"Submarine murder that outsolves everything the series has done"
About
A locked-room murder aboard a submarine: Captain Mortuga is found dead beside an ancient cauldron, surrounded by a crew of suspects who each have reasons to lie. You play the detective duo Sally and Grimoire in a hand-drawn point-and-click, gathering clues, examining 3D evidence models you can rotate and inspect, and interrogating everyone on board. Progress comes from matching evidence to contradictions in testimony and solving standalone logic puzzles that gate the story. It's the newest entry in the Detective Grimoire series from SFB Games, following Tangle Tower.
Verdict
The Mermaid Mask is the rare sequel that sharpens its predecessor on nearly every front, from the confident final act to evidence you can turn over in your hands. The puzzles respect your time, the writing is funny where it should be and tense where it counts, and the art and voice work carry scenes on their own. It loses a little ground where the plot points at mysteries it never fully unpacks, and a progression bug plus shaky non-English translations can trip a minority of players. Fans of the series should not hesitate, and newcomers to detective adventures will find few better places to start.
You'll like it if …
- +you want a fair mystery that makes you think without dead-ending in moon logic
- +you followed Tangle Tower or the wider Detective Grimoire series and want the callbacks
- +you'll pause a scene just to take in the art and score
You'll dislike it if …
- −you need every thread tied off and hate a mystery that raises questions it won't answer
- −you want long-tail replay or open-ended systems rather than a tight, mostly linear case
- −you rely on a non-English translation and can't tolerate rough localization
Breakdown
- +Puzzles land in a sweet spot where impatient players report solving them without frustration, but they still demand thought
- +The clue-then-confront loop stays well paced across a full investigation
- +Rotating and inspecting 3D evidence adds a tactile step that means something rather than padding out screens
- −The mystery is convoluted by design, and players who prefer tightly signposted deductions may find some leaps loose
- +Every character has a unique voiced reaction to every piece of evidence, including things they know nothing about, which rewards testing wild combinations
- +Hidden evidence only surfaces when you ask the right questions, so thorough players find more
- +Cross-references to earlier games let series fans reconstruct family trees and lore across titles
- −It's a fairly quick, mostly linear mystery rather than a systemic sandbox, so replay comes from lore-hunting, not new outcomes
- +The central case is larger and more intricate than Tangle Tower's, and the final act actually resolves with confidence
- +The Sally and Grimoire banter keeps the supernatural darkness from turning grim
- +Tension builds cleanly and the hints keep you oriented without spelling out the answer
- −Several plot threads get raised, pointed at, then dropped without a satisfying explanation
- −The mermaid and Serpent mythology promised by the title stays thinner than the framing suggests
- +Character animation, background art, and voice work sit well above the indie norm and draw players to pause just to look
- +The hand-drawn style has a Psychonauts-ish charm that stays consistent throughout
- +The soundtrack earns attention on its own rather than sitting in the background
- −Voice volume is inconsistent between lines for some players
- −Non-English translations, Chinese in particular, carry noticeable errors
- +UI, onboarding, and the generous hint system are cleanly built and rarely get in the way
- +Runs solidly for the large majority
- −A minority hit a progression-blocking bug in the Chapter 3 Airlock Canister quest
- −Evidence-playback audio bugs and translation problems forced some players into workarounds
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