Detective Grimoire

Everything that this game does is executed much better in Tangle Tower, so I'd recommend you play that first if you haven't already, and then come back to this if you were left wanting more.
The puzzles in here are basically non-existent, taking so little effort that they might as well not be there, and the UI is much more clunky requiring a lot of unnecessary clicks. Some mechanics feel underdeveloped or just completely pointless, such as being forced to analyze the same liquid over and over for no reason, or drawing in the notebook which was cute but felt obvious every time. Also no Sally as your partner :'(
Despite my criticisms, this game is still a fun way to spend a couple of hours, as the worldbuilding and characters are pretty interesting and well crafted. 6.5/10

One of the most fun detective games ever. The MC was my favorite, a wacky cast of suspects with personalities and unique appearances. Such a fun game. Def worth playing. Lots of fun puzzles and also the voice acting in the game is a really nice feature the voices for each character fit well. The character designs remind me of old cartoon network art. This game is def a hidden gem.

A swift mystery adventure that draws You in, never weighs down heavily on You, and leaves You well satisfied. It's a very effective detective game, for sure - You feel quite free swiping back and fotrh through the naturalistic location full of local secrets as Grimoire, a rather young investigator, solving the puzzling murder in a very densely atmospheric setting - somewhere down in Louisiana, it seems. The game does great at worldbuilding, impresses character-wise, and if some may say it's rather not much difficult for a detective game, others would note that it well makes up for it by being such a stylistically juicy piece of interactive art. The way this game is made, the way it looks and sounds -- I don't think it's easy to withstand the temptation to delve into it in the very best kind of an escapistic manner.

Probably one of the best out there in terms of enticing the player, and now that they're continuing the series - I simply couldn't be more excited. Going to go through them now along with my kid.

I recently played Tangle Tower (this game’s successor) and decided to play this one as well. Another very solid murder mystery game that I would give a 7/10. Spoiler free review.

Positives:
-The game is somewhat stylized similar to its successor Tangle Tower; ghostly white skin characters with colorful accessories, hair, and so on. Solid visuals, not mind-blowing but way above the run-of-the-muck graphics.

-I love the cutscenes! They are short, nice, and I thought really added to the game.

-Music is very good here, and has a whimsical, fun atmosphere to it. Definitely did not tire of the music before the game ended.

-The dialogue is overall very concise and well written. There are some moments that it feels a tad dry for a game like this, but for the most part it is right where it should be in terms of getting the point across in a fun manner.

-The mechanics of the game are fun and while some are extremely primitive (many puzzles are just…moving things around to look at some; I’m not sure if this game was originally a flash game but it reminded me of flash games back in the 2000’s a bit) and some pointless (the suspicious and not suspicious mechanic is fun, but ultimately pointless and the achievement actually slightly ruined the ending for me since I wanted to get all the achievements in one run), I mostly found it a charming kind of simple.

Neutral:
-Game is short. I know some people do not care about a game’s length, hence neutral, but I would say 3-4 hours max is how long your first playthrough will take. Not much meat here.

-Game has the common issue most games like this have of bringing an item to everyone to talk about it.

-While I like that the game does not waste my time when I bring an item that a character has no information on, the fact it cycles through the same three dialogues of “I don’t know” is a bit lame. It’s not a huge deal, but I rather they either have unique dialogues for each item, or just a generic “I don’t know,” single line quip that’s easy hear fast and skip, so I don’t accidentally skip dialogue on an actually relevant item.

-The locked challenges were interesting but I kind of felt some were strangely not that useful or relevant. Some felt like they just needed the person to be…related to the crime in some way. This was pretty rare though.

-The game’s scope is short and concise. That means it is all done well, but also that there are not really any crazy twists or anything. Sets a goal and does it, so it is a kind of predictably fun experience.

Negatives:

-This is a pretty extreme nitpick, but the game hints at a sequel (which again is out, Tangle Tower) a lot. Like a lot a lot. I’m okay with hints, references, and slight pushing of a story that will go “Hey, we’ll have a sequel at some point!” story-wise, but for a 3-4 hour game, I think there were about 3-4 moments that did that. That’s pretty excessive and detracts from the current experience, you do not want your game to feel like an ad for your next game. But a very, very forgivable if not petty negative on my end.

When I saw this game on Steam, I initially glanced over it as I really did not like the art style based on the store page. But as I had a craving for good detective games, and this game was on sale and had great reviews, I bit the bullet and dove in!

First of I have to say that I 100% turned around on the artwork: now I find it one of the highlights of the game. Other parts feel just as satisfying and unique: the sound design, soundtrack and voice acting are all extremely fun and polished.

The mystery itself is rather simple, and the actual sleuthing is maybe the weakest point of the game. You talk to every suspect, find clues and show these close and profiles of other suspects to suspects. There is a completion marker on the left of the screen at all times, and to be able to get 100% I ended up doing the horrible thing of combining every clue item and profile with every interrogation. This kind of broke the immersion for me. I know I could also not have done this, but as the completion marker is permanently in view (not even in a menu) it feels like the game wants to encourage this behavior. I get that this is probably to get more runtime out of a pretty short game, but the game itself is good enough without the need for extra stimulus to keep on playing.

But don't let this one nitpick distract you from the fact that this is a fun, intriguing, gorgeously made mystery game with fantastic characters and a lot of heart. I highly recommend it and have put the next game in the series on my wishlist!

8/10

Its a cute game, yes its very simple and to be honest- the killer is super obvious but thats alright. The style and story make up for it!

Cute game, unique mechanics for solving a detective mystery. Story pretty satisfying, too.

Short but engaging detective game. Great characters and setting. The puzzles are very polished but also very simple, if you're looking for a challenge this probably isn't your game.

Don't play it.

It's ok. Not a bad detective game, kinda easy.

Fun cute detective game

Click all the water you can see.

freedom to visit characters in more than one order added nice flexibility to the investigation. loved how all the clues came together for a satisfying conclusion. enjoyed the art style and voice acting. all around great experience.

This is a fun little adventure game with great animation and voice acting. It's short and sweet -- it took me a little over three hours to finish without any outside help. A lot of light, inoffensive humor and something the whole family can play together. I got it on sale for a few dollars and I thought it was well worth it. A solid 7 of 10.

It does a ton right when it comes to gamifying detective work, but I can't recommend the overall package. The biggest issue is that it's just way too short in an unsatisfying way. The version I bought was just called "Detective Grimoire" without the "Secret of the Swamp" subtitle that is sometimes included, so I had no idea the whole game would just be the one extremely simple (and far too obvious) mystery. I thought this was like the tutorial case where everything is really easy because they are teaching you the mechanics and then the real game would start afterward with a challenging follow-up case, but no, it's just the one way-too-easy mystery.

I liked all of the individual gameplay mechanics but they felt like they were left at the tutorial stage without even a hint of challenge in the puzzles or any real thought required in the deductions. On top of that, I disliked all of the voice acting and thought the music sucked to the point of nearly just muting it. It has its charm though, and I liked the way it gamified detective work enough to consider giving the sequel a shot at some point

mom I threw up pose..

Good 4 hour story

i love this game so much! it gives me that nostalgic feeling of these types of games as a kid but better. wanted to keep playing forever

An amazing little investigation game that, personally for me, was like a blast from the past. It's got a solid narrative, fantastic aesthetics, and above it all, it features an incredible cast of voice actors, many of which you may know about. Indeed, this game was a fleshed out prototype from a creation based on a Newgrounds game, it's then no surprise it features voices such as Arin Hanson (Egoraptor), Joshua Tomar (Tomamoto) and Edwyn Tiong (Omahdon).

It's not very long, but it has a lot of charm and very clever writing, and I consider it to be a fun little prequel for what is likely going to set up events later in their sequel, Tangle Tower.

Detective Grimoire lacks the polish and mechanical refinement of their later release Tangle Tower, but it is still a very satisfying 3 hour detective experience with excellent animation, voice acting and writing. Well worth playing but if you only have time for one, take Tangle Tower instead.

Fun little game. Not too challenging. Funny and the atmosphere was on point.

Charming characters, an interesting art style, and a quality p&c mystery story. What more could you want?

A good solid game! Love the dialogue

Short game and it has great story, voice actors, character design, and really fun world building I recommend if you like mystery puzzle games.

Big fan of Grimoire! I played Tangle Towers first, and this was a shorter, easier version.

The storytelling and puzzles are fun for all ages (*again, easy for adults), especially if you're into story based puzzles/escape rooms. You can enjoy playing this with more than 1 person if you're looking for something more interactive than a movie for a rainy afternoon on the couch. ~2h of playtime.

You can see the plot twist when you meet "that person" but otherwise it's a decent fun. 6/10

My Wife and I really enjoyed playing this together, puzzles aren't difficult but are very entertaining.

Charming little game.

Detective Grimoire is a wonderful casual detective game. I went back to play it after completing Tangle Tower (a sequel), and it's just as good, if a little simpler. Nice artwork, decent voice acting, lots of people to talk to and clues to find and a silly murder mystery to solve. There's a couple of mini games, but nothing tedious or time-consuming. I got through the game in about 2 hours and that's exactly what I wanted from it. Mildly amusing, very comforting, solid entertainment. I look forward to the third one in the series.

This game, while short, is such a treat

This is the first game in the SFB Games series about detective Grimoire. This is a point and click puzzle game which really doesn't have much in the way of puzzles, and doesn't really have much in the way of a plot, and doesn't really have much in the way of emotion... but still, it's an extremely cute little game that has been very enjoyable to play! You just walk around, talk to suspects, combine words to arrive at conclusions ("The Case of the Golden Idol" took this mechanic and ran with it very far, but here it exists in a very rudimentary form), but it all comes together in a coherent and often funny whole, so do give this one a try! Also try the second one, Tangle Tower, it's a direct continuation that's a bit larger but follows the exact same mold.

fun mystery wonderful art and neat detectiving mechanics

A delightful little point and click detective game. The swampy setting is very charming, and the characters all have distinct personalities that make them fun to engage with. I like the mechanics of interrogating each character once you've found enough evidence to ask them about inconsistencies in what they tell you. The ending was satisfying, and at least one thing you uncover about a character throughout the story was a pleasant surprise.

It's fine, but I'd recommend you rather play Tangle Tower (basically the same game, same dev). It's better imo and playing one of them is enough.

Fun, short detective game. Stumped me for a second untill I realized the clue that was staring me in the face.

A bug in the first real Q&A of the case prevented me from continuing. At least one other player reported this in the forums.

Steam issued a refund for my troubles.

🔍My first Detective Grimoire game was the Tangle Tower, love this one as much !🔎*🕵🏻‍♀️*

This is a neat game. Clearly a lot of effort was put in, definitely enough to warrant over $2 per hour of game. It is rare to see a game like this to have full VA, so it is very welcome. The voice clips do have some issues with audio quality at times seemingly for random lines, but it does not detract from the experience. The gameplay is great, but those trying to go through the game fast will really struggle without having hint sparkles on bc there are some things that are very difficult to spot. The story is pretty good, the characters are great, and the mystery is alright, though the killer is very predictable going into the final act.

I didn't realise the tangle tower was the sequel and played it first so mark me surprised after finding we had a first one in the series. I had very good experience with the other one so I expected this one should be at least okay. And it was better than okay, maybe not as fun as the sequel (I also prefer the graphics of the sequel), but still a fun and good game. I found out recently that the dev is planning/making a third one in the series. Hopefully it will come out soon.

This was the first "Detective Grimoire" game I played and I absolutely loved it. It's a great "whodunit" detective investigation skill. I love how you can use your deductive reasoning skills to try and discover the mystery of who committed the crime. I also love that you can investigate virtually everything on the screen and generally get unique dialogue for each item. It's a really unique detective investigation game. Highly recommend if you enjoy sleuthing and puzzles!

I remember Detective Grimoire from when I was a kid playing the first browser game, so I knew I needed to try the modern games. The mystery, art, voice acting, and animation in Secret of the Swamp are all great. A lot of care was put into each one, but my favorite has to be how full of life the characters are and how playful the game's voice direction is. The puzzles/mini-games were cute but fairly simple, and even though it's a murder mystery, the tone never gets too grim or dark, so I think kids would enjoy this game as well.

Fun simple mystery. I liked the vas and the game mechanic of putting together a sentence was cool

I got this game after playing the sequel Tangle Tower .

Cute, cozy, short detective game (approx. 2 hours long).
Turn off the sparkling in the settings at the beginning to add at least a little difficulty to the game.
You can't do anything wrong here. The game is very undemanding.

Just have fun. :)

i looove the art, character design and voice acting

Great witty little point and click deduction game for the ages of 7-14

Figured out the villain in the first 15 minutes! The foreshadowing and heavy hinting gave it all away too fast

A little too easy compared to most stuff on the market, but get your kid ready for harder games like Ace Attorney with this one!

It is a great Short game with a lot of style and animation. It is a bit easy when came to puzzles. If you looking for a short click-and-point adventure to do in an evening this is a good one. I will be checking the next game in the series .

Lovely short detective mystery game. The characters and the mystery completely come together. Tight, no flab. Cute and light.

A game way past its hey-day.

While the character interactions and dialogue were very well done, it plays like a very dated flash game.

nice.

Short, cute fun. Loved the mechanics. Definitely worth a play if you like mystery games.