After the events of Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, Eugene McQuacklin’s life hasn’t exactly improved. He’s not over his divorce, he still hasn’t managed to kick his crippling bread addiction, and financial difficulties have forced him to move in with obnoxious fanboy/wannabe sidekick Freddy Frederson. Desperate to cheer the Duck Detective up, Frederson invites him on a glamping trip at a supposedly haunted sanatorium. But when guests’ belongings start to disappear and it’s clear not every glamper is who they claim to be, it’s up to the Duck Detective to “quack” the case once more!

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping is the second game in the Duck Detective series from Happy Broccoli Games. It’s a sequel to 2024’s Duck Detective: The Secret Salami, although it is designed as a fully standalone game that does not requiring having played the first game to understand. You SHOULD play Secret Salami if you haven’t, though. It’s great! The gameplay consists of interrogating suspects, finding evidence, and filling in the right key words to complete statements, and the entire game is a single case that takes about two to three hours to complete.

When I reviewed Secret Salami, I said that I was excited for more Duck Detective in any form, and Ghost of Glamping certainly did not disappoint! It takes what the first game did right – quirky suspects, simple but satisfying mystery gameplay – and pairs it with a twistier, slightly trickier case, a hilarious detective/sidekick duo, and even a couple of number/symbol puzzles for good measure! It’s somehow even BETTER than the first game, and makes me continue to want more and more from the series. And, given that the game ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, I think it is very possible that we could see more in the future!

I think Ghost of Glamping’s greatest strengths are twofold: the characters and the setting. The Duck Detective is as great as always, and having Frederson tag along as a sidekick leads to a fun back-and-forth as well as some more reveals about the Duck Detective’s personal life, including his messy divorce and his career prior to the events of the first game. The other characters are all lots of fun, with the snooty influencer and the young boy obsessed with a Pokemon knock-off being particular favorites of mine. I particularly liked that, unlike in Secret Salami where the characters were office-mates who already knew each other, these characters were (ostensibly) strangers who just so happened to be staying at the same campsite. Of course, there are some hidden connections between the glampers, and finding out each one was an absolute delight. The setting, too, is absolutely memorable and strangely hilarious. There’s just something funny about a luxurious “glamping” campsite next to a, run-down, creepy, supposedly haunted sanatorium. The Duck Detective’s general irritation with the concept of “glamping” throughout the game just makes things even funnier.

Everything I loved about the first game is there, from the tricky mysteries to the funny facts on the loading screens (one simply said “Duck!”, which was my absolute favorite) and any concerns I had with the previous game have been fixed. While the “find clues on the body of a suspect” still exists, the magnifying glass’s area has been extended so that it no longer feels like a pixel hunt. As that was pretty much my only gripe with Secret Salami, Ghost of Glamping feels like a truly flawless game.

In addition to fixing my issue with the investigation segments, the game also improves in several ways. There are more fully animated cutscenes than the previous game, including one really well-done one that illustrated the backstory behind the haunted sanatorium. There are a few more traditional puzzles, such as needing to find the code to unlock a particular guest’s luggage or interpreting the meaning of several symbols related to one character’s love of astrology. In general, the game improves in a way that I didn’t think a Duck Detective game COULD improve, because the first one was already so good.

The voice acting is once again stellar – Sean Chiplock’s performance as the titular Duck Detective is excellent. He really emphasizes in his performance how much of a downward spiral Eugene is on in life, sounding more desperate and unhinged than he did in the first game. Brian David Gilbert, returning as Freddy Frederson, is also a particular standout, with his constant good cheer and general naivete making a him perfect foil to this more cynical take on the Duck Detective. 

I definitely hope that the McQuacklin-Frederson partnership continues in future games. The duo is already iconic. And, if Eugene ever moves past being hung up on his ex-wife, perhaps love could bloom between them someday? I think Freddy would be good for him, he needs someone to show him there are still good things in life!

Overall, Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping is an absolutely amazing mystery game that I would recommend to fans of the genre as well as a good starting point for people looking to get into mystery video games. It’s not too difficult, but tricky enough that it will keep you guessing throughout the game, has a memorable cast of characters as a good blend of humor and serious de-DUCK-tive work (yes, I had to use that pun one more time). The Duck Detective has done it again! Now, if only he could stop spending all of the money he earns solving cases on buying bread…

Kate played Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping on PC using a provided review copy.