Tangle Tower is a more linear and condensed version of an already linear and condensed game, Detective Grimoire. Like that game, this game consists of walking through each screen collecting clues, talking to every person about those clues, and using deductions to move the investigation forward. Like Detective Grimoire, this game doesn't allow you to make mistakes in your deductions, and gives you clues as to where you ought to go to next, in order to collect the next available clue. There are some puzzles you need to solve in order to open certain things, but those puzzles are so simple, they're a distraction rather than a part of the game. Each screen is fairly empty, and you'll find most clues on your first visit to each area, but most clues are superfluous, and it never feels like you're actually investigating the murder. Rather you're unearthing the biography of everyone involved, because everyone in this game is a liar, and everyone hides the most unimportant aspects of their connection to each other. Eventually you find out how the murder took place - a murder plot so over the top, it wouldn't even air on Jonathan Creek. You also discover a connection to the previous game, which only serves to bog this game down. Eventually the murderer reveales himself/herself and goes on a long rant of pointless exposition that explains nothing about the murder, and makes little to no sense. You also get a sidekick in your investigations, which feels superfluous since her entire job is to bring a serious tone to a game supposed to be comedic, and to ruin whatever levity there is. Most of the investigation being confined to one house and a yard, also means there isn't much to explore, and most characters being forgettable, Tangle Tower feels like a step down from Detective Grimoire. It too had empty screens and a small world to walk through, but was funnier and had more interesting characters. Whatever revelations you'll make, the characters won't become more interesting.
