For centuries people have been enthralled by the who-done-it genre; slowly unravelling mysteries full of twists and turns related to a despicable crime. Before advancing to the detective fiction of the nineteenth century from Edgar Allen Poe, to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and then, Agatha Christie's focus on detectives like Hercules Poirot - a genre constantly growing to other mediums. Where modern film has Benoit Blanc; games have Harry Du Bois and Detective Grimoire.

Following what seems like a year of never-ending high-quality deduction games, SFB Games returns with a new entry in their Detective Grimoire series, The Mermaid Mask. The latest game in their who-done-it deduction franchise which takes players to a new location in their supernatural universe, alongside the familiar faces of Detective Grimoire and his partner Sally Spears. A sequel that anyone can jump right into without prior knowledge as it's a brand new murder case with new characters.

After Captain Mortuga is found dead next to an ancient artifact, the remaining passengers aboard his submarine call in the help of Detective Grimoire and his partner Sally Spears. But when they see the captain was found inside a locked room, they realise it might not be an easy mystery to solve.

The Mermaid Mask smartly introduces you to the basics of navigation. Like the previous entries, players see a first-person view of a wonderfully painted environment. You use the cursor to click on anywhere of interest on the screen. In doing so, Detective Grimoire gives a unique piece of narration for each selectable area. It's the first example of the phenomenal and consistently well-written dialogue that's voiced by a supremely talented cast.

After picking up his case file, you can observe the empty file, then wake up your intelligent and spirited detective partner, Sally Spears. However, Detective Grimoire and Sally aren't the focus of the story. They're our vessels to experience another enthralling mystery and investigate a cast of murder suspects in their latest who-done-it mystery.

Detective Grimoire has been hired to board the recently murdered Captain Mortuga's submarine and to descend to the depths of the ocean, trapping all possible suspects on board whilst you investigate the crime scene, search for clues, solve puzzles, and interrogate the suspects to confirm your suspicions and to deduce scenarios that lead to the truth.

You start by observing the detailed environments and clicking on anything useful. Then, after collecting clues, you use the in-game map to choose which part of the submarine to go to next from a selection of blank squares that slowly unlock as you discover each place.

After thoroughly exploring a location, Detective Grimoire and Sally discover hidden puzzles which contain key evidence to progress your case. Like clicking on objects in the environment, interacting with puzzles will make Detective Grimoire or Sally discuss the current challenge. While we don't learn many personal titbits about the pair, these moments offer humour and background about the puzzles, that ingratiate players to the duo.

But once you click on a puzzle, you're taken to another detailed, handcrafted screen. Such as in the Illusion Room, where a suspect stores the equipment for her magic act. This unique puzzle consists of cards to make three pictures of identical girls, glass lenses, and a riddle to solve. You can move and place the lenses on the pictures of the girls, to shrink, enlarge, or warp them. Then, after figuring out the riddle, you move the lenses to complete the puzzle. But if it's too difficult, Sally and Detective Grimoire do offer some helpful nudges in the right direction.

But this is only one puzzle out of the many hidden throughout the submarine; each one is vastly different from the last. One requires you to manipulate shapes to unlock a phone, turn handles to match up the number of edges on shapes, turn dials to access a typewriter, and many more. But it's how logical each puzzle is that makes them fun to solve. That doesn't mean they're easy, as they strike a nice balance of difficulty. As some people will come across puzzles in different orders, depending on when you visit a room. But like any puzzle, some people will find a puzzle easy that someone finds difficult, and vice versa. There wasn't a puzzle throughout the game's chapter based structure that I didn't enjoy.

After you've completed puzzles and found key clues, you'll begin to meet the entire cast of murder suspects. This allows you to ask each person the same questions: ask for their backstory, delve into their personality and motive, and ask them to relay their alibi for the night of the murder. The recital of alibis are shown in 3D toy-like models that overlay the screen, as 2D character portraits animate and move their mouths and positions.

All of this information is stored in your case file which is accessible from the bottom right of the screen. It allows you to compare suspects' stories for inconsistencies and other key information, and see if you've found everything there is to find in relation to them. Eventually, with enough evidence and background information obtained by asking each suspect about each person and presenting each piece of evidence, you'll be informed that a suspect is ready for you to deliver your suspicions about their motives and actions.

If you want to take part in the suspect's final interrogation, you can accept the notification and be warped straight to them. However, this is where I experienced a repeated glitch. After accepting to interrogate the suspect, the game would get stuck and stay in my current location. So, I had to exit to desktop and quit the game. It was one of the only inconveniences I had whilst uncovering the mystery in The Mermaid Mask, but I hope it's fixed by launch.

But when you present your suspicions, Detective Grimoire and Sally talk through their possible motives. This is The Mermaid Mask's strongest narrative tool as characters have clear and reasonable motives for why they could've potentially committed the crime. Suspects are strongly characterised and skilfully voiced, so much so, that it's easy to believe them. There's the soft spoken illusionist Symmetry who gives an aloof deliver to her lines, the prickly author J. D. Wirman and many more. Each vastly different from the next.

But like all good deduction games, the evidence doesn't lie. Even the seemingly inconsequential novel Sally has brought on her travels can have connections to people, and evidence buried within. So, as you present what you know about the suspect and their motive, you keep having to select the correct piece of evidence to support your statement. This can be a poster that shows a magician's act, or combining two clues to prove a suspect wrong. But the most common part is where you complete your deductions by forming sentences.

These phrases are presented in multiple blocks: some you spin to select phrases, others you choose from a selection of pictures and text to drag into an empty space. Then when you think you've proven your point, you click enter to present your evidence. But if you're wrong, the game doesn't punish players. It encourages the use of an approachable hint system that attaches a thumbs up or thumbs down logo to the blocks, to steer you in the right direction. Although you could theoretically take advantage of this system to brute force your way through the game, The Mermaid Mask gives players the choice and trusts them to play how they want to.

If you get a satisfying ding, you've presented the correct evidence and can continue your interrogation. At times, this leads to dialogue choices where you must select the correct answer to proceed, or simply choose what to say to add your own flavour to conversations. It's just another way to make you feel like a detective.

However, the hint system has the potential to lessen the experience for players who want a hardcore point and click experience, as does being able to click all over locations to find clues. But I firmly believe the environmental art is intelligently designed to steer you to points of interest without telling you what to do, or needing to spam clicks everywhere. They're gameplay mechanics and a gameplay loop that might not appeal to every mystery fan for those reasons.

Nevertheless, I'm a big advocate for optional ways to play, and still, I didn't find myself needing to use hints or clicking on every nook and cranny to locate evidence. Discovery felt natural, and I always had a clue or information to discuss with another suspect. All of which led to interrogations. It's an approachable and highly enjoyable gameplay loop that purely focuses on the mystery, to allow you to become the detective you want to be.

Despite not learning many new details about the protagonists, the developers create another layered narrative that expertly links clues from throughout the game in the mystery as it continues to unfold. It's an interesting and supernatural world built on the back of engaging lore and humorous and unique characters. No matter how strange, quirky or secretive a suspect is, they do what every whodunnit mystery needs to do - the characters are believable.

Unsurprisingly, much like the improved storytelling, the visuals and audio design also levels up. A kinetic enthusiasm emanates from the character portraits as they move in staggered animations, which are helped by the layered speech bubbles that seem alive with movement. Everything is polished and oozes quality.

Outside of the sublime performances, it cannot be underestimated how important the score is when reinforcing each character's personality. It must've taken a gargantuan effort to create character and location soundscapes that cross the boundaries of multiple genres. One second there's the resonant drone of throat singing and horns, and then, a quicker paced track to ratchet up the urgency of solving a puzzle.

Away from the gameplay, The Mermaid Mask has a small selection of accessibility options like subtitles and simple point and click controls. But its helpful hint systems are what set it apart to welcome players of varying abilities. Whether you want to alleviate the frustration of a tricky puzzle, or just want to experience the feeling of being a detective without the challenge, you get to decide how to play.

The first half of the year has seen an influx of high-quality mystery and puzzle games, all of which offer something a little different. Now, SFB Games returns after developing Crow Country, to release the latest entry in their Detective Grimoire series, The Mermaid Mask - a point and click mystery game that showcases the developers passion in every frame.

Despite being a sequel, SFB Games have made the right decision to make The Mermaid Mask playable without any prior knowledge. Outside of a few mentions, new players can jump right in and get the same experience as a returning player to the series. It's a brand new mystery with a fun gameplay loop, tremendous writing and performances - yet another detective puzzle game worth the price of admission.

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