The Mermaid Mask: A Deep Dive into SFB Games’ Latest Nautical Mystery
By the time you read this, The Mermaid Mask has been out for just over 24 hours. I stayed up way too late last night clicking through its hand-painted corridors, laughing at Sally’s barbs, and staring at a barnacle-encrusted cauldron like it held the secrets of the universe. As someone who fell hard for Tangle Tower back when it dropped on Apple Arcade, I’ve been waiting for this sequel with the kind of impatient energy usually reserved for new seasons of my favorite comfort shows. And honestly? It delivers.
SFB Games’ The Mermaid Mask, released July 16, 2026, for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2, is the latest entry in their Detective Grimoire series. It follows directly from Tangle Tower while standing comfortably on its own. If you’ve never met Grimoire and Sally before, no worries—you won’t feel lost. But if you have, there are delightful little threads that tug at the edges of that previous case in ways that made me grin like an idiot.
Setting Sail into the Unknown
The game opens with a cryptic letter and a couple of photographs pulling our intrepid duo aboard the Mortuga submarine, floating in the pitch-black waters off the abandoned fishing town of Silkwirm-on-Sea. Captain Magnus Mortuga—rumored immortal time-traveler, cursed vampire, or something even stranger—lies dead in a locked room. Single fatal wound, no weapon in sight, and right in the middle of it all: an ancient, barnacle-covered cauldron that looks like it was dredged up from the ocean floor after centuries. Scratches inside. Recently opened. Empty.
From there, you’re thrown into a cast of wonderfully eccentric suspects: a crew that feels like it wandered in from a gothic fever dream crossed with a particularly British comedy sketch. There’s the new captain, Sinthia Seafoam (voiced with perfect poise), the doctor who seems a bit too calm about everything, and a whole lineup of oddballs whose backstories unravel piece by delicious piece. SFB has always excelled at making characters feel alive through dialogue and animation, and they’ve leveled it up here. Every suspect is fully voice-acted, with returning stars Edwyn Tiong as the earnest, slightly bumbling Detective Grimoire and Amber Lee Connors as the sharp-tongued Sally. The supporting cast—including voices from Hades II, Jujutsu Kaisen, and more—brings real personality to the table.
The writing walks that perfect tightrope SFB is known for: dark themes (murder, obsession, legacy, isolation) wrapped in light-hearted British humor. Grimoire and Sally’s banter is peak comfort. Sally will roast a suspect, Grimoire will try to play the straight man, and then something absurd happens that had me chuckling out loud at 2 a.m. It never feels mean-spirited, though. There’s genuine affection for these weirdos, even as you’re accusing them of murder.
Gameplay: Puzzles That Actually Feel Like Detective Work
If you’ve played Tangle Tower, you know the drill: explore, interrogate, examine clues, and piece together the “Suspicion” conversations that lock in motives and alibis. The Mermaid Mask builds on that foundation beautifully and makes some meaningful upgrades.
The biggest change is the clues. No more static 2D items—every piece of evidence is now a fully realized 3D object you can rotate, inspect from every angle, and interact with in satisfying ways. The first one you find already feels meatier than most of the inventory in the previous game. There are state changes, hidden details, and tactile little secrets that reward curiosity. It makes the detective work feel physical in a way that clicks perfectly with the point-and-click format.
The submarine itself is a sprawling, hand-crafted environment. It’s dense. SFB says it’s somehow double the size of Tangle Tower (which clocked in around 6 hours), and I believe it. Expect at least 12+ hours if you’re thorough, and that’s before poking around the post-game art gallery. The map screen lets you move between areas, and after the opening, you have a lot of freedom to tackle the eight primary “Suspicion” conversations in different orders. This non-linearity means replays feel fresh—different paths, different realizations, different “aha!” moments.
Puzzles strike a great balance: logical but not hand-holdy, with enough layers that you’ll feel clever when you crack them. Some involve combining clues in your notebook (a lovely evolution of the system), others require careful observation of the environment or suspect dialogue. There were a couple of trickier bits that had me stepping away for tea and coming back with fresh eyes—exactly what a good mystery game should do. No moon-logic here, just satisfying deduction.
Performance is solid across platforms. I played on PC and it ran buttery smooth. The Switch versions (including Switch 2) look like they’ll be perfect for handheld detective work on the go. Controls are intuitive whether you’re using mouse/keyboard, controller, or touch.
Visuals and Atmosphere: Painterly Perfection
Catherine Unger’s hand-painted backgrounds are stunning. The Mortuga submarine feels alive—creaky, claustrophobic in the best way, with bioluminescent touches and shadowy corners that make the deep-sea setting pop. The 3D clue models blend seamlessly thanks to clever texturing and that signature wobbly outline shader. It keeps the 2D soul of the series intact while adding depth (literally and figuratively).
Character animations are expressive and charming. Faces convey so much with subtle shifts—Grimoire’s earnest confusion, Sally’s eye-rolls, the suspects’ nervous twitches. The art style hasn’t changed drastically from Tangle Tower, and that’s a strength. It still feels warm, stylized, and unique rather than chasing trends.
The lighting and color palette shift as you delve deeper into the mystery. Early sections have a certain cozy-creepy charm; later ones lean harder into the uncanny and the profound. It’s never outright horror (SFB already gave us Crow Country for that), but the atmosphere gets under your skin.
Sound Design and Music: Hauntingly Beautiful
The original score, performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra, is a highlight. Raphael Benjamin Meyer’s compositions swell at the right moments—eerie underwater motifs, tense interrogation stings, and quieter reflective pieces that let the story breathe. It elevates the whole experience from “charming indie adventure” to something more cinematic.
Voice acting is top-tier. The chemistry between Grimoire and Sally sells the partnership. Suspects feel distinct; no one phones it in. Sound effects are subtle but effective—the creak of the sub, distant water sounds, the satisfying click of examining a clue.
Comparisons and Context
Coming off Crow Country, SFB could have chased that survival-horror success. Instead, they returned to their roots with care and ambition. The Mermaid Mask feels like a love letter to the Detective Grimoire series while pushing it forward. It’s bigger, denser, and more interactive without losing the snappy charm that made Tangle Tower special.
Compared to other modern point-and-clicks or narrative adventures (Return of the Obra Dinn, Outer Wilds vibes in deduction, Ace Attorney energy in the confrontations), it carves its own niche: cozy yet creepy, funny yet thoughtful, tactile and clever. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s exceptionally well-crafted.
Early reviews are glowing—9/10s from Shacknews and Game Informer, strong praise from EDGE for the ensemble cast. The Steam launch is off to a positive start.
A Few Minor Gripes
Not perfect, of course. A couple of puzzles took me longer than expected because the “aha” required a very specific interaction I overlooked at first. The non-linearity is great but could overwhelm completionists who want to see everything in one go. And while the length is welcome, some might miss the bite-sized feel of Tangle Tower. These are small quibbles in an otherwise excellent package.
Final Thoughts: Worth Diving In
The Mermaid Mask is a triumph for SFB Games. It’s a game that respects your intelligence, rewards curiosity, and wraps a genuinely compelling mystery in warmth, humor, and stunning presentation. In a year full of big-budget blockbusters, this indie gem reminds us why we love games: for the stories, the characters, and those delicious moments when everything clicks into place.
Whether you’re a longtime Grimoire fan or new to the series, this is essential playing. It’s cozy enough for a relaxing evening but deep enough to stick with you. I’ve already started a second playthrough to chase missed details and different dialogue branches. The ocean floor has never felt so inviting.
If you’re on the fence, download the demo (still available and a great taste). Just be prepared to clear your schedule once the full game hooks you. SFB has delivered another winner. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another seven years for the next one—though after this, I’d wait.
Score: 9/10 A masterful underwater mystery that’s equal parts charming, clever, and haunting. One of 2026’s standout indies.
