The Mermaid Mask

The Mermaid Mask is an absolutely fantastic game. If the demo or trailers are intriguing to you, do yourself the favor and pick up the full game. I loved playing the predecessor game Tangle Tower so much on Switch, I replayed it on Steam a while later. I did not expect The Mermaid Mask to be significantly different gameplay-wise, but I am happy to report that it is [i]even better.[/i] A few notes: - Incredible character animations, silly writing, and impeccable voice acting - Fun puzzles (some more engaging than others, but overall really enjoyable) - Compared to the 2D clues in Tangle Tower, clues are now 3D and contain more hidden info - Art Gallery with fun developer comments Small critique: It would be nice if this game had a chapter select or rewind type feature once the story is finished. Some achievements are missable once you start the final chapter, and it can take a bit of time replaying the game simply to choose a different dialogue option.

So worth the wait!

As with all the Detective Grimoire games, this was delightfully fun! The characters are all compelling and entertaining, the art is fantastic and so lively, and the story really gripped me from the beginning. And the voice acting was fantastic! I can only hope for more Grimoire and Sally in the future! Thanks so much to the devs and everyone involved with this game!

In a dev stream showing gameplay of the demo, one of the developers (Adam, I believe) referred to Mermaid Mask as something like "an artist['s] game", and I think that's the best summation there could be for it. The soundtrack, dramatic performances, script, visuals—there is SO much artistry and passion for the various crafts on display here. Not only are the smallest details paid attention to, but some actually matter in the story itself. The creators' enthusiasm for what they have created is so apparent that sometimes the characters themselves can't resist pointing out the apparent poetic meaning of an object or something of the kind. On the detailwork, something I appreciate about the Grimoire series (and SFB games in general) is that there are background elements that are totally optional to investigate, but unlike in many other detective game series, rather that solely dressing they often provide hints at other details of the world. A lot of the dialogue is very funny, sure, but it creates such a feeling of discovery to be able to sniff out a detail that solves or implies something about some trivial question on the side. It's also dearly appreciated that if you present a clue that's technically correct but jumping the gun a bit, rather than just marking it "wrong" the characters will assure you that it will be used in due time. It doesn't particularly matter in that there's no scoring, but it feels satisfying as a player to be recognized for having a solid thought process, even if you aren't saying exactly what the game wants you to. I'd have to marinate on whether I prefer this to Tangle Tower, but the mystery solving is FAR more engaging. There are more puzzles (yay!!!), more clues, and genuinely challenging lines of logic to follow, or at least they average much more challenging than Tangle Tower's. Every character's "suspicion" confrontation feels so much more involved, and pretty much every character makes a compelling suspect and has their own relevant baggage to bring to the table. Unusually for a detective game but true to form for Grimoire, some non-murder-case details are left unexplained, to varying degrees; sometimes it's pretty inferable, sometimes it's simply open. If you expect your mystery games to explain everything, this may be daunting for you (as it was for me initially). However, if you are an artist of any shape, sort, or form, HIGHLY recommend all the same. You just may find your perspective changed.

I loved Tangle Tower, and this game improved on the mechanics in almost every way. I particularly liked the ability to rotate objects in your inventory and automatically track information you gathered about them. The voice acting and story were also just as strong as the first game. An incredible series overall.

I read so quickly that unskippable dialogue fills me with rage. The voice acting in this game - no, this series - is so good I didn't want to skip anything. Can't wait for the next one!

Everything that was amazing about Tangle Tower has been transferred over to Mermaid Mask and improved upon 10 fold! A++ game! Loved every minute! Gathering the clues and listening to the characters to puzzle out the murder was very satisfying. I think there were about two puzzles that I got super stumped on, but nothing to make me incredibly frustrated. Just sometimes wished they would let me know what piece I had right. Otherwise, A beautiful and fun murder mystery. I am making my friends play this >:)