I'm a big fan of detective games, and for someone who can't resist following a breadcrumb trail of clues, Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping is perfect. Even the series' release schedule feels ideal for me – this is a followup to the excellent Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, but isn't strictly a 'Duck Detective 2' sequel or second episode. This is just another well-paced little mystery that's just taxing enough to remain engaging, while breezy enough to last a lazy afternoon or chill evening (or, god forbid, a morning).
Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping sees titular sleuth Eugene McQuacklin still in the middle of a messy divorce with his swan wife, now living with roommate Freddy Frederson – an overly enthusiastic crocodile – after falling behind on the rent on his apartment. Down on his luck as he is, perhaps the only thing stopping him from wallowing in the shallows of his own heart is the potential to lose himself to another case.
Quacking the case
Falling back into his bread addiction, and struggling with the age-old rule don't text your ex, Freddy invites Eugene to forget it all for a weekend and join him on a relaxing vacation: a spooky glamping trip outside a haunted sanatorium. (This would work on me, to be fair). To make matters worse, Freddy is meeting up with his new girlfriend who's attending the spot for work – yes, Eugene is third-wheeling here, which ruffles his feathers.
Where The Secret Salami revelled in its office setting, having Eugene peck apart the long and complex relationships between long-time coworkers, The Ghost of Glamping is the opposite – all about a group of strangers thrown together by circumstance. The campsite caters to those in raggedy tents all the way to influencers staying in their VIP accommodation (which is more like a penthouse apartment) – meaning characters from all walks of life collide when criminal conspiracy rears its long, bendy neck. It's a compelling hook that sets it apart from its predecessor.
I also want to emphasize that you don't need to have played The Secret Salami to enjoy The Ghost of Glamping. While characters return, and Eugene's circumstances have evolved, for the most part this really is a standalone mystery that just plays in the same world. Just as one episode of Columbo exists next to another, but has its own tricksy plot for Peter Falk's character to pick apart, so too is this just another case for the Duck Detective.
The only times that standalone nature feels more questionable are a handful of spots where Duck Detective once again incorporates some very lightweight geopolitics into its plot. The mystery and characters themselves don't completely hinge around the tense relationship between this world's East and West – but they do return, and I found myself struggling to follow these parts just as I struggled in The Secret Salami. It's so in the background it's largely a non-issue, and it's perhaps testament to the strong character writing that underpins the mystery here that the larger picture just doesn't go into my brain right – but it's an element Duck Detective still hasn't quite landed yet and that I have trouble engaging with.
For the most part, anyone who played Duck Detective: The Secret Salami will know what they're in for, as the mystery mechanics are largely the same. You'll be collecting details on new characters (and matching names to their portraits), presenting evidence to learn more about them, using your magnifying glass to highlight clues across the likes of bags and open laptops, and filling out mysteries. A little like The Rise of the Golden Idol, these take the form of slotting collected evidence keywords into statements with missing gaps. The game nudges you if your solution is close (and a Story Mode makes this even easier). After coming up with the correct statements, the plot moves forward for you to do it again.
Duck soup
Yet, though the mechanics are largely the same, The Ghost of Glamping does bring some great improvements in terms of presentation and pacing. A clearer UI that's still pleasingly snappy makes it easy to tell at a glance what clues are new and what you've already investigated. As before, a map highlights where new interactables are located, but with tighter areas and fewer loading screens it feels like there's a lot less back and forth and trawling for clues.
The Ghost of Glamping also has some more variety with its puzzles, adding some lightweight decrypting and handwriting analysis to the mix in addition to its keyword-filling foundations. This works well, and both unlocking new areas and making deductions feels compelling. It does mean, however, this mystery feels a bit shorter and simpler than The Secret Salami, but my playtime is only 90 minutes here versus 110 minutes there so it's much of a muchness. (I have to mention I do read pretty fast, I'd guess on average most people will get around 2 hours out of this).
I did feel at points The Secret Salami could get a bit bogged down – especially when it came to waddling back and forth in the offices – and while The Ghost of Glamping maybe goes too far the other way in being overly breezy it's nice to see some dials being adjusted for this followup. Some puzzles in The Secret Salami are cleverer than The Ghost of Glamping's, nothing here reaches the devious heights of some of that game's final brainteasers. But, likewise, The Ghost of Glamping has some sequences that are more fun than The Secret Salami's slower bits. There's ups and downs. You know, like… the feathers. Oh god, am I the Freddy Frederson of GamesRadar+ Towers?!
Is Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping one of the best mystery games out there? Not really – but it does feature some of the slickest detective mechanics and a bread-bite-size nature that's irresistible to duck-dive back into. A finger sandwich's worth of adventuring. I had a fun evening, and while this particular mystery won't stick with me, the characters of Eugene McQuacklin and Freddy Frederson will, as well as the new faces they encounter here. There's no mallardy to Duck Detective's refined and brilliantly simple mechanics that continue to evolve, and there's a real chance that, collectively, the case files of the Duck Detective could become a real standout.
Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping was played on PC, with a code provided by the publisher
Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping is out now on PC via Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. For more recommendations, head on over to our Indie Spotlight series.
