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Pocket Gamer's Christmas Freebies #6 - DETECTIVE GRIMOIRE

Caught it red handed

Pocket Gamer's Christmas Freebies #6 - DETECTIVE GRIMOIRE
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iOS

In the run up to Christmas, Pocket Gamer has teamed up with the developers behind some of this year's best games to give you ten award-winning iOS games for free. Come back every day for the next two weeks to get your games.

For our second week, we're gonna get these stories out faster - to help out our Aussie readers who miss out on the bargains. And perhaps to stop us getting scooped by rival sites. Today's game: the terrific Detective Grimoire. Download it for free on iPhone and iPad, here.

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I love detective stuff. Film noir, Dragnet, the podcast Serial, Raymond Chandler novels. But detective video games are so often a let down. For once you're actually put in the gummy shoes of a gumshoe, but so few crime-solving games make you feel like you're actively involved in the case.

You're Watson, basically, running around and teleporting like a weirdo to keep up with the man actually solving the whodunit.

That's why I love Detective Grimoire - a loopy cartoon caper that forces you to pay attention, follow along, and come up with clever ideas if you want to figure out the culprit.

Oftentimes, the game takes place inside Grimoire's noggin as you piece together disparate thoughts like snapping magnets onto a fridge door to come up with a theory. For once, you get to have the eureka moment.

Detective Grimoire

It's also a beautifully realised world: the crime takes place in a goopy swamp turned tourist spot, and your prime suspect is a local legend called Boggy the swamp monster. Every character is charming and animated, and interrogating them is a joy.

Developer SFB Games tells us to watch out for a sequel this year - the team is currently thinking of an ideal location for the next crime. I suggested the moon, but apparently that won't happen until at least Grimoire 5. Pah.

Until then, get the first episode for free, here.

Stay tuned to find out what's behind tomorrow's door! Follow us on Twitter (@PocketGamer) or Facebook to make sure you don't miss tomorrow's free award-winning iOS game.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer