Suspect

The player's character is a reporter for the fictitious newspaper The Washington Representative. Veronica Ashcroft-Wellman, a longtime friend and wealthy socialite, has sent an invitation to the annual Ashcroft Halloween Ball, where Maryland's high society bluebloods converse and congratulate each other on their fortunes. The paper's editor suggests covering the party as a story, sensing an easy article that could either praise or mock the wealthy. Since it is a costume party, the player's character dons a rented cowboy outfit and attends the gathering. Many attendees wear masks, making it difficult initially to identify them.

Shortly after the start of the party, Veronica is found dead, strangled with a cowboy's lariat and laying near a bullet from the cowboy costume's belt. This positions the player as the prime suspect in Veronica's murder, although other suspects cannot be ruled out; the player previous stored the rope in the closet, and the bullet missing from the player's belt could have been taken. Investigative detective work must be done to identify the real killer.

Based on sales and market-share data, Video magazine listed the game seventh on its list of best selling video games in March 1985. ANALOG Computing praised Suspect's technical sophistication, packaging, and premise, but criticized the game's intrusive "dry humor" and cynical tone. The magazine concluded, "It is certainly complex, detailed and imaginative. I just wish it took itself a little more seriously, both as a game and an example of truly interactive fiction".