PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse

This is a genuinely well-written, complex, literary-quality mystery horror story that will teach you something about Japanese ghost storytelling traditions and does an exceptional job of highlighting one of the country’s more interesting, if less-visited, locations. It’s filled with intelligently structured and rewarding puzzles, and the gorgeous art really makes the atmosphere sing. I’m so very impressed that Square Enix has seen the value of these visual novels, and happy that they’ve been such creative successes. With any luck, this one is also enough of a creative success to earn a third, because there are a lot of ghost stories right across Japan that this series could go places.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse might not be the scariest follow-up, but it doubles down on effective storytelling, better writing, and better characters. What you end up experiencing is a crafted story that will linger in your thoughts as you play. My mind would drift to The Mermaid's Curse when I was in public, getting groceries or in the car on the way home, and it was because of the incredible writing that I'd scramble home to pick up and continue uncovering clues to learn the truth.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse has some small hiccups here and there. But much like its predecessor, it’s a gripping visual novel with waves of reveals that come crashing down. It’s not as frightening, but you’ll still be swept away by the currents of its raw and moving story.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is a more refined and fun journey than the previous entry in the series. It brings a spooky and entertaining narrative that works well with more focused gameplay elements that the series is improving upon.

If you have never played a Visual Novel and were always curious about the genre then PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse and its predecessor are as good a place as any to start. Combining a fantastic cast of lovable characters with a grounded but very paranormal story is a joy to play through. Added on top are great visuals and a lovely soundtrack. Smaller issues with the controls for controllers or sometimes greatly exaggerated sound effects hamper the fun only very slightly.

Paranormasight is back, and The Mermaid's Curse has another supernatural tale to tell that's full of twists, turns and horrifying events. The non-linear format here makes piecing together the story ever so rewarding, and once again it's a title that's not afraid of breaking the fourth wall to great effect.

Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is a technical improvement over Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. It still has some problems that should have been flagged during quality assurance testing. The cursor should just be dropped from all sections that aren’t point-and-click. But the narrative is fantastic, and the “Choose Your Own Adventure” chapter structure makes the experience feel more like a game, and less like a novel. The stylistic visuals mask Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse’s low budget, and the music is constantly phenomenal. I’m not sure if the first game has been patched, but Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse is enough of an improvement that I might give it another try.