The Mermaid Mask Walkthrough Guide: All 8 Suspects (2026)

Updated 2026-10-13: We rechecked every room, clue and puzzle against bearsbearsbears' Steam Community walkthrough and SFB Games' own posts, and fixed four errors. The Card Suits puzzle isn't optional; it gates two of the 48 clues. Dirk's phone has four sections, not three. The Compass puzzle has six compasses for four slots. And the Model Town is in the captain's rooms, reached through a painting. Steam shows $19.99 with no sale and Overwhelmingly Positive, 2,222 of 2,234 English reviews.

The Mermaid Mask walkthrough: quick answer

• Before the report: meet all 8 suspects, collect all 48 clues and unlock all 8 Suspicions.
• Locked at first: the Control Room, Captain's Quarters, the women's bunk and the Bilge.
• Keys: Seafoam opens the Control Room, the Glass Eyeball opens the Captain's Quarters, and Dirk's Cell Phone lights the Bilge.
• Hidden clues: the Golden Locket, Cornelius Cane, Wooden Pipe and Inn Deeds come from conversations, not rooms.
• Easy to miss: the Card Suits puzzle in the Illusion Theater, which only appears after a run of questions about Symmetry.
• After the report: the Aft Deck and Diving Tank open.

GODEEPER: Want to know if it's worth buying first? The Mermaid Mask Review 2026 →

Current status: October 2026

The Mermaid Mask launched on Steam on July 16, 2026, from SFB Games, the studio behind Tangle Tower and Crow Country. On October 13, Steam listed it at $19.99 with no discount, 21 achievements and a free demo, rated Overwhelmingly Positive from 2,222 of 2,234 English reviews (3,058 of 3,077 in all languages). SFB patched it twice in launch week. The July 18 notes fixed "an issue where a suspicion topic could start without the needed clue" and puzzles that "got stuck between asking for a clue, then asking for a specific part of the clue". The July 19 update added icons for clues that need reading or using, plus a button that jumps from one clue to another.

How the case is structured

Bearsbearsbears' Steam Community guide, the fullest walkthrough we found, splits the game into five parts: the prologue, the pre-report investigation, a post-report sweep, the Final Deduction and the epilogue. The pre-report stretch is where you'll spend your time. The guide says it's the part of the game "where you can freely talk to suspects", and the game autosaves, "so it's possible to miss dialogue if you go too far."

Suspicions are the gate. Each suspect has one, and it unlocks once you hold every clue it needs, including updates you get by showing clues to people. Then you build a sentence from word lists, pick the right person, place or clue, and point at the right spot on a piece of evidence. The guide's author found them harder than the series' earlier games: "My memory of Tangle Tower is that I was through the first three challenges in an hour, while it took me four to even unlock one here."

Step-by-Step

1. Finish the prologue. At the Stonetop Inn, pick up the Case File and Hex of the Helmsman, then talk to Sally. In the Town Square, check the green light on the dock twice and board. The Foredeck has the Wooden Buoy. In the Parlor, read the note on the door, then head down to the Mess Hall, solve the Shape Dials for the Sun Tablets, and go right into the Illusion Theater. Check the body marker and blood to start the first challenge.

2. Meet all 8 suspects. Six talk to you straight away:

The last two take a loop. Knock on the Parlor door, and Captain Sinthia Seafoam sends you to Symmetry Silkmoth in the Child's Room. Nobody's there. Go back to Seafoam, she sends you again, and this time Symmetry talks. Return to the Parlor door to enter the Control Room and meet Seafoam, who SFB describes as the 18-year-old new captain. Symmetry is the child star and illusionist of the shuttered Fortuna Theatre. Gripp's first chat drops you into a shop screen; he gives up after you try to buy three things.

Source: SFB Games, The Mermaid Mask Steam store screenshot

3. Search every open room. The clues and puzzles room by room:

4. Open the locked rooms. Ask Zephyr or Tadpole about the Glass Eyeball, and they identify it as the Eyeball Key to the Captain's Quarters. Inside are HER Painting (II), the Iron Bell, the Ship in a Bottle and a Handheld Radio. Ask Sinthia about the painting, then flip the disc by the figure's head to reveal a ladder to the Captain's Cabin, with the Black Box and the Model Town (a Model Boats puzzle that gives a film reel). For the Bilge, Sinthia points out that Dirk's Cell Phone is a light source. Solve the Orbs puzzle, then search the water for the Strange Device and the Diving License.

Source: SFB Games, The Mermaid Mask Steam store screenshot

5. Ask the right questions. Four clues never sit in a room:

• Golden Locket: ask Sinthia about Symmetry, then Symmetry about her locket.
• Cornelius Cane: ask Symmetry about Gripp, then Gripp about his cane.
• Wooden Pipe: ask Gripp about Mariana, then Mariana about her pipe.
• Inn Deeds: ask Symmetry about the Underwater Photo, then check under Sinthia's mattress.

6. Find the Card Suits puzzle. Ask Wirman about the Illusion Poster, and ask Gripp, Wirman, Zephyr and Symmetry about Symmetry. That opens the cabinet left of the Cauldron in the Illusion Theater. The puzzle gives the Lifesize Doll, which hides the Film Projector. Both are on the 48-clue list, and the projector plays the reel from the Model Boats puzzle too. The old version of this guide called this puzzle optional. It isn't, if you want every clue.

7. Finish every recording and interaction. The guide's checklist for Suspicions: take the bandage off the Cornelius Cane, go through all four sections of Dirk's phone (call log, contacts, email and messages), play all four Wooden Pipe recordings (the first three are vital) and run both Film Projector reels. Each suspect's Suspicion page shows 4 or 5 clue slots, so you can see what's missing.

8. Report to Captain Seafoam. Only once all 8 Suspicions are done. The Aft Deck and Diving Tank open after this.

Source: SFB Games, The Mermaid Mask Steam store screenshot

Puzzle hints without answers

• Shape Dials (Mess Hall): rotate the four dials into place; check that each shape sits fully in its window.
• Switchboard (Control Room): overlapping lines don't hurt. The guide's advice: "Don't be afraid to be redundant."
• Compass (Engine Room): six compasses, four slots, two unused. A real compass points north whatever you do, and none of these do.
• Character Pinboard (Cargo Hold): it's drawn like Mariana's diary story. Talk to everyone first, and remember it asks where people are now.
• Piggy Safe: the pieces on the front change the numbers on the back. Start with the two outer columns, which have fewer pieces.
• Orbs (Bilge): the two stacks are mirrored, so each solution only works with one dial.

Wrong guesses make the detectives give clearer hints, and a wrong answer in a Suspicion usually narrows the question.

Source: The Mermaid Mask Official Launch Trailer, around 0:45 (SFB Games, YouTube)

What players say about the puzzles

Reviewers mostly call the puzzles fair, but stuck moments happen. A 15-hour player found "All but 2 of the puzzles were the right level of intuitive without being obvious to get without a hint. Those other 2 I had to surrender to a guide." A 21-hour player had the opposite run: "The hints were so much better this game. I never felt stuck." And a 14-hour reviewer warns "The puzzles can be somewhat inscrutable at times". The guide's author also noticed Suspicions don't always unlock on the same clue: on a second run, one unlocked from a different question than the first time.

Our take

We'd play blind until a Suspicion stalls, then use the room table and the four conversation chains above before reaching for a full answer. From the guide's checklist, stalls tend to come from an unfinished recording or a question you didn't ask, not from a clue hidden in a corner. Save the solution walkthroughs for the two or three puzzles that beat you, and keep the Final Deduction to yourself; that's the part the game is built around.

How we checked this

• On 2026-10-13 we read bearsbearsbears' "The Mermaid Mask - Guide" on Steam Community (updated July 21) for the room order, clue list, puzzles and conversation chains.
• We read SFB Games' Steam posts: the two Meet the Suspects posts (June 2 and 5), the release date post, the July 18 and 19 update notes and the July 22 thank-you post.
• We matched the existing images to the Steam store screenshots and took a new frame from the official launch trailer.
• We searched 800-plus English Steam reviews for puzzle comments and quoted three.
• Price, achievements and review totals come from Steam's store and review APIs on 2026-10-13. We didn't replay the game for this update.

Watch the launch trailer

SFB Games' launch trailer introduces the suspects and shows several of the puzzles above, including the Piggy Safe and the Diving Helmet Dials.

Related Reading

• The Mermaid Mask Review 2026: our spoiler-free verdict.
• The Mermaid Mask Achievements Guide 2026: all 21 achievements.
• Coffee Talk Tokyo Walkthrough and Endings: another narrative game guide.
• Security 51 Review 2026: a different evidence-and-case loop.
• Security 51 Tips Guide 2026: practical help for that case loop.
• Security 51 Achievements Guide 2026: a checklist for another investigation game.
• Best Indie Social Deduction Games 2026: more games about finding the liar.
• Black Jacket Review 2026: a tense indie from the same window.
• Black Jacket Journey Guide: a route-by-route guide.
• Mixtape Launch: a compact narrative adventure.
• Scriptorium Review: a slower narrative pick.
• Tides of Tomorrow Review: a differently structured story game.
• Best Indie Games Under $20 2026: more budget picks.
• Best Indie Games Under $15: cheaper picks from the summer sale.
• Steam Autumn Sale 2026 Indie Deals: what's discounted now.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many suspects are in The Mermaid Mask? Eight: Madam Tadpole, Dirk Dansom, Doctor Zacharias Zephyr, J.D. Wirman, Godrik Gripp, Captain Sinthia Seafoam, Mariana Moon and Symmetry Silkmoth. Each one has a Suspicion you unlock before reporting to Captain Seafoam.

How many clues are there before the report in The Mermaid Mask? 48, according to bearsbearsbears' Steam Community walkthrough. Four of them (the Golden Locket, Cornelius Cane, Wooden Pipe and Inn Deeds) only appear after specific conversations, and two more (the Lifesize Doll and Film Projector) come from the hidden Card Suits puzzle.

How many puzzles does The Mermaid Mask have before the report? Thirteen: Shape Dials, Switchboard, Dropper Vials, Piggy Safe, Phone Symbols, Typewriter Dials, Doll Lenses, Character Pinboard, Compass, Diving Helmet Dials, Model Boats, Orbs and the hidden Card Suits puzzle. More follow after the report.

What happens when you report to Captain Seafoam in The Mermaid Mask? The case moves on and the Aft Deck and Diving Tank open. The walkthrough author calls the report the point of no return and says you can't freely talk to suspects after it, so finish every clue and suspicion first.

How do you get into the Captain's Quarters in The Mermaid Mask? Solve the Doll Lenses puzzle in the Child's Room for the Glass Eyeball, then ask Doctor Zephyr or Madam Tadpole about it. They identify it as the Eyeball Key to the Captain's Quarters.

How do you light the Bilge in The Mermaid Mask? Use Dirk's Cell Phone, which you get from the Phone Symbols puzzle in his tuxedo in the shared Bunk Room. Sinthia points out that it works as a light source.

Do I need to play Tangle Tower before The Mermaid Mask? No. The case stands on its own, though the walkthrough author notes this game and Tangle Tower share a family tree and some players recommend playing the earlier games first for the references.

References

• The Mermaid Mask on Steam: price, reviews, achievements and official news
• "The Mermaid Mask - Guide" by bearsbearsbears: Steam Community walkthrough used for rooms, clues and puzzles
• SFB Games: developer of The Mermaid Mask, Tangle Tower and Crow Country
• The Mermaid Mask Official Launch Trailer: SFB Games on YouTube