REVIEW: ‘PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse’ Is A Fantastic Visual Novel Thriller

PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo launched back in 2023 to a great critical reception. The game has since built a devoted audience and is regarded as one of the best mystery and thriller visual novels of recent years. Three years later, Square Enix is finally releasing a sequel, PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse, following a different cast in a different location. The sequel includes several of the signature elements from the first game, as well as new ones that support the new narrative in refreshing ways.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse follows several characters on the remote island of Kameshima and the several curses that afflict it both in the present and the past. The game opens with Yuza Minakuchi, a young diver who lives on the island. One day, on a diving trip with his friend Azami, he notices a ghost that looks exactly like him before passing out and waking up back on the boat.

He tells Azami what happened, and Azami tells Yuza about the legend of a creature that disguises itself as a diver, only to drag them to their death. Their conversation ends, but not before a “Recollection” prompt appears, which provides the next playable section players can access.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse opens unlike most other visual novels.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse opens in an incredibly engaging way not seen in many games, especially visual novels. The opening credits only trigger when players encounter the ghost underwater while playing as Yuza. The next section is a recollection of the day before the diving trip, and reveals how Yuza and his family were affected by a mysterious sea storm that occurred five years earlier.

Though he survived, his parents were washed away by the currents, never to be seen again. However, Yuza believes he was saved by his mother, who he thinks is a mermaid. This is due to her mysterious and vague origins, actions, and nature, and because of how unlikely it was for him to be saved by anyone or anything else. 

As the title suggests, the game’s story is driven by mermaids and the curses that surround them. Each character, and Kameshima as a whole, is tied to the creatures in some form or another. Yuza is dedicated to learning more about his mother and mermaids; an old mogul is obsessed with finding mermaids and their connection to immortality; and several characters and islanders are being transformed into mermaids. 

With the help of the Paranormal Affairs Bureau, uncover the mystery of the mermaids.

Players must uncover the mystery behind the mermaids, along with other strange events.  This includes a string of murders occurring that’s tied to a curse that spans generations, and a creeping curse caused by the aftermath of the sea disaster that occurred years prior. 

Players interact with these anomalies primarily through members of the Paranormal Affairs Bureau who conduct the investigations, but sometimes through other characters. Each character is interesting in their own way, and like Yumeko Shiki, a housewife who’s part of the Bureau, has a lot more to them than meets the eye.

As players progress through the game, they learn more about these characters, the paranormal events that tie them together, and what is truly happening on this island. They learn who the true culprits are and how the curses and killings are being executed. The story is engaging right from the start, especially thanks to its many intriguing, endearing characters who hold secrets of their own. Finding the answers to these secrets is just as fun as uncovering the narrative’s mysteries.

The Story Chart helps keep info straight in a non-linear story.

Like in the previous PARANORMASIGHT title, players play through the game via the Story Chart. The entire story isn’t told in chronological order, so players have to piece together information they learn from one chapter to answer mysteries in another.

Each chapter is short and can also be replayed as many times as possible. Players will often have to replay them to find information they missed. Often, subsequent chapters don’t unlock unless the current chapter is finished and all the details are uncovered. Sometimes players only need to click on Recollection prompts, while other times they need to complete the entire chapter. 

Investigations are conducted similarly to several games in the genre, with players interacting with their surroundings through a point-and-click system. What makes PARANORMASIGHT stand out from other mystery visual novels is that players can interact with their environment using the 360-degree camera.

Minigames like Curse battles break up the regular pace.

This is far from a gimmick, as players sometimes encounter or discover critical details simply by turning around. At times almost frightening, these moments make the game much more engaging than its genre counterparts. Players can also track details on characters and events through the game’s detailed Glossary.

Finding details through investigations, piecing them together with new information, and solving mysteries through observation and analytical thinking is incredibly rewarding and satisfying, making the game captivating. Players also occasionally play minigames, such as the diving minigame, where they can upgrade stats to make them gather more fish or stay underwater longer. 

There’s also Curse battles, where players have to subdue characters with words before subduing them with curses, among others. These minigames keep the gameplay loop interesting and fresh, making up for the monotony of clicking and reading seen during most of the game.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse sports a great but repetitive soundtrack.

Despite its enjoyable features, PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse has a few underwhelming aspects. Like the previous game, The Mermaid’s Curse has no voice acting. While the visual novel is still engaging without it, the lack of voice acting robs some critical scenes of their impact. Additionally, while the novel sports an amazing soundtrack, the collection of songs is quite limited. Eventually, they start to sound repetitive.

What’s more, the game’s lack of chronology makes following the story overwhelming at times, especially towards the end. Players not familiar with games with a similar narrative structure may find it hard to follow. It also doesn’t help that there’s a large amount of information for players to keep track of.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse does, however, have an amazing aesthetic and art direction. It sports well-drawn and coloured vistas that are accurate to their real-world counterparts. The character designs are also intricate, with a Junji-Ito-like aesthetic, contributing to the game’s distinct nature.

Overall, PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse is an appealing and unique visual novel thriller that, despite some minor drawbacks, offers an enjoyable experience. As such, it’s a visual novel that fans of thrillers and mysteries shouldn’t miss.

PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse will launch on February 19 for PC via Steam, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices.