Several years ago, I played a game called Detective Grimoire. I found it to be a charming, funny game and was looking forward to the sequel teased at the end. Last year, the sequel came out to such little fanfare, I didn’t know it existed until I stumbled onto the Steam page for Tangle Tower and realized that’s what it was.
Tangle Tower is now being showcased as part of LudoNarraCon, with both a free demo available for the next week and a sale on the full game, so I’m happy that this game is getting some time in the spotlight. The demo features a short slice of gameplay from the start of the game, where Detective Grimoire and his assistant Sally have arrived at the mysterious Tangle Tower to investigate a murder.
A point-and-click interface is used to investigate each area, with a map you can open up to travel between screens. As you click objects in the environment, you’ll learn more about the setting, find puzzles and clues, and frequently get humorous lines of dialogue from Grimoire and Sally. It has a unique art style for its characters and solid voice acting, with voiced dialogue for everything you inspect. Only a few rooms were accessible to me in the demo, but it looks like there are several options open at once in the full game.
Although the sole character you can question in the demo refuses to speak to you, you’ll be able to ask about various topics, present evidence, and ask about other characters. The hypothesis system also makes a return from Detective Grimoire, in which you’re given a statement and must fill in the blanks in order to present your theory about what happened. Here, Grimoire confidently declares that the painting must be the murderer due to having the murder weapon, much to Sally’s frustration.
Overall, I was happiest to see that Tangle Tower looks like it has a good sense of humor and a lot of funny dialogue. From making sarcastic observations about some of the tower’s more bizarre features to debating about whether or not the water in the lake is poisonous, Grimoire and Sally made it entertaining to inspect absolutely everything in each room I encountered on my way to the crime scene.
It feels a little strange to preview Tangle Tower months after it actually released, but I’m happy I had a chance to check out this sequel to Detective Grimoire and see that it looks to be just as entertaining. I look forward to finally playing the full game.
