A Review of Tangle Tower
Freya Fellow’s crime scene.
February 22, 2021
Quarantining as a result of the pandemic has had many people playing video games as a way to combat boredom. With no exception to myself, I would highly recommend playing the game “Tangle Tower” during this unique time. “Tangle Tower” is an exceptional click and point murder mystery video game with stunning graphics, fun puzzles, and an intriguing storyline. The game is part of the Detective Grimoire series and was released in 2019. It was developed by SFB games (most notable for the creation of “Snipperclips”) and has a play-through time of about 6 hours.
You play as Detective Grimiore and his sidekick Sally. You have been given a case file that has led you to a small castle in which Freya Fellow has been found dead while painting a portrait. Your goal is to find out how she was killed and who did it. The story in this particular game was really great. The reveal of who killed Freya, for me at least, was definitely unexpected. They also did a great job of having every piece of evidence found during the investigation play a part in the murder without revealing who or how the murder was done before the ending.
As to the way you find evidence you enter different rooms in the castle and click things that look important. If they are important they will be added to your inventory. You need this evidence to ask suspects about and eventually when you get enough evidence you can accuse suspects.
Accusations work in three steps. First you go to the character that you are accusing and tell them your suspicions. Then Grimoire will do what the game refers to as “logic”. You are given an array of clues and a list of verb phrases to choose from. You have to make a statement that explains the evidence in relation to the accused. Lastly, the character you accused will tell you what they know about what you have accused them of. This part of the game was really fun and allowed the player to use logic without making it too difficult. The only thing I didn’t particularly like was how you needed very specific pieces of evidence in order to accuse the suspects. At certain points you hit a roadblock and had to either click on nearly everything until you found what you needed or watch a playthrough which comes with the prospect of spoilers.
Another aspect of the game are its puzzles. Sometimes you have to solve a puzzle in order to unlock evidence. These aren’t all that difficult or unique and they can all be solved relatively quickly. However, they work well to keep from interrupting the flow of the game.
Like the puzzles, the soundtrack of the game isn’t anything too special. It does a good job setting the tone of each room but isn’t memorable. However, it is perfect for this game because it allows the voice acting to really stand out. Each character has a unique voice that fits perfectly with their personality. In a game where a lot of the time is spent talking to the characters the voice acting makes it a lot easier to follow.
One last notable thing about the game is its art. Unlike the game’s lesser-known predecessor “Detective Grimoire: Secrets of the Swamp” this game has visuals with much brighter and more contradicting colors. Each character also has a black outline around distinctive features making them look more cartoon-like. In my opinion this style sets the game apart from other click and point adventure games. You can really tell that a lot of time was put into the art and animation of the game. It really makes the game much more enjoyable.
All said, I would highly recommend “Tangle Tower” if you enjoy a lowkey game. The game can be purchased on the Nintendo Switch, and Steam for $19.99, or accessed through an Apple Arcade subscription.
