You are Sam Miller, a private eye and you have been hired to find out how Miles Dunbar was killed and who the killer is. You start the game being interrogated by a Police Lieutenant about the murder before the game switches to the day before and you play the game finding clues and talking to people as you try to find answers. The game ends when you are in front of the Lieutenant again giving the correct answers to his questions. Dead End is a graphic text adventure when the screen has text that describes your location, people and objects. Occasionally a picture will show you what you see of your current location and you type in commands with the keyboard to interact with each location.