The Mermaid Mask is a perfect vacation murder mystery

The Mermaid Mask , the next point-and-click game from Tangle Tower developer SFB Games, has everything you could ask for in a great murder mystery.

It starts with a compelling setup: The captain of a submarine is found dead in a locked room, his body next to a mysterious cauldron with blood trickling across the floor. The colorful cast of suspects stationed aboard are delightful to talk to, including a grumpy author trying to draft a sequel to his hit novel, an actor playing the lead in a movie based on that novel, a young woman who puts on elaborate illusion performances, and even a man who studies dreams. The submarine works as an excellent setting that elevates the mystery — in a vehicle that already has such a small footprint, how does a locked-door crime happen in the first place?

Like other crime-solving games, such as the Ace Attorney series, The Mermaid Mask is essentially a visual novel. As Detective Grimoire and his partner Sally, the returning protagonists from Tangle Tower , you’re primarily talking with suspects, investigating rooms, poring over objects, and solving puzzles. But each room is packed with nooks and crannies and knickknacks to click around on, investigate, and learn about, so there’s almost always something to dig into.

The whole thing is backed by excellent voice acting; I often went out of my way to click on every detail I could find just to hear what the characters would say. The puzzles, which have you doing things like turning dials in exactly the right way or organizing skulls on a shelf, also do a good job breaking up what would otherwise be a whole lot of text conversations.

Even though I haven’t played Tangle Tower , I didn’t feel like I was missing any meaningful context. The Mermaid Mask borrows a tried-and-true model from other franchises starring a returning detective, like with Knives Out ’s Benoit Blanc: You can come into this story cold without missing anything important, but Detective Grimoire and Sally are a fun hang that make a few nods to their previous work together.