find answers.
- Independent standalone puzzles (weight 0.26): The game consists of independent problems rather than a connected main story, and cases are standalone rather than linked. It is a sequence of quests and puzzles.
- Query tasks with expected output (weight 0.21): Tasks provide input data and show the expected output, and answers are submitted and graded against a SQL result table. Case solutions are graded based on accepted columns and how each case is solved.
- Detective pinboard interface (weight 0.2): The game uses a detective pinboard interface with an evidence board featuring customizable, pinnable panels. It is an office-work simulator with official and community cases.
- No syntax verification (weight 0.2): Cases only require submitting an answer and do not verify syntax correctness, so players can solve problems with any syntax and any number of solutions. This can lead to solving cases without clear feedback on whether the reasoning is correct.
- Newspapers provide story background (weight 0.19): Newspapers contain follow-up reports and background on some cases, adding narrative context. However, cases remain independent with limited connected story.
- Commands discovered via manual (weight 0.19): Commands must be discovered by reading the manual after the tutorial, and the tutorial teaches commands to repeat. After the tutorial, cases require figuring out solutions rather than repeating commands.
- Missing ERD and schema tools (weight 0.18): The game does not include an ERD drawing tool or a schema organization space. The memo tool lacks line-break support, and clipboard copying of words is supported but limited.
- Natural-language to SQL problems (weight 0.15): The game presents natural-language-to-SQL problems where players must translate questions into queries. It is a puzzle game strongly tied to a programming language.
- Answers often given (weight 0.12): The answer is essentially contained in each problem, so the deduction itself is not difficult with a little thought. Players submit answers without needing to verify syntax.
- Achievements and status system (weight 0.07): The game includes Steam achievements and a status system, adding progression elements outside of case solving.

Performance notes:
No performancepoints

Recommendations:
- Good for SQL beginners (weight 0.44): Many reviewers recommend the game as a learning tool for SQL novices, stating it is great for anyone interested in learning SQL and worth trying for beginners.
- Not for advanced SQL users (weight 0.32): Players already skilled at SQL find the game less fun and not well suited for learning, as those comfortable with joins or basic SELECT syntax find it too easy.
- Overpriced and poor value (weight 0.23): Multiple reviewers criticize the game as not good value at its price, overpriced even at the 10% launch discount, and not worth buying now until more official content is added.
- Not recommended for complete novices (weight 0.2): Some reviewers say it is not well suited for learning SQL completely from scratch without any prior connection to the field.
- Not recommended for deduction fans (weight 0.19): One reviewer states there is no reason to buy this game if you like deduction, and others simply cannot recommend it right now.
- Insufficient content and difficulty (weight 0.16): Reviewers describe the game as paper-thin in both difficulty and content, and some refuse to recommend unfinished games.
- Best SQL game so far (weight 0.08): One reviewer calls it easily the best of the SQL games released so far, recommending it over alternatives.
- Not for SQL enthusiasts (weight 0.08): A reviewer says there is no reason to buy this game if you like SQL or want to study it, contradicting the beginner-friendly claims.
- Better alternatives exist (weight 0.08): A reviewer suggests playing Database Detective: MCD instead, implying it is a superior option.
- Not suitable for streaming (weight 0.07): One reviewer does not recommend the game for streaming purposes.

Other player notes:
- Steam Workshop community content (weight 0.49): Players frequently mention Steam Workshop support for user-made puzzles and custom investigations. This is seen as a key source of additional content and long-term replayability.
- Nine cases at launch (weight 0.28): Multiple reviews note the game includes nine cases, with one mentioning a ninth puzzle not yet released. This establishes the baseline content amount.
- Short game length (weight 0.23): Reviewers describe the game as very short and finishable in a few hours. Individual cases take about 10 to 30 minutes each.
- Unfavorable Database Detective comparison (weight 0.2): The game is compared unfavorably to Database Detective, with one reviewer preferring Database Detective's demo experience. Another notes better DB study materials are available for the same price.
- Demo cases in level selection (weight 0.14): The level selection screen includes demo cases, and the full version added 6 cases. This indicates some content overlap between demo and full versions.
- Coding test, not deduction (weight 0.08): One reviewer describes the game as closer to a coding test requiring reading comprehension and SQL understanding than a deduction game.
- Content amount better than expected (weight 0.08): One reviewer found the content amount more generous than expected, contrasting with the short game length noted by others.
- YouTube copyright stream ban (weight 0.07): The game was associated with a YouTube copyright stream ban, which may affect content creators.
- Workshop subscription achievement (weight 0.07): There is an achievement for having 10 people subscribe to your custom scenario, encouraging community engagement.
- Dark theme available (weight 0.06): The game offers a dark theme option for players.
- Workshop content likely English (weight 0.06): Workshop content is likely to be entirely in English, requiring English reading ability. This could be a barrier for non-English speakers.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.2): Players expected a full deduction game but found a short, easy SQL practice tool with insufficient official content and reliance on community maps. The game did not live up to the demo's step-by-step teaching, lacked investigation and a coherent story, and had poor translation and illogical problems.
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Players faced a steep difficulty jump, unhelpful hints, and an interface that hindered rather than helped, including broken zoom-and-drag and incomplete code display. The game often revealed answers without explanation, provided confusing case information, and required awkward SQL phrasing.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.09): Players appreciated the convenient data arrangement, smooth UI, and the ability to practice SQL entertainingly without a subscription. The game was seen as a decent, reasonably priced SQL trainer with Workshop support and easy entry for those with basic SELECT knowledge.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.06): Players found writing queries turned into a fun game, with a pleasant interface, music, and Workshop custom cases. The combination of puzzle and detective elements made learning more interesting than a textbook, and the AI help improved the experience.
- Confusion (weight 0.06): Players were confused when puzzle solutions did not match suggested SQL functions or hints, and the game offered no guidance or feedback after the tutorial. Some SQL usage was untaught, making it hard for non-SQL players, and poor translation and unclear tutorial compounded the issue.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.05): Players felt there was little deduction, too few official cases, and low difficulty, making it feel like a demo or platform rather than a full game. The strict tutorial and AI-generated, unnatural translation added to the dissatisfaction.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Players appreciated that the developer made query writing enjoyable and created a great starting tool for learning SQL, with Workshop adding content. The game was made to a good level compared to others in its genre, with a pleasant interface and customization options.
- Boredom (weight 0.03): Players found cases and dialogue uninteresting, and the in-game SQL too basic to offer much. The game felt like purely doing practice problems.
- Mild disappointment (weight 0.02): Players were mildly disappointed by lacking translation quality, though tolerable, and found the game less fun because they were already adept at SQL.
- Regret (weight 0.02): Players regretted that the Database Detective demo was much better, and some wished they had studied SQL earlier.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Players were enthusiastic about the game being easily the best SQL game so far and a fun way to learn and practice SQL.
- Interest (weight 0.02): Players found solving cases with basic SQL knowledge interesting and were drawn to the game's concept.
- Difficulty-induced stress (weight 0.01): Players experienced stress because the game was hard even in learning mode for those who do not know SQL.
- Liking (weight 0.01): Players liked the very basic beginning that suited SQL beginners.
- Immersion (weight 0.01): Players felt immersed by being placed in the situation of each task.
- Affection (weight 0.01): Players felt affection for the game because they used it as a bonding and teaching moment.
- Dislike (weight 0.01): Players disliked that correct answers were marked wrong when the query structure differed.
- Dismay (weight 0.01): Players were dismayed that the first main case had carelessly written data schemas.
- Displeasure (weight 0.01): Players felt displeasure because the game felt like searching through an abandoned project's tables without documentation.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players were angry that the game felt unfinished and relied on players to create content.}