The Mermaid Mask
Developed by SFB Games · SFB Games
Detective Adventure · PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 · 2026-07-16
“Ninety nine percent positive on Steam, an 89 on OpenCritic, and the highest rated game of the window came from a self-publishing studio charging twenty euros for four hours of murder on a submarine.”
Captain Mortuga is found dead beside an ancient cauldron, on a submarine, which is the single most locked of all locked rooms. SFB Games self-published it, priced it at twenty euros and change, and walked out with an 89 on OpenCritic, an 85 on Metacritic and a Steam rating of 99 percent positive across seven hundred and seventy four reviews. Seven hundred and seventy one people liked it and three did not. Game Informer went to 90 and called it the best Detective Grimoire adventure yet. This is what happens when a studio ships the thing it actually wanted to make.
The praise is remarkably consistent, which is rarer than a high average. Shacknews, also at 90, called it a mystery full of quirk and intrigue that pulls players in with a riveting story of wayward souls. Edge gave it an 80 and noted it delivers one major revelation after the next with answers that actually satisfy, which is the hard part of the genre and the part most detective games fumble in the final hour. Hand painted environments, a full voice cast, and a soundtrack recorded with the Budapest Art Orchestra, on a self published budget.
The only real argument against it is arithmetic. Edge clocks it at three to four hours, and the single mixed review, a 60 from Gameliner, flags low difficulty and a predictable finale that may leave seasoned sleuths wanting more. So if you have solved every mystery game since Monkey Island you will see the shape of this one coming. That is a genuine criticism and it is also the entire list. No bugs, no server problems, no monetisation, no launch apology. In 2026 that reads like science fiction.
- 01
Puzzle design is balanced rather than obtuse, and the mystery pays off its own setups instead of pulling a twist out of nowhere.
- 02
Writing and wit carry it, with a full voice cast that multiple critics single out as a highlight.
- 03
Hand painted environments and a soundtrack from the Budapest Art Orchestra give it production values well beyond its price and studio size.
- 04
It respects your time. Three to four hours, no padding, no filler collectibles, ends when the story ends.
- 01
Difficulty is low. Gameliner's 60 calls out that seasoned mystery players will not be troubled by any of it.
- 02
The finale is predictable if you have played much of the genre, which blunts the one moment a detective game most needs to land.
- 03
Twenty euros for three to four hours is a fair value question, even if nobody who played it seems to be asking it.
- 04
Gameliner also notes minor technical and audio issues, the only such complaints on record.
Anyone who loved Tangle Tower or Crow Country, anyone who wants a complete, well told mystery in one or two sittings, and anyone tired of games that treat your calendar as a resource.
Hardened adventure game veterans who need to be genuinely outsmarted, and anyone who measures value strictly in hours per euro.
Your website, CV, or whatever you made. I'll roast that too.
A full teardown from €2,99. No mercy.