Detective Grimoire

So fun, very immersive, great writing, amazing artwork, cool story, awesome voice acting!

Sometimes it can feel weird working backwards through a creator's catalog. The first game I ever played by SFB was Tangled Tower when it was included in the early days of Apple Arcade. That game was a blast and definitely put their work on my radar. But even in screenshots, Secret of the Swamp definitely looked a little rough by comparison. The writing and the construction of the mystery is still good, and the acting is still hitting above its weight class for the size of the studio, which makes me think that good acting is more a matter of good taste, good direction, and good casting than budget. What really holds this entry back is how the art style meshes with the mechanics. Oftentimes it feels like they had to add highlights for important objects because the environments didn't make it clear what was worth clicking on. And the weird petty issue I have comes from how many things you ask people about where they give canned answers. SFB could have gone 2 ways with this in future titles, either by restricting what you could ask about through either punishment or restriction, or by adding more unique responses. And I definitely liked which way they went. Secret of the Swamp is a fun little romp, and definitely gives insight on where this team would go, but it's a little rough for those who fell in love with their later entries.

Идеальная игра на один вечер. Интересная детективная история с забавными персонажами и озвучкой на высоте. Проходится быстро, но весело, а это самое главное.

Awesome voice acting and gameplay!

Heavy-handed af. Frequent bits of narrator saying "Huh, here's a gun lying randomly on the ground I WONDER IF IT' MIGHT BE A CLUE I should write it down in my notebook and ask people about it!" You have to remember to click on every bit of scenery because you never know, there might be a plot token behind it. Worse than pixel-hunting in the 90s because you actually have to click and get a canned response if you get it "wrong" and the puddle was indeed just a puddle. Then you ask everyone about everything, so there's not actually any illusion of choice. There's a plot but there's so much telling you HEY MAYBE THIS THING HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH X that you feel ike you're being dragged through it. Got a fair way through and then gave up.

Short and sweet game. Ending wasn't that great but has potential if a sequel is released.

It is a fun little quest, that does not take too long to finish, yet does not get too obvious and boring all at once. I recommend this game.