These days, the point-and-click genre feels like something from a bygone era. High-profile point-and-clicks are few and far between, and those that do come to prominence – like Double Fine’s Broken Age or Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us – often fail to drum up enough support to justify future entries.

Part of the issue is accessibility. Point-and-clicks are notoriously known for their archaic design, unintuitive solutions, and often frustrating difficulty. They’re also typically geared toward the mouse-and-keyboard crowd – alienating those who might benefit from alternate, more portable means of play.

Tangle Tower is an intriguing deviation from the status quo. Developed by SFB Games (a London-based team best known for 2017’s co-operative puzzler Snipperclips), Tangle Tower debuted last month on iOS as part of Apple Arcade, as well as on Nintendo Switch and Steam. A murder mystery game, Tangle Tower wears its point-and-click DNA on its sleeve. Smartly, though, the game has been built from the ground up with touch devices in mind, providing an extremely accessible entry point for more casual Apple and Switch owners hankering for a captivating yarn.

It may seem like a sudden pivot for the accomplished studio, but Tangle Tower is surprisingly successful in its execution. The game is gorgeous, both visually and aurally, pulling players into its world. Its characters are interesting and well developed, carried by some of the best voice work I’ve heard in recent years. And while the game sacrifices some gameplay depth compared to other point-and-clicks, it does so with intent and purpose – and generally delivers.

Unfortunately, Tangle Tower is dragged down by some frustrating missteps. The game suffers from uneven pacing, which is made increasingly obvious the longer you play. It also introduces several late-game plot threads that fail to click with the larger narrative. These wrinkles culminate in an ending that – despite its best intentions – feels unearned. Couple that with a relatively short run-time (three to four hours), and SFB’s latest falls short of its full potential.

Bad Blood

As its name suggests, Tangle Tower is set within a complex known as “Tangle Tower.” Surrounded by a lake and white cliffs, Tangle Tower is a sprawling mansion comprised of two towers. Originally owned by the Remington family, the tower has since been inherited by two related bloodlines – the Fellows and the Pointers – who live in opposite towers.

One day, Freya Fellow, a young artist, is murdered at the top of the Fellow tower. The scene of the crime includes one witness – the mute Fiona Fellow – as well as a mysterious portrait Freya was in the process of painting. The subject of the portrait: Fiona, holding what appears to be a bloody knife.

Tasked with investigating the murder is Detective Grimoire – a good-natured, if naive, sleuth – and his cynical sidekick, Sally. Together, Grimoire and Sally must navigate the labyrinthine halls of Tangle Tower and uncover the truth behind Freya’s murder.

Following the Trail

Gameplay is simple and intuitive. The various rooms of Tangle Tower are represented on a map. By tapping (or clicking) the relevant room, players are whisked away to the place in question – free to investigate it to the heart’s content. As with typical point-and-clicks, tapping objects in each room reveals some added description. In certain cases, tapping an object might even uncover an important clue to the investigation.

Upon discovering a major clue, players are typically greeted with a small puzzle to complete. From logic puzzles to jigsaws, these little moments provide a refreshing change of pace from the dialogue-heavy story. Better yet, thanks to the portability of the iOS and Switch versions of the game, these puzzles offer a convenient way to unwind – whether on the couch, in bed, or someplace else entirely.

The other major piece of Tangle Tower’s gameplay is its interrogations. The Fellow and Pointer families are home to a cast of quirky characters, each with their own motives and things to hide. As with any classic murder mystery, red herrings and cold trails abound. Only by cross-examining these witnesses and presenting evidence you find scattered across the tower can you find the true culprit.

These three pillars of Tangle Tower – exploration, puzzles, and interrogations – are generally very satisfying. The game strikes an excellent balance between challenge and accessibility; puzzles aren’t a cakewalk, but they’re not so tough that they’ll totally stump you. Environments are well-designed, with clear backgrounds that depict areas of interest. Even if players were to get stuck at any point, a convenient hint button can gently steer you in the right direction.

A Sonal Serenade

A huge part of Tangle Tower’s success stems from its phenomenal presentation. Backdrops are detailed and vibrant, brought to life by a colorful 2D art style. Character models pop thanks to a unique, rotoscope-esque quality, as if they were hand-drawn and animated frame-by-frame. At the same time, a wonderful soundtrack ties it all together. Calming folk music, unnerving piano ballads, upbeat Spanish dance tunes… The varied sounds of Tangle Tower really help to differentiate the moods and backgrounds of the various suspects.

Yet it’s Tangle Tower’s exquisite voice acting that really steals the show. For a studio whose breakout title had little in the way of voice work – aside from the whimpers and grunts of paper figures cutting each other to shreds – SFB absolutely nails it here. From Grimoire’s eager rambunctiousness and Sally’s charming cynicism to every other character that graces the screen, the voice acting in Tangle Tower is some of the best I’ve heard in recent memory. And it’s supported by some quality writing, to boot.

Tangled Yarn

Given all the good things I’ve had to say about Tangle Tower, it pains me to point out its flaws. While the game is generally engaging, it suffers from uneven pacing. The story is broken out into a series of chapters. Yet, oddly enough, about 70% of the game takes place during the initial chapter or two. Why is this? Well, all of the game’s interrogations take place during a single chapter.

This causes an unfortunate logjam. Rather than space out its character interactions across the entirety of its story, Tangle Tower crams them all into a single portion of the game. That means players must cross-examine all suspects (eight, in total) and present all relevant pieces of evidence before Tangle Tower‘s story progresses any further. Not only does this introduce unnecessary tedium, but it also leaves the latter portion of the game – which includes several crucial plot threads – largely underdeveloped.

This is a real shame, as the characters in Tangle Tower are generally very interesting and well developed. Ironically, they get so much attention that they end up oversaturating the plot – and leaving the ending of Tangle Tower without a leg to stand on.

Boy, am I not exaggerating. While Tangle Tower tells an interesting story for much of its run-time, its conclusion caught me by complete surprise – and not in the way the developers probably intended. While I don’t wish to spoil anything, I’ll say this: If you’re expecting a culprit who’s been carefully foreshadowed, has an interesting motive, and had a realistic method of going about the murder… you’re going to throw your tablet or handheld out a window.

The poor pacing and rushed ending speak to Tangle Tower’s other major flaw: its brevity. A single playthrough can be completed in three to four hours, with little in the way of side content or replayability. While this may seem great for more casual audiences – who has time for a 20-hour adventure game these days? – it only underscores Tangle Tower’s existing issues. It’s a real shame, given what could have been.

Final Thoughts

Tangle Tower is still worth exploring despite its issues, especially for those with access to Apple Arcade. At its piecemeal $20 price tag, though, the game’s flaws are less forgivable. If anything, Tangle Tower makes a compelling case for a long-running franchise starring Detective Grimoire and Sally. The foundation is there: sharp writing, beautiful presentation, phenomenal voice work, stellar music. With just a little more time in the oven, SFB’s next game could be something truly special. For now, we’ll just have to settle for “good.”