Comparison

Detective Grimoire vs Dawn, P.I.

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Detective Grimoire

Step into the shoes of a detective investigating a mysterious murder in a swamp. Explore the crime scene, interrogate suspects, solve puzzles, and uncover the truth behind a mythical creature's involvement. Unravel the secrets of the marsh to solve the case.

Highlights
  • Investigate murder scenes
  • Interrogate suspects
  • Solve puzzles
  • Search for clues
  • Explore environments
  • Uncover secrets
Features
Currently charting
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Detective Grimoire has been called to investigate a murder. The owner of a small tourist attraction, found deep within the heart of the marshes, seemingly killed by the very mythical creature his attraction is based around... Explore the surrounding area, inspect the scene of the crime, grill the suspects, solve puzzles, search for clues and uncover the secret of the swamp! "Definitely one of the better crime games I've played and it's a treat to experience" - Mark Brown "Detective Grimoire is a better detective game than the likes of, say, L.A. Noire [...] The designers knew what they wanted the game to be and ensure that nothing got in the way of it. As a result, it’s thoroughly enjoyable" - Chris Priestman

About

Dawn, P.I.

Step into the shoes of a high school detective in this hand-drawn, point-and-click adventure game. Explore a mysterious high school, find clues, solve puzzles, and interrogate characters to uncover the truth behind strange occurrences.

Highlights
  • Point-and-click gameplay
  • Investigative puzzles
  • Character interrogation
  • Hand-drawn animation
  • Mystery solving
  • Explore school environment
Features
Read full description

What mystery lurks in Marlowe High? Become a detective in this point-and-click adventure game and solve the case! If you enjoy detective stories, escape games and puzzles, Dawn, P.I. is the game for you. Become Dawn, a high schooler with a penchant for investigation and occasional property damage. Explore the school to find clues and solve puzzles to ultimately get to the bottom of the case: why is Meg's horoscope suddenly working? Is someone interfering with the school paper? Why are people missing? Why is the librarian so annoying? And what in the world is "The Guiding Wind"? Fully hand-drawn and -animated, Dawn, P.I. will transport you to a cartoon noir world, where you'll have to be sharp and creative to advance in every step. Sweep rooms for objects to help you on your investigation and interrogate everyone to uncover their hidden secrets.

Screenshots

Detective Grimoire4 screens
Dawn, P.I.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dawn, P.I. at Free against Detective Grimoire's $2.99. Detective Grimoire's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (89% vs 67%). On rating, update cadence, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Dawn, P.I. is free to download; Detective Grimoire costs $2.99 up front. Dawn, P.I. sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Detective Grimoire asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Detective Grimoire against 4.6 for Dawn, P.I.. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Detective Grimoire has 675 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Detective Grimoire's written reviews are positive against 67% of Dawn, P.I.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Detective Grimoire ships an update every 5 weeks, Dawn, P.I. monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Detective Grimoire versus Dawn, P.I.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDetective GrimoireDawn, P.I.
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (675 ratings) — better4.6 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews88.8% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings675 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#181 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size172 MB68 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperSFB GamesBruno Maestrini

Customer experience

Detective Grimoire

All ratings673 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews285 reviews
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative7.0%

Dawn, P.I.

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Detective Grimoire

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on newer iOS versions
  • Inability to progress due to missing items

Requested features

4 requests
  • Longer or more in-depth storylines
  • Increased puzzle difficulty
  • Controller support
  • Sequels or additional cases

Dawn, P.I.

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Detective Grimoire

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Dawn, P.I.

One-time1
  • Full Game$2.99

Questions

Is Detective Grimoire free?
Detective Grimoire costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dawn, P.I. free?
Dawn, P.I. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Detective Grimoire or Dawn, P.I.?
Detective Grimoire is rated higher. Detective Grimoire averages 4.7 out of 5 from 675 ratings, while Dawn, P.I. averages 4.6 from 16 ratings.
Do Detective Grimoire or Dawn, P.I. have ads?
Neither Detective Grimoire nor Dawn, P.I. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Detective Grimoire or Dawn, P.I.?
Detective Grimoire ships an update every 5 weeks, and Dawn, P.I. monthly. Most recently, Detective Grimoire was updated on November 1, 2026 and Dawn, P.I. on October 27, 2026.

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