Played with BertKnot.
The SFB Games studio has inherited the legacy of the Newgrounds adventure games, found at the crossroads between traditional point-and-click games and JRPGs. Their first game was The Legend of Zelda and the Lampshade of No Real Significance (2005), whose linear formula was consistent with the humorous, memes-embracing trend of the 2000s. Since then, SFB Games has undergone a gradual maturing, with the release of Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp (2014) being a watershed. Their projects then took on a new breadth and did not hesitate to experiment in the field of puzzle games. Tangle Tower is somewhat of a synthesis of these various endeavours, within a very charming package.
The player acts as Grimoire and Sally, who have been sent to the island of Tangle Tower in order to solve the murder of Freya Fellow. The game doesn't waste much time on introductions, as the different sections of the mansion are all accessible, leaving the player to choose their angle of approach. The investigation starts with a far-fetched premise, which may remind one of the Golden Age of Detective stories. Freya has been found stabbed in the torso, near her painting, whose central character – Flora – holds a bloody knife. Surprisingly, it is not red paint that gives the knife its colour, but real blood. To unravel this case, the player must explore the various rooms of Tangle Tower in search of clues, while questioning the suspects, so as to reconstruct a coherent chronology of their movements when the crime was committed.
The exploration is also interspersed with puzzles, in the pure tradition of point-and-click, but they remain of a very manageable difficulty, slightly reminiscent of early Professor Layton puzzles. They are usually sequences that allow to open doors or other safes, such that they are never anything unusual, but offer a welcomed distraction between the dialogue sessions. Moreover, Tangle Tower seems to draw a lot of inspiration from the Ace Attorney series: be it in the animation of the characters – outstanding, indeed – or in the way one can show them the different items of the case and get some reactions or clarifications, Tangle Tower draws from the standardised imagination of this legalistic series. The same appeal is found in the investigation, carried by an extremely pleasant art direction and cleverly written dialogue. Purely British, the writing always elegantly injects touches of wit, but never becomes heavy-handed.
As for the mystery, it is of sound quality, even if relatively conventional. The originality undoubtedly comes from the non-linear approach of the investigation, allowing a real organicity in the way the various critical elements are discovered. Several narrative threads intertwine and solving the murder also allows the player to discover the diverse relationships between the Fellow and Pointer families, whose isolation on the island is coupled with psychological discomfort. The mysterious lake, with its astonishing properties, lends Lovecraftian overtones to the plot, drawing on the imagination of mutant batrachians and other underwater creatures whose existence must not be mentioned. The ambivalence between art and science is also found in the Mythos, where artistic genius and erudite intuitions are inherited from extra-natural influences and a degree of madness, more or less latent. While Tangle Tower, in its family-friendly nature, never drifts into the pure horror found in Lovecraft's short story Pickman's Model (1927), it does have an esoteric quality in its final section, which works wonderfully well with the shift to night and darker colour palettes.
Solving the investigation is not a troublesome challenge, not only because it draws on familiar elements of detective fiction, but also because the gameplay mechanics are meant to be very approachable. The deduction phases are never punishing and the creation of conclusions by word group association works wonders for an amateur audience. In this respect, Tangle Tower is a particularly enjoyable game for a young public, which no doubt explains why the gameplay is calibrated for mobile. One may regret the fact that the clueing sometimes lacks a bit of precision – specifically because of the non-linear nature of the investigation – and that the final twist poorly explains a particular design choice, but these are fairly minor criticisms that can be accepted in the context of a video game.
Many reviewers have dwelt on the rushed nature of the ending, arguing that the culprit's motive makes little sense. It seems to me that this is a misunderstanding, and does not take into account the broken and pathetic qualities of the different characters in the manor. The fickleness of the motive is precisely a transposition of the madness – or tragedy – that encircles the island. It is similar to the unscalable cliffs that are evoked at the beginning of the game. The in medias res introduction pleads for a world that is withdrawn into itself – this is also the same imagery found in the library's snow globe or Freya's abstract painting. Lovecraftian madness is characterised by both the fragile characters and the erratic topological features. I do agree with the criticisms regarding the too abrupt nature of the ending, which could have been even more intriguing and pushed the esoteric mystery a little further, but one can understand SFB Games' decision by the desire to keep a good-natured tone or to keep these questions for a possible sequel.
Tangle Tower appears to be a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, which lasts five great hours. The production quality supports an interesting, albeit conventional, story, and one must commend the performance of the voice actors, who bring to life this mansion that seems stuck in time. This is a great first experience of a detective adventure game for a young teenage audience, and the title appears to be a fine synthesis of indie adventure video games, preserving an undeniable creativity. One may regret a few shortcomings in the storytelling, but the qualities of the game largely outweigh these flaws.
The SFB Games studio has inherited the legacy of the Newgrounds adventure games, found at the crossroads between traditional point-and-click games and JRPGs. Their first game was The Legend of Zelda and the Lampshade of No Real Significance (2005), whose linear formula was consistent with the humorous, memes-embracing trend of the 2000s. Since then, SFB Games has undergone a gradual maturing, with the release of Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp (2014) being a watershed. Their projects then took on a new breadth and did not hesitate to experiment in the field of puzzle games. Tangle Tower is somewhat of a synthesis of these various endeavours, within a very charming package.
The player acts as Grimoire and Sally, who have been sent to the island of Tangle Tower in order to solve the murder of Freya Fellow. The game doesn't waste much time on introductions, as the different sections of the mansion are all accessible, leaving the player to choose their angle of approach. The investigation starts with a far-fetched premise, which may remind one of the Golden Age of Detective stories. Freya has been found stabbed in the torso, near her painting, whose central character – Flora – holds a bloody knife. Surprisingly, it is not red paint that gives the knife its colour, but real blood. To unravel this case, the player must explore the various rooms of Tangle Tower in search of clues, while questioning the suspects, so as to reconstruct a coherent chronology of their movements when the crime was committed.
The exploration is also interspersed with puzzles, in the pure tradition of point-and-click, but they remain of a very manageable difficulty, slightly reminiscent of early Professor Layton puzzles. They are usually sequences that allow to open doors or other safes, such that they are never anything unusual, but offer a welcomed distraction between the dialogue sessions. Moreover, Tangle Tower seems to draw a lot of inspiration from the Ace Attorney series: be it in the animation of the characters – outstanding, indeed – or in the way one can show them the different items of the case and get some reactions or clarifications, Tangle Tower draws from the standardised imagination of this legalistic series. The same appeal is found in the investigation, carried by an extremely pleasant art direction and cleverly written dialogue. Purely British, the writing always elegantly injects touches of wit, but never becomes heavy-handed.
As for the mystery, it is of sound quality, even if relatively conventional. The originality undoubtedly comes from the non-linear approach of the investigation, allowing a real organicity in the way the various critical elements are discovered. Several narrative threads intertwine and solving the murder also allows the player to discover the diverse relationships between the Fellow and Pointer families, whose isolation on the island is coupled with psychological discomfort. The mysterious lake, with its astonishing properties, lends Lovecraftian overtones to the plot, drawing on the imagination of mutant batrachians and other underwater creatures whose existence must not be mentioned. The ambivalence between art and science is also found in the Mythos, where artistic genius and erudite intuitions are inherited from extra-natural influences and a degree of madness, more or less latent. While Tangle Tower, in its family-friendly nature, never drifts into the pure horror found in Lovecraft's short story Pickman's Model (1927), it does have an esoteric quality in its final section, which works wonderfully well with the shift to night and darker colour palettes.
Solving the investigation is not a troublesome challenge, not only because it draws on familiar elements of detective fiction, but also because the gameplay mechanics are meant to be very approachable. The deduction phases are never punishing and the creation of conclusions by word group association works wonders for an amateur audience. In this respect, Tangle Tower is a particularly enjoyable game for a young public, which no doubt explains why the gameplay is calibrated for mobile. One may regret the fact that the clueing sometimes lacks a bit of precision – specifically because of the non-linear nature of the investigation – and that the final twist poorly explains a particular design choice, but these are fairly minor criticisms that can be accepted in the context of a video game.
Many reviewers have dwelt on the rushed nature of the ending, arguing that the culprit's motive makes little sense. It seems to me that this is a misunderstanding, and does not take into account the broken and pathetic qualities of the different characters in the manor. The fickleness of the motive is precisely a transposition of the madness – or tragedy – that encircles the island. It is similar to the unscalable cliffs that are evoked at the beginning of the game. The in medias res introduction pleads for a world that is withdrawn into itself – this is also the same imagery found in the library's snow globe or Freya's abstract painting. Lovecraftian madness is characterised by both the fragile characters and the erratic topological features. I do agree with the criticisms regarding the too abrupt nature of the ending, which could have been even more intriguing and pushed the esoteric mystery a little further, but one can understand SFB Games' decision by the desire to keep a good-natured tone or to keep these questions for a possible sequel.
Tangle Tower appears to be a thoroughly enjoyable adventure, which lasts five great hours. The production quality supports an interesting, albeit conventional, story, and one must commend the performance of the voice actors, who bring to life this mansion that seems stuck in time. This is a great first experience of a detective adventure game for a young teenage audience, and the title appears to be a fine synthesis of indie adventure video games, preserving an undeniable creativity. One may regret a few shortcomings in the storytelling, but the qualities of the game largely outweigh these flaws.
Jogo de investigação muito foda com personagens únicos, uma bela arte e puzzles interessantes. Não curti muito o final, mas a jornada no todo foi maravilhosa!
This review contains spoilers
Some things in the investigation that are really interesting never get brought up again. The villain's motivation is kinda odd and the conclusion is insanely abrupt?
The music, VA ,visuals and characters are mostly excellent here.
Edit: After some retrospection, I've bumped this up a notch. Solely for the fact I thought about Penelope's motivation more. She kinda got what she wanted in the end; she got to be free of Tangle Tower and can't return to it.
The music, VA ,visuals and characters are mostly excellent here.
Edit: After some retrospection, I've bumped this up a notch. Solely for the fact I thought about Penelope's motivation more. She kinda got what she wanted in the end; she got to be free of Tangle Tower and can't return to it.
Little masterpiece right here, every aspect is outstanding, exquisitely crafted stuff. Wonderful art style, and those animations! Characters you just can't get enough of. Get a stylus and some headphones and curl up under a blanket and solve a cracking mystery. Go on!
Detective Grimoire is once again called to solve an elusive case: this time, they're taken to the eponymous Tangle Tower, a place in a mysterious island that houses the Fellow and Pointer families. Freya Fellow, one of the youngest in the former family, has been murdered, stabbed in the chest by... her own painting, found in the scene of the crime eerily holding a bloodied knife in front of her dead body.
A sequel to 2015's remarkable point-'n-click adventure Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp, Tangle Tower improves upon its prequel in almost every regard. The game is rendered in even sharper visuals, with beautiful 2D backgrounds and fluid hand-drawn character animations, thanks to which its scenes and characters brim with life. A gorgeous soundtrack completes the immersion, with tracks that reflect the personality of each character and the atmosphere of each moment. The experience is worth the price of admission for the vibes alone.
Despite the seriousness of the case at hand, the tone of the writing is mostly on the light side, with eccentric characters and humorous exchanges. The game's Teen rating, however, is well-earned, as there are some tense moments as well as a subtle darkness hiding behind the island and its inhabitants. There is a history to this place, what with the mysterious nature of the lake surrounding the island, multiple members of both families having left for unknown reasons and the people that remain on the island each harboring secrets to be uncovered. And uncover them we will, because this is a detective game.
The original game's investigation mechanics were iterated upon, but the gist of the sequel remains more or less the same: Grimoire and his assistant, Sally, both of which are controlled by the player, move between locations by selecting them on the map, and examine the scenes point-'n-click style to find clues. Sometimes, said clues are gated by puzzles which, intentionally or not, end up being one of the standout points of the experience, being of a similar caliber to the more high quality puzzles from the best Professor Layton games. Even the BGM used during puzzle-solving is somewhat like of those in that series games.
The closest parallel for the overall mechanics, however, would have to be the Ace Attorney series, what with the assembling of a case file full of clues, the gathering of statements from each witness and the presentation of evidence to those same witnesses in other to have them set their testimonies straight. Grimoire and Sally, however, have the freedom to explore the many rooms of the titular mansion in a non-linear fashion, giving the investigation in Tangle Tower a more player-guided, deliberate feel that sets it apart from its inspirations.
Of course, which such freedom comes an increased chance of the player missing a clue or otherwise getting stuck, and the game is especially careful not to let that happen: a hint button in the map screen, when pressed, mentions a room that would yield a clue if investigated; in addition, whenever the set of evidence needed to press one of the witnesses becomes available, the game is even more explicit, with the playable characters notifying the player that the option to press on a suspicion is now available via voice lines and an on-screen call to action. The hint button is for the better, but its when these prompts come up that Tangle Tower's biggest flaw becomes more evident.
Progression to the final sections of the game is gated behind finding the contradictions in each of the witnesses' testimony. Crucially, this must be done at once, which is why the game makes a point of notifying the player that the option to do so is available, but because it happens right after getting a crucial piece of evidence, the result is that the player must, all at once, make several conclusions about that witness that they might not have had time to digest. This takes them away from the driver's seat as they are tossed into a gauntlet of multiple choice questions that, due to their very nature, stop short of spelling out the answer to the suspicion in question.
It's an issue with the design: had dialogue options not been standardized, and instead, had there been multiple opportunities to, piece by piece, break down lies and/or answer questions about the witness, the player could have been eased into the conclusions the game expects them to take without losing the feeling of agency. The Ace Attorney series also sometimes uses testimony records as pieces of evidence, and something in that direction could have helped give players more freedom to solve the case by themselves, for instance, by having to choose what to press the witness on.
Potential improvements to the investigation mechanics aside, Tangle Tower is still a very satisfying experience: the relaxing vibes, approachable tone and exceptional voice acting alone are enough to justify the experience; the intriguing mystery, great brain-teasers and, despite its issues, still entertaining detective work seal the deal. I sure hope this is not the last we see of Detective Grimoire and Sally, and that SFB Games puts forth a new case for them to solve coming up some time in the future.
A sequel to 2015's remarkable point-'n-click adventure Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp, Tangle Tower improves upon its prequel in almost every regard. The game is rendered in even sharper visuals, with beautiful 2D backgrounds and fluid hand-drawn character animations, thanks to which its scenes and characters brim with life. A gorgeous soundtrack completes the immersion, with tracks that reflect the personality of each character and the atmosphere of each moment. The experience is worth the price of admission for the vibes alone.
Despite the seriousness of the case at hand, the tone of the writing is mostly on the light side, with eccentric characters and humorous exchanges. The game's Teen rating, however, is well-earned, as there are some tense moments as well as a subtle darkness hiding behind the island and its inhabitants. There is a history to this place, what with the mysterious nature of the lake surrounding the island, multiple members of both families having left for unknown reasons and the people that remain on the island each harboring secrets to be uncovered. And uncover them we will, because this is a detective game.
The original game's investigation mechanics were iterated upon, but the gist of the sequel remains more or less the same: Grimoire and his assistant, Sally, both of which are controlled by the player, move between locations by selecting them on the map, and examine the scenes point-'n-click style to find clues. Sometimes, said clues are gated by puzzles which, intentionally or not, end up being one of the standout points of the experience, being of a similar caliber to the more high quality puzzles from the best Professor Layton games. Even the BGM used during puzzle-solving is somewhat like of those in that series games.
The closest parallel for the overall mechanics, however, would have to be the Ace Attorney series, what with the assembling of a case file full of clues, the gathering of statements from each witness and the presentation of evidence to those same witnesses in other to have them set their testimonies straight. Grimoire and Sally, however, have the freedom to explore the many rooms of the titular mansion in a non-linear fashion, giving the investigation in Tangle Tower a more player-guided, deliberate feel that sets it apart from its inspirations.
Of course, which such freedom comes an increased chance of the player missing a clue or otherwise getting stuck, and the game is especially careful not to let that happen: a hint button in the map screen, when pressed, mentions a room that would yield a clue if investigated; in addition, whenever the set of evidence needed to press one of the witnesses becomes available, the game is even more explicit, with the playable characters notifying the player that the option to press on a suspicion is now available via voice lines and an on-screen call to action. The hint button is for the better, but its when these prompts come up that Tangle Tower's biggest flaw becomes more evident.
Progression to the final sections of the game is gated behind finding the contradictions in each of the witnesses' testimony. Crucially, this must be done at once, which is why the game makes a point of notifying the player that the option to do so is available, but because it happens right after getting a crucial piece of evidence, the result is that the player must, all at once, make several conclusions about that witness that they might not have had time to digest. This takes them away from the driver's seat as they are tossed into a gauntlet of multiple choice questions that, due to their very nature, stop short of spelling out the answer to the suspicion in question.
It's an issue with the design: had dialogue options not been standardized, and instead, had there been multiple opportunities to, piece by piece, break down lies and/or answer questions about the witness, the player could have been eased into the conclusions the game expects them to take without losing the feeling of agency. The Ace Attorney series also sometimes uses testimony records as pieces of evidence, and something in that direction could have helped give players more freedom to solve the case by themselves, for instance, by having to choose what to press the witness on.
Potential improvements to the investigation mechanics aside, Tangle Tower is still a very satisfying experience: the relaxing vibes, approachable tone and exceptional voice acting alone are enough to justify the experience; the intriguing mystery, great brain-teasers and, despite its issues, still entertaining detective work seal the deal. I sure hope this is not the last we see of Detective Grimoire and Sally, and that SFB Games puts forth a new case for them to solve coming up some time in the future.
Love this game! The twist at the end caught me a little bit //too// off guard though, it didn't seem hinted at throughout. But I love the game. Good humor, fun puzzles, fun mystery. I can't wait for the new one hehe
For the record, I did play most recently on switch in Nederlands with English voice acting. I don't think the Dutch option had existed on release so I played in English text back then, on PC. Though it's very possible I just didn't see the option. Liked it a ton every time I've played though. Dutch TL is great, I think Sally and Detective's characters really show well in the Dutch language.
For the record, I did play most recently on switch in Nederlands with English voice acting. I don't think the Dutch option had existed on release so I played in English text back then, on PC. Though it's very possible I just didn't see the option. Liked it a ton every time I've played though. Dutch TL is great, I think Sally and Detective's characters really show well in the Dutch language.
it's like The Case of the Golden Idol meets those old point-and-click Scooby Doo PC games with the humour of a peak mid-to-late 2000s Cartoon Network show. charming aesthetic and great voice acting too. do wish it was a little more distinct in terms of gameplay and can't help but feel as though the ending fell quite flat. looking forward to the next installment though!
The reasoning behind why I played this game is simple: I have a penchant for unorthodox murder mysteries, and I adored the art style at first sight. I really enjoyed the game in the end, despite a few caveats.
I'd like to get this out of the way first: I don't like how this game controls on consoles. It's obvious from the get-go that this game was made primarily for devices equipped with either a touchscreen or computer mouse. On consoles, you move a virtual cursor around with your analog stick. For standard point-and-click exploration, this is a perfectly fine solution. What baffles me is that these same controls are used in the game's menus. It makes anytime you have to use the menus (decently frequently) somewhat cumbersome. You have to move the cursor between all the options and select them that way. You can't even push B to close the menu or something, you gotta move the cursor to the top-left corner every single time. All they had to do was make it so you highlight and move between individual options at the push of a button, like any other menu interface in a video game. Regardless, I played the game in handheld mode with the touch screen in order to preserve my sanity.
Personal control debacles aside, there is A LOT to love about Tangle Tower. The game is voice-acted in full, and all the actors do a phenomenal job. This game immediately scratched my itch of inspecting literally every single object on a screen, and rewarded that habit in full, either with humorous dialogue, or an interesting discovery. Every single screen is beautifully designed. Each of the characters you meet are unique and memorable in terms of design, personality quirks, accents and verbal tics, the works. The fully-orchestrated music is whimsical and mysterious. The presentation is extremely strong.
The proper puzzles are very strong, often requiring a bit of unorthodox thinking to solve. The segments where you mix sentences to reach a conclusion never felt satisfying to me though. Not only do they mostly feel like trial and error, but you also can't access your evidence during them, which feels like a missed opportunity in terms of letting the player review their facts to reach a conclusion. It also doesn't help that once you reach a certain point, it feels like the game just barrels towards its ending with very little regard to pacing, taking away some satisfaction from solving the mystery.
Overall, I can definitely recommend this one to fans of puzzle games and murder mysteries, particularly stuff like Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton. It probably won't impress or tax your brain like those two series do, but it's a standalone experience worthy of at least one full playthrough, despite a few flaws.
I'd like to get this out of the way first: I don't like how this game controls on consoles. It's obvious from the get-go that this game was made primarily for devices equipped with either a touchscreen or computer mouse. On consoles, you move a virtual cursor around with your analog stick. For standard point-and-click exploration, this is a perfectly fine solution. What baffles me is that these same controls are used in the game's menus. It makes anytime you have to use the menus (decently frequently) somewhat cumbersome. You have to move the cursor between all the options and select them that way. You can't even push B to close the menu or something, you gotta move the cursor to the top-left corner every single time. All they had to do was make it so you highlight and move between individual options at the push of a button, like any other menu interface in a video game. Regardless, I played the game in handheld mode with the touch screen in order to preserve my sanity.
Personal control debacles aside, there is A LOT to love about Tangle Tower. The game is voice-acted in full, and all the actors do a phenomenal job. This game immediately scratched my itch of inspecting literally every single object on a screen, and rewarded that habit in full, either with humorous dialogue, or an interesting discovery. Every single screen is beautifully designed. Each of the characters you meet are unique and memorable in terms of design, personality quirks, accents and verbal tics, the works. The fully-orchestrated music is whimsical and mysterious. The presentation is extremely strong.
The proper puzzles are very strong, often requiring a bit of unorthodox thinking to solve. The segments where you mix sentences to reach a conclusion never felt satisfying to me though. Not only do they mostly feel like trial and error, but you also can't access your evidence during them, which feels like a missed opportunity in terms of letting the player review their facts to reach a conclusion. It also doesn't help that once you reach a certain point, it feels like the game just barrels towards its ending with very little regard to pacing, taking away some satisfaction from solving the mystery.
Overall, I can definitely recommend this one to fans of puzzle games and murder mysteries, particularly stuff like Phoenix Wright or Professor Layton. It probably won't impress or tax your brain like those two series do, but it's a standalone experience worthy of at least one full playthrough, despite a few flaws.
the animations and artwork are gorgeous, the characters are charming, the deduction mechanic is cute and fun, but the mystery left me unsatisfied
Una de las cosas que más cuesta conseguir en un juego es que tenga encanto, y este pequeñísimo whodunnit lo borda con un apartado artístico extremadamente brillante, trabajo de voz muy bueno y unos personajes cachondísimos. Una aventura gráfica que recuerda mucho a títulos como Layton o Ace Attorney pero que tiene un estilo propio.
Me consta que están haciendo la secuela directa, yo estoy dentrísimo de esta mierda ya, voy a pillarme los otros del Detective Grimoire lo antes posible.
Me consta que están haciendo la secuela directa, yo estoy dentrísimo de esta mierda ya, voy a pillarme los otros del Detective Grimoire lo antes posible.
I got this game at the recommendation of a mutual on Twitter and oh boy am I so glad I did. Even if I didn't buy it on sale and bought it at normal price it's well worth the price. It's a delightful point and click mystery game and the mystery is VERY deep and complex. As someone who grew up on the HER Interactive Nancy Drew games it PERFECTLY satisfies the itch to play a good point and click mystery where I can be as nosy as can be to solve a murder.
The cast of characters all have their own unique charm that you get to see more and more of as you unravel the mystery of Tangle Tower and the 3 families that reside there. Each character has such a charming design and the animation for the character sprites is probably my favorite I've seen in just about any point and click style game. Also the voice acting is SO GOOD. It was the main thing that drew me in and had me curious about the game, hearing clips of character dialogue in the game trailer my twitter mutual had shown me.
Anyways. It's good. Really good. It's on sale pretty often (it's on sale for 75% off as I'm typing this review) and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's a fan of a good meaty mystery in point and click games. And those who just love fun character designs and voice acting.
The cast of characters all have their own unique charm that you get to see more and more of as you unravel the mystery of Tangle Tower and the 3 families that reside there. Each character has such a charming design and the animation for the character sprites is probably my favorite I've seen in just about any point and click style game. Also the voice acting is SO GOOD. It was the main thing that drew me in and had me curious about the game, hearing clips of character dialogue in the game trailer my twitter mutual had shown me.
Anyways. It's good. Really good. It's on sale pretty often (it's on sale for 75% off as I'm typing this review) and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's a fan of a good meaty mystery in point and click games. And those who just love fun character designs and voice acting.
Straight up one of the best mystery games I've ever played. The production is ridiculous, and I mean that as praise—the music, voice acting, animation and witty dialogue all come together to form a delightful little game. Me and some friends streamed this one together, and had a grand old time trying to piece the mystery together as a group. The characters are all fun to talk to, and the sheer amount of flavor text with each one is such a treat. No bad puzzles, either, though the clock face one could be a bit agonizing.
The very final scene with the culprit fell a little flat for me, but the build to that moment is top-notch. I won't spoil it, but the "oh, shit" moment when it all comes together? Absolutely amazing.
The very final scene with the culprit fell a little flat for me, but the build to that moment is top-notch. I won't spoil it, but the "oh, shit" moment when it all comes together? Absolutely amazing.
This review contains spoilers
legitimately the conclusion of this mystery was so unsatisfying I was expecting it to be like the midpoint or a goof but no the game just ends like that
The style change was sudden... but it did grow on me. I'm more glad that the VAs didn't change.
Doskonale wykreowani bohaterzy, o których pamięta się długo, nawet po zakończeniu gry. Troszkę przypomina serię Professor Layton lecz z mniejszym naciskiem na zagadki.
Perfect little game. The script, voice acting, character art, background art, music, sound effects, are all absolutely wonderful and genuinely charming. The puzzles were generally good too, if a little bit samey/simple sometimes.
The characters were all so well defined and unique which made every little interaction with them a delight. Everyone had their own theme music, which was not only amazing but suited each character to a tee.
Won't go into the story too much as to avoid making this spoilers, but it was an actually pretty reasonable, well-dressed mystery, with bits that could be pieced together before the game explicitly stated them.
As a huge Layton fan, I love this game, some aspects even moreso than with any of the Layton games. I think it fell slightly flat on the puzzles, which is Layton's greatest strength (besides great art/music direction), but had a much more cohesive story and fun dialogue than anything from Level-5.
Highly recommend to any fans of detective stories looking for a pleasant, low-stress casual game.
The characters were all so well defined and unique which made every little interaction with them a delight. Everyone had their own theme music, which was not only amazing but suited each character to a tee.
Won't go into the story too much as to avoid making this spoilers, but it was an actually pretty reasonable, well-dressed mystery, with bits that could be pieced together before the game explicitly stated them.
As a huge Layton fan, I love this game, some aspects even moreso than with any of the Layton games. I think it fell slightly flat on the puzzles, which is Layton's greatest strength (besides great art/music direction), but had a much more cohesive story and fun dialogue than anything from Level-5.
Highly recommend to any fans of detective stories looking for a pleasant, low-stress casual game.
All I want is more games like this. I love games about solving mysteries and though the mechanics here aren't difficult, they serve their purpose in highlighting the real star of the show: the beautifully drawn and entertainingly acted cast of weird characters. The writing is the real star of the show here and it was relentlessly charming.
I was satisfied with the story and how the mystery wrapped up. As with most good mysteries, the solving of it was wrapped up in better understanding the characters and the setting.
This was just an unabashedly fun point and click mystery, and I immediately turned around to check out other games in the series. I can only hope this series gets more attention, I want to see more of these!!
I was satisfied with the story and how the mystery wrapped up. As with most good mysteries, the solving of it was wrapped up in better understanding the characters and the setting.
This was just an unabashedly fun point and click mystery, and I immediately turned around to check out other games in the series. I can only hope this series gets more attention, I want to see more of these!!
I thought the first game was charming but dear god they took it up to the next level, I adore this game.
Vast improvement over Detective Grimoire, an incredibly charming mystery adventure with genuinely interesting personal dramas. There's some connections to the first game, hints to an overarching plot, but ultimately its just hints.
Tangle Tower não é exatamente desafiador em gameplay ou tem uma história cheia de reviravoltas e digna de um prêmio - na verdade, ele tem poucos puzzles e boa parte da trama principal é revelada nos momentos finais.
Mas Tangle Tower também é um jogo que transborda personalidade, capricho e curiosidade. A atmosfera, os personagens, os cenários, a dublagem, tudo nele me conquistou desde o primeiro minuto. Definitivamente um jogo a dar uma chance.
Mas Tangle Tower também é um jogo que transborda personalidade, capricho e curiosidade. A atmosfera, os personagens, os cenários, a dublagem, tudo nele me conquistou desde o primeiro minuto. Definitivamente um jogo a dar uma chance.
Great art and designs, good writing, and characters really brought to life through a talented voice cast and charming animation.
A friend showed me the steam page and this trailer and not even halfway through it I stopped watching it, just to jump directly into the demo before dropping that soon to just play the full game. Everything I saw seemed perfect for me, the character designs, animation, voice acting, silly humor, chill but atmospheric music and fun puzzles.
The mystery in this story has a simple premise but it has more layers than you might expect, and the design of Tangle Tower makes it really fun to look at everything you find as you talk to the characters and collect your evidence.
The puzzles always have pretty simple logic to them, but after the first couple you'll likely find yourself having to think a decent bit without losing your sanity, very well balanced for a short game.
The story maybe falls a little short by the end, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the ride nonetheless. Besides, there's a lot going on if you just pay attention to the characters when they simply talk about seemingly inconsequential things, so maybe I missed something.
This game is very short but meaty throughout, if I had played it in 2019 it'd be in my top 3 of the year. It may not be perfect or for everyone, but I am giving it all 5 stars because it didn't drag and I loved going through it. Looking at the trailer should actually be enough to know if you'd love this as much as I did.
The mystery in this story has a simple premise but it has more layers than you might expect, and the design of Tangle Tower makes it really fun to look at everything you find as you talk to the characters and collect your evidence.
The puzzles always have pretty simple logic to them, but after the first couple you'll likely find yourself having to think a decent bit without losing your sanity, very well balanced for a short game.
The story maybe falls a little short by the end, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the ride nonetheless. Besides, there's a lot going on if you just pay attention to the characters when they simply talk about seemingly inconsequential things, so maybe I missed something.
This game is very short but meaty throughout, if I had played it in 2019 it'd be in my top 3 of the year. It may not be perfect or for everyone, but I am giving it all 5 stars because it didn't drag and I loved going through it. Looking at the trailer should actually be enough to know if you'd love this as much as I did.
~4/5.~
Lovely, lovely game! The voice acting, THE visuals, the 'bread-crumbing' of information and intrigue, the WIT, the well timed 'dot dot dots' in the dialogue, the music! the ambience! all just so very polished and lovable! I l o v e it!
It is SOMETHING to behold - growing up and consuming the content these devs have whipped up over the many years since ye olde Newgrounds days and getting to now witness just the peak of their creative power. I do like this one quite a bit~
It is SOMETHING to behold - growing up and consuming the content these devs have whipped up over the many years since ye olde Newgrounds days and getting to now witness just the peak of their creative power. I do like this one quite a bit~
What a delightful surprise this game was! A lightweight spin on the puzzle/adventure/detective genre, along the lines of the Ace Attorney series, where you must catch contradicting characters and clues. While not the deepest story, the writing was frequently funny and the art charming enough to keep me engaged throughout. I hope to see more in this series!
a neat indie mystery that’s so compelling i stayed up till the late hours on christmas eve just trying to reach the end. sorry santa. the ending twist is a biiit too telegraphed for my taste but the whole thing is so cute and charming
A short and charming little murder mystery game a la Professor Layton.
The characters are well written, acted, and full of personality. The game is a little too short however to show off an arc to most of them, or see any meaningful interaction, which I would have liked.
Puzzles are pretty easy for the most part, and the game gives you a lot of direction so you pretty much never get lost. The main gameplay is really just looking around in rooms and finding the right things to click, which I don't find awfully exciting.
Ultimately it's cute and I see why someone might love this, but the gameplay isn't engaging for me personally.
The characters are well written, acted, and full of personality. The game is a little too short however to show off an arc to most of them, or see any meaningful interaction, which I would have liked.
Puzzles are pretty easy for the most part, and the game gives you a lot of direction so you pretty much never get lost. The main gameplay is really just looking around in rooms and finding the right things to click, which I don't find awfully exciting.
Ultimately it's cute and I see why someone might love this, but the gameplay isn't engaging for me personally.
To revisit Tangle Tower was event better than I could have imagined to be honest and works surprisingly well. I forgot big chunks of the mystery and was able to re-evaluate how well it tells it's story. The simple answer is: brilliant.
Tangle Tower is very well paced, very tested towards intuitive progression (which is surprisingly uncommon for most Point and Click Adventures). It manages to stay funny all the way through, with very snappy dialogue that is just excellently voiced. In my eyes, this even surpasses the mystery crafting of Thimbleweed Park, which I found to be one of the best the genre had to offer. Think of Tangle Tower of a mini Danganronpa Chapter, cut 90% of the horrible and weird and creepy gameplay and character-interactions and now pretend the case is actually graspable and not complete moon-logic bullshit. That's Tangle Tower. My appretiation for this only grew.
Tangle Tower is very well paced, very tested towards intuitive progression (which is surprisingly uncommon for most Point and Click Adventures). It manages to stay funny all the way through, with very snappy dialogue that is just excellently voiced. In my eyes, this even surpasses the mystery crafting of Thimbleweed Park, which I found to be one of the best the genre had to offer. Think of Tangle Tower of a mini Danganronpa Chapter, cut 90% of the horrible and weird and creepy gameplay and character-interactions and now pretend the case is actually graspable and not complete moon-logic bullshit. That's Tangle Tower. My appretiation for this only grew.
What I think I'll remember most about the Detective Grimoire trilogy is how each game acts as a benchmark for it's time period in independent development. The first game is a clear flash title, the second evokes the mobile game boom and early digital storefronts, while Tangle Tower feels like one of the high quality passion projects releasing today.
The art, animation, writing, music, and voice acting are all excellent. Truly top of their class. The simple interfaces of Secret of the Swamp have been replaced with full puzzles. The mystery is a good deal more involved in my opinion. If there's another game in this series currently in development, I'll be there day one.
The art, animation, writing, music, and voice acting are all excellent. Truly top of their class. The simple interfaces of Secret of the Swamp have been replaced with full puzzles. The mystery is a good deal more involved in my opinion. If there's another game in this series currently in development, I'll be there day one.
Esse jogo é muito bom!! Mas tem problemas que conto um pouco mais abaixo.
Os personagens são muito divertidos e únicos, a arte e a musica é linda, as animações são incríveis, a dublagem é muito boa e realmente ajuda a simpatizar com os personagens, e o mistério te deixa instigado até o final.
Mas esse jogo tem um problema muito grande no final dele, ele pareceu bem rushado, deixou muitas pontas soltas na resolução do mistério, eu diria graves furos de roteiro em relação ao assassinato, e teve uma cena de 20 minutos de dialogo expositivo sobre o porque de todo o mistério, de forma maçante, e metade das informações desse dialogo poderiam estar no decorrer do jogo mesmo, pro jogador ir descobrindo, e não tudo ser jogado no dialogo final (falei sem spoilers, mas a situação dessa cena é pior do que eu deixei escrito, evitei detalhes pra voce ver por si mesmo)
Recomendo o jogo? SIM!! O jogo é realmente muito bom, paguei 7 reais na promoção e não me arrependo, o jogo só se perde no final mesmo, mas foi extremamente divertido todas as 7 horas de jogo que tive, se o final fosse melhor o jogo poderia facilmente ser 5 estrelas pra mim!
Os personagens são muito divertidos e únicos, a arte e a musica é linda, as animações são incríveis, a dublagem é muito boa e realmente ajuda a simpatizar com os personagens, e o mistério te deixa instigado até o final.
Mas esse jogo tem um problema muito grande no final dele, ele pareceu bem rushado, deixou muitas pontas soltas na resolução do mistério, eu diria graves furos de roteiro em relação ao assassinato, e teve uma cena de 20 minutos de dialogo expositivo sobre o porque de todo o mistério, de forma maçante, e metade das informações desse dialogo poderiam estar no decorrer do jogo mesmo, pro jogador ir descobrindo, e não tudo ser jogado no dialogo final (falei sem spoilers, mas a situação dessa cena é pior do que eu deixei escrito, evitei detalhes pra voce ver por si mesmo)
Recomendo o jogo? SIM!! O jogo é realmente muito bom, paguei 7 reais na promoção e não me arrependo, o jogo só se perde no final mesmo, mas foi extremamente divertido todas as 7 horas de jogo que tive, se o final fosse melhor o jogo poderia facilmente ser 5 estrelas pra mim!