PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse - Switch Review

Developed and published by Square Enix, PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse is the second game in the PARANORMASIGHT series. Set in Ise-Shima province in Japan in the 1980s, the majority of the game takes place on the fictional island of Kameshima. 

As an area with a large population of women who free-dive to collect seafood and are known as Ama Drivers, it has many myths and superstitions surrounding it. However, it seems that a lot of these legends may have more than a grain of truth to them, as strange half-human and fish corpses begin to wash up in the area and an ominous rumbling can be heard in the sea.

The Good

I kept my intro vague because the less you know going into the game, the better. It’s a supernatural mystery that uses non-linear storytelling to expertly weave a tale that had me hooked from very early on. It used this unconventional narrative approach to take the information the player had already been given and turn it on its head, giving the events that had happened up to that point an entirely new meaning. The game managed to do this to me not once, not twice, but four times. It wouldn’t have been possible if everything had been told in chronological order.

Somehow, the game still managed to surprise me multiple times despite giving the story from four characters' perspectives so players can get the big picture. Or perhaps it had more impact because of the additional narratives? Either way, it was a story that was easy to become wholly invested in.

Supporting the story is a cast of colourful characters. This doesn’t just include the four characters we follow, but all the characters. No matter if their part is big or small, they tend to have an impact regardless. I believe this was helped by the art style of The Mermaid’s Curse. Characters have a strange cross between ukiyo-e, cel shading and painterly styles. This means thick black outlines but gentle shading inside. It’s a unique look. It also helps bring out the characters' expressions, making them much more relatable than they might have been otherwise. For anyone who has played the first game, yes, pouty face makes a return. When I first encountered it, I was a bit shocked, but I see why people love it. One downside to this art style is that it makes 3D objects obvious, but I love the art style regardless.

The Mermaid’s Curse does a great job of helping players conclude naturally by using the correct amounts of foreshadowing and leaving adequate clues around. Usually, games will either make their puzzle-solving too difficult, leaving the players feeling stupid, or too easy, leaving them feeling unfulfilled. I only really had difficulty in one section, and that was because I wasn’t aware that the game had 4th wall-breaking sections. This was despite the game breaking the 4th wall multiple times, though, so that was entirely on me. 

The other great thing about the non-linear storytelling is that each chapter of the game is its own puzzle. Choices can lead to new things being discovered and new segments being revealed. This can lead to additional endings, of which there are six. However, the ending is not the end, as the game allows players to revisit chapters to try out new choices and discover different paths.

TL;DR

• Amazing Story
• Great characters and Art
• Interesting progression

The Bad

While I was playing the game, I kept feeling like something was off. It took me a while, but I finally realised that I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if it had some voice acting. I had reviewed Ink Inside recently, which had stellar voice work. It really helped emphasise the characters despite their 2D nature. The characters in The Mermaid’s Curse were so expressive already that voice acting would have helped them shine. 

My main issue with the game was that sometimes things wouldn't activate, or they would take a while to activate. I had to do one of the puzzles twice because the first time it didn't register that I'd done it. This happened again at another point where I had to repeat the same action three times because I either didn't do it long enough or it just didn't register. While it was mildly annoying, those who might not be familiar with this sort of game might consider it bugged and wouldn't try again.

TL;DR

• Voice acting would highlight the characters
• Activation conditions can be finicky on some puzzles

Final Score: 9/10

When playing PARANORMASIGHT: The Cursed Mermaid, I was constantly reminded of one of my favourite games on the Nintendo DS, Another Code. This is high praise because it was one of my favourite games on the DS. Paronormasight feels like a lost art that has been rediscovered, where everything has come together into an almost perfect game. So if you’ve been looking for this style of game that combines folklore, history and a good chunk of mystery, PARANORMASIGHT is here to deliver.

Thank you for checking out our PARANORMASIGHT: The Cursed Mermaid Switch review, thank you to Square Enix (via Bandai Namco AU) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

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