Detective Grimoire returns as Tangle Tower devs announce submarine sequel

Aww yeah, now we're talking. One of my personal highlights from tonight's Day Of The Devs Showcase, developers SFB Games have just announced they're making a sequel to their excellent detective puzzle game, Tangle Tower. Called The Mermaid's Tongue, this latest locked room mystery will see Detective Grimoire and his assistant Sally return for an altogether more watery adventure as they solve the strange murder of one Magnus Montuga, who's met their unfortunate demise after being seemingly spat out by a cursed cauldron that's never been opened. Come and watch the reveal trailer below - and then why not hop over to Steam to play its free teaser demo while you're at it?

Coming in 2024, The Mermaid's Tongue will no doubt look and feel very familiar to any returning Tangle Tower heads. As you poke about its colourful environments with your mouse, you'll be gathering clues, solving some light puzzles and questioning suspects as you try and work out whodunnit and how. The method by which you make your deductions is the same as before, too, tasking players with mixing and matching clues and words to make the correct sentence.

That's not to say that's nothing changed along the way, though. This time, all objects have been given the full 3D treatment, letting you rotate and prod them from all angles in your menu. You can also open and close objects now to potentially reveal further clues and information, too, making the act of evidence gathering feel a touch more tactile than it did in Tangle Tower.

I've already had a sneaky early peek at the demo for The Mermaid's Tongue, and it really is lovely to be back in the company of Grimoire and Sally again. Their witty observations and ability to crack a good joke haven't been dimmed at all in the intervening years, and it's certainly whet my appetite for more when it comes out next year. The demo only covers the opening prologue, so fear not - you won't accidentally spoil anything for yourself beyond what you've seen in the trailer, and it's really designed just to give you a flavour of the mystery to come, and introduce its wonderfully weird submarine setting.

So go on, why not give it a go on Steam and see what's what? The Mermaid's Tongue doesn't have a release date other than just 2024 at the moment, so it may be some time before we hear more.