Detective Grimoire Explained

Detective Grimoire is a series of detective mystery video games developed by SFB Games. The series currently consists of three titles, with a fourth in development. Additionally, the soundtracks to Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp and Tangle Tower have been released.

Games

Detective Grimoire (2007)

Detective Grimoire is a flash game developed by SFB Games (formerly The Super Flash Bros.) and published by Armor Games on their website and Newgrounds in 2007. According to one of the developers, this game is considered as a prototype for the later games, and it is not considered part of the series.[1]

Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp (2014)

See main article: Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp. Detective Grimoire: Secret of the Swamp is a murder mystery point-and-click adventure game developed by SFB Games and published by Armor Games, which was released on iOS platforms on January 2, 2014. It was later released on Android, PC, Mac, Linux and Steam by SFB Games.

Tangle Tower (2019)

See main article: Tangle Tower. Tangle Tower is a murder mystery point-and-click adventure game developed and published by SFB Games. It is a sequel to the 2014 game Detective Grimoire. The game was launched with the Apple Arcade service on September 19, 2019, and was later released for Nintendo Switch and Steam on October 22, 2019. Tom Vian noted, "While the game hasn't set the world (or our bank account) on fire, it's been a solid success for us".[2]

ScreenRant praised the "logical, cleverly designed puzzles", the "distinct, entertaining personalities" of the characters, and "unexpected twists and turns" of the story.[3] Nintendo World Report described it as "the closest to a brand-new Layton game you're liable to find in 2020". Tangle Tower won the 2020 IndieCade award for Best Performance.[4] Additionally, it was nominated for the 16th IMGA.[5]

The Mermaid Mask (2024)

In March 2020, SFB Games announced they were in the process of writing the next entry in the series, which wouldn't be called Tangle Tower 2 as it would be a brand new story with new characters.[6] The sequel, titled The Mermaid's Tongue, was announced for PC and consoles on December 6, 2023 and is scheduled for release in 2024. It was later retitled to The Mermaid Mask.[7]

Soundtracks

Tangle Tower soundtrack

SFB Games released the soundtrack to Tangle Tower on June 13, 2020 on services including Spotify, Google Play, and Apple Music using the CD Baby service. Tom Vian commented, "It's made us almost no money, but it's just nice to have it out there!".[8]

Notes and References

  1. Vian . Tom . SFBTom . 1254333438460604416 . April 26, 2020 . @anders_on21 If it makes you feel better, we don't consider the Flash game part of the series, more of a prototype of what came later. The series so far is Detective Grimoire (2014) and Tangle Tower (2019) . en . January 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211013115127/https://twitter.com/sfbtom/status/1254333438460604416 . October 13, 2021 . live.
  2. Vian . Tom . SFBTom . 1319409477213356035 . October 22, 2020 . So how do I think the first year has gone? Really well! While the game hasn't set the world (or our bank account) on fire, it's been a solid success for us. While I'm not quite ready to reveal sales figures, I will say that we now have 901 reviews on Steam, which is amazing! https://t.co/IzxAZni0vy . en . January 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201023001300/https://twitter.com/SFBTom/status/1319409477213356035 . October 23, 2020 . live.
  3. Web site: 2019-10-22. Tangle Tower Review. 2021-07-21. ScreenRant. en-US.
  4. IndieCade ️ . IndieCade . 1319725884622966784 . October 23, 2020 . CONGRATS WINNERS NUTS by @joonturbo @polclarissou @alphachar @almutschwacke @tofias Audio Design Thousand Year Old Vampire by @TimHutchingsFTW Tabletop Tangle Tower by @SFBTom @SFBDim @Ungapants @Jharrisanim Performance #AnywhereAndEverywhere https://t.co/f3uX7llvec . en . January 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201023194434/https://twitter.com/IndieCade/status/1319725884622966784 . October 23, 2020 . live.
  5. Web site: Tangle Tower. 2021-07-21. International Mobile Gaming Awards.
  6. Web site: Snipperclips Devs Working on Tangle Tower Sequel - News. 2021-07-20. Nintendo World Report.
  7. https://twitter.com/SFBTom/status/1732447063210614981
  8. Vian . Tom . SFBTom . 1319408037090725889 . October 22, 2020 . Jun 13th 2020 We released the soundtrack on Spotify, Google Play, Apple Music, and just about everywhere else possible, using the CD Baby service. It's made us almost no money, but it's just nice to have it out there! https://t.co/S3Deds7guB . en . January 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201022224829/https://twitter.com/SFBTom/status/1319408037090725889 . October 22, 2020 . live.