fun little whodunnit! i had this game sitting in my wishlist for years. something about its art wasn't speaking to me enough to pull the trigger on buying it, but a coworker said he enjoyed it, so i picked it up. it really needs to be seen in motion and heard. the performances are mostly great, and the animated characters during conversations is a great choice. the sense of humor landed for me throughout this game, perhaps at the cost of some emotional weight, but that's not to say the characters aren't sympathetic and that they don't have interesting b-plots.

most of the puzzle design worked for me, but not all of it. there's also an element of "try everything on everyone" that you may hit if, like me, you forgot to click something in a room even though you totally meant to. luckily there's a little hint button that points to a room you missed something in, which doesn't simply highlight the object but still limits the time you spend pixel-hunting.

the twists and loose threads are all pretty fun, and this game has a lot of charm from start to finish. i'd love a sequel, or another mystery starring the two protagonists and a different cast of colorful personalities. i might even check out the first game, dated as it looks.

on a more personal note, as an old school newgrounds kid, it was fun to see "sfb games" and realize who made this :)