Unravel a top-notch mystery in Tangle Tower, a new point-and-click puzzler from developer and publisher SFB Games. As a sequel to Detective Grimoire, the game released at $20 USD for the Nintendo Switch and Steam and, to say the least, it is more than worth the money.
Simply put, Tangle Tower is one of the best games I’ve played. It’s relatively short but is chocked full of creative juice. Outstanding writing, perfect voice acting from the whole crew, charming original artwork, and varied puzzle challenges kept me hooked from start to finish. If you love point-and-click games, mystery games, puzzle games, or just well-executed pieces of art, then absolutely purchase Tangle Tower and enjoy the ride!
Feeling like a Detective
Out of all of Tangle Tower’s accomplishments, the one I expected the least but appreciated the most is feeling like an actual detective. Piecing together mismatched witness reports, looking for clues in the relationships between suspects, and drawing connections through deductive reasoning had me feeling like I was a budget Sherlock Holmes.
Playing through Tangle Tower is a vicarious experience, as the main detectives Grimoire and Sally respond to the player’s inputs with witty self-injections. Being the leader of a semi-competent, semi-hilarious team allowed the he-said, she-said nature of the story to shine through each characters’ unique interpretation.
The most innovative part of Tangle Tower that magically tuned my blazer patches into tobacco-smelling tweed is the design of the story and puzzles. Without getting into spoilers, there is wonderful variety and challenge to the different bits of story that solving puzzles grant, and each puzzle directly correlates with characterization and plot symbolism.
Aesthetic Enchantment
It’s hard to put into the words the respect I have for the writing, voice acting, artwork, music, and SFX of Tangle Tower. The overall tone of whimsical, self-referential, cheeky, and uncanny fantasy blends all the elements into a perfect bundle of mystery goodness.
Honestly, I fell in love with the game from the first couple of interactions and the dynamic cast of characters kept me engaged throughout. As a writer, Dungeons and Dragons DM, and gaming consumer, I felt a shining sense of inspiration every time I stepped away from the game. Rarely are games executed flawlessly, and Tangle Tower left me in awe.
Final Verdict
To its praise, only the video game genre could pull off this type of masterpiece–there are cinematic moments, the deep characterization and plot sophistication of books, and it has the interactability that only games can truly provide. Mixed together, the combination of each storytelling touchstone makes Tangle Tower even greater than the sum of its parts.
Score: 10/10
Check Out the Tangle Tower Trailer:
Tangle Tower is available for Nintendo Switch (Nintendo eShop) and Windows PC/Mac via Steam. You can also play Tangle Tower on Apple Arcade.
Nintendo Switch Review
Recent Michigan State University grad and current Game Studies researcher who plays fantasy RPG's to escape, Smash to compete, and Stardew to chill. Also have a +1 to rage/toxicity resistance due to the many hours sunk into WoW, R6, and LoL.
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