Maddie and the player board the famous cruise ship Gigantic for the fifth of Mr. Alastor's soirées to seek more answers about his identity, especially since Giulietta Capecchi, the woman who Mr. Alastor is causing murders for, is attending the party too. After receiving the captain's permission to explore the vessel, it doesn't take long before both officers find yet another murder victim, this time of famous artist Theo Vergeer, who died by having his skull crushed by an ice statue.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Maddie's cousin Rose and her baby Maggie accidentally had their last names changed to "O'Mally" in their Gigantic tickets, which apparently stuck with Maggie 100 years later.
- The Apprentice: Renée Daucourt was this for the victim, who took her under his wing as an art pupil. Her artistic abilities eventually surpassed his too.
- Bird-Poop Gag: One of the killer's traits is that they have bird droppings on their clothes.
- Bludgeoned to Death: The victim was killed by being hit in the head with an ice statue.
- Call-Back: Giulietta Capecchi and Diego del Lobo reappear as suspects.
- Call-Forward: This case is a huge one to Case 37 of Pacific Bay, as the famous Gigantic cruise ship featured there makes its first appearance here before its sinking. Maddie even calls the Gigantic "The ship of dreams."
- The Captain: William Fox, the Gigantic's captain.
- The Casanova: Renée describes the victim as this, claiming that just because Theo was a famous artist he believed he had the right to flirt with anyone, Renée included.
- Chocolate of Romance: The victim tried to flirt with his apprentice Renée gifting her a box of chocolates, something that Evie finds unimpressive.Evie: Are men so shallow that they think they can win a woman over with a simple box of chocolates?
- Cliffhanger: The case ends with the Flying Squad being invited to Alastor's final party by the man himself, who seems to be holding a surprise for everyone.
- Continuity Cameo: Maggie O'Mally, the Gigantic survivor you met in Case 37 of Pacific Bay, makes an appearance here as a baby.
- Cool Boat: The Gigantic, which isn't surprising considering what other ship it's based on.
- Da Editor: George Buchanan, the media tycoon in charge of The Concordian Gazette newspaper, appears as a suspect.
- Dead Artists Are Better: George thinks this of the victim, claiming that, since he's now dead, that means his art collection will be much more valuable.
- Dramatic Irony: Throughout the case, many characters boast about the Gigantic being a mechanical marvel impossible to sink (although Charlie has his doubts). Well...William: A marvel of modern engineering, this ship. Opulent, luxurious, and completely unsinkable!
- Eccentric Artist: Some of the suspects mentions a few things the victim did that put him in this category, such as painting the Gigantic sinking as part of the ship's inauguration ceremony, something that clearly didn't sit well with the captain.
- Foregone Conclusion: Anyone who has played Pacific Bay (and, let's be real, everyone knows about the Titanic) should be aware that the ship is going to sink on its first trip, especially because Maggie O'Mally, one of its known survivors, appears as a baby here while boarding the Gigantic.
- Foreshadowing: Maddie mentions how her mother is pressuring her into marrying someone, which is exactly what she tries to do in Case 22.
- Gratuitous French: Since she's from France, Renée Daucourt likes to add some French words to her speech.
- Green Around the Gills: One of the killer's traits is that they suffer from seasickness, which is demonstrated by them turning green during their interrogations. Isaac claims to suffer from this, hence why he refuses to board the ship.
- Implausible Deniability: Diego claims he didn't board the Gigantic to escape from Concordia despite you finding his passport with destination to Paris. Naturally, Maddie doesn't buy it.
- Lethal Chef: Evie appears to be this, as Dick claims that, while castor oil and sardines were bad enough as he was testing resistance to nausea, Evie's beef wellington was enough to push him over the edge.
- May–December Romance: George Buchanan, who is 45, had been sending love letters to Giulietta Capecchi, who is 19, although she finds them appalling.
- Mysterious Watcher: During the Additional Investigation, you discover via a message from him that Mr. Alastor had been watching you from afar while you investigated his parties, and that now he considers you worthy of attending his last soirée of the year with an exclusive invitation.
- Oh, Crap!: George has this reaction when, after happily admitting he's Mr. Alastor (since you told him Alastor had been "pleasing" Giulietta, who he's in love with), you reveal to him that Alastor is a criminal that had been indirectly murdering people with his parties, which makes him rapidly backpedal on his claims.
- Obsessive Love Letter: George had been sending these to Giulietta, which makes her and the Squad assume he's Mr. Alastor. He's not.
- Public Exposure: The victim convinced Giulietta to pose nude for a painting, though they didn't get to finish it because she felt embarrassed about it. You find the sketch Theo drew of her as a clue (with nothing explicitly shown, of course).
- Secret Test: Near the end of the case, Mr. Alastor sends you a message via a driver revealing that all of his parties, in addition to serving as proxies for murder, were also a secret test for the player and the Flying Squad, and that he now considers you worthy of attending his final soirée via an exclusive invitation.
- Shout-Out:
- The case takes place just before the maiden voyage of the Gigantic.
- The victim, Theo Vergeer, is a parody of Vincent van Gogh and is named after Vincent's brother Theo van Gogh and Johannes Vermeer.
- Furthermore, Chapter 3's cover image is based on Vincent van Gogh's self-portrait and "The Starry Night".
- William Fox is a parody of Edward J. Smith, captain of the RMS Titanic.
- George Buchanan is a parody of Jay Gatsby and is named after George Wilson and Tom Buchanan.
- His job also associates him with art.
- Claude Monet is mentioned.
- Spooky Painting: The victim painted one of the Gigantic sinking as part of the inauguration ceremony, something that the captain saw as a bad omen and put him on odds with Theo.
- Stealing the Credit: The ultimate reason for Renée killing Theo is because his latest and most famous paintings had been actually painted by her, who stole them and didn't give any credit to Renée.
- Surpassed the Teacher: Renée was The Apprentice for Theo, but she claims that soon she surpassed him and started to paint better than Theo. In response, Theo stole her paintings and pretended were his, which prompted Renée to kill him.
- Villain Respect: Percival, Mr. Alastor's driver and the one who delivers you his message, says that Mr. Alastor is thoroughly impressed by your work investigating his parties, and that makes you worthy of being invited to the final one.
- Villainous Rescue: While calling him a villain might be too much, Diego, who is at odds with the Squad due to his criminal nature, helps Evie and the player during the Additional Investigation by analyzing the letters that were sent to Giulietta, which thanks to his profiling skills allows him to deduce who has been sending them.
