Info about The Mermaid Mask:

Official game description:
In the pitch-black waters beyond a long-abandoned fishing town, the enigmatic captain of the world's strangest submarine has been murdered. Some say he was an immortal time-traveller. Others say he was a vampire, cursed to stay hidden beneath the waves forever...
Found alone in a locked room, with only an ancient stone cauldron to suggest how he might have died, it's up to Detective Grimoire and Sally to piece together what really happened. Was it a curse, released from the cauldron? One of the submarine's eccentric crew? Or does the bizarre truth run even deeper...
• Every clue is a fully realised 3D object waiting to be examined for hidden secrets  
• Grimoire and Sally are back, and joined by a fully voiced cast of mysterious suspects  
• A hauntingly beautiful original soundtrack performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra  
• Explore every hand-painted inch of The Mortuga Submarine, where not all is as it seems...
\*Voice audio is only in English

Release date: Jul 16, 2026

Categories: Point-and-click Adventure, Detective, Mystery, Puzzle Solving, Single-player Story, Exploration, Interactive Fiction


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: The reviews show mixed sentiment: some consider the game worth its full price of $19.99, while others suggest waiting for a discount or buying a bundle at a similar cost, indicating the full price may be slightly high for the base game alone. A fair range is around $10-$20, reflecting both the perceived value and the desire for a discount.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 11.0h
  - Story completion: 11.0h
  - Session length: 8.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Game completion time is supported by multiple reviews stating 9-12 hours, 10 hours, and 12 hours; story completion aligns with game completion as the game is linear and focused on narrative; session length is supported by a review of 8 consecutive hours and another finishing in one sitting, implying the game can be completed in a single extended session; no evidence for endgame content.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game is immediately engaging due to its charming characters, humorous writing, and compelling story hook, with no reported early friction or time-to-fun delay.
  - Stance: Fun immediately
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: N/A
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: N/A
- Player Archetypes:
  - Tangle Tower Devotee (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience a worthy sequel that expands on the Tangle Tower universe and resolves its cliffhanger.
    - Playstyle: Follows the story and puzzles sequentially, appreciates references and connections to previous game.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: massive fan
    - Reference games: Tangle Tower
  - Series Completionist (buy)
    - Motivation: To experience the complete narrative arc and see the evolution of the developer's craft across all titles.
    - Playstyle: Plays games in chronological order, pays attention to series lore and developer evolution.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Detective Grimoire; Tangle Tower
  - Standalone Newcomer (buy)
    - Motivation: To enjoy a standalone mystery game without needing prior series knowledge.
    - Playstyle: Plays independently, enjoys the narrative and puzzles without references to previous games.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Worthy Tangle Tower sequel (weight 0.49): Players find this game an equal or better follow-up to Tangle Tower, with a compelling plot and enjoyable puzzles, though some find it more straightforward.
- Beautiful art direction and design (weight 0.48): The game features excellent art direction, beautiful painting-like visuals, and strong character designs that showcase personality.
- Excellent voice acting quality (weight 0.45): The voice acting is consistently praised as top-notch, impeccable, and phenomenal, enhancing the overall experience.
- Self-contained story with ties (weight 0.4): The story stands alone without requiring previous game knowledge, but includes satisfying references and connections for returning players.
- Well-written engaging story (weight 0.37): The story is intricately written, interesting, and provides a spectacular payoff, keeping players invested.
- Well-balanced puzzle difficulty (weight 0.31): Puzzles are challenging yet fair, offering just the right amount of difficulty without causing frustration.
- Satisfying and conclusive ending (weight 0.3): Players find the ending more satisfying and conclusive than previous installments, with some loose ends smartly connected.
- Overall high quality and charm (weight 0.23): The game is described as magnificent, beautiful, and full of charm, providing an overall excellent experience.
- Lovable and substantial characters (weight 0.2): Characters are described as likeable, quirkier, and well-created, with substantial personalities that players adore.
- Funny Grimoire and Sally banter (weight 0.13): The humorous dialogue and banter between Grimoire and Sally provide charming shenanigans that players enjoy.
- Enhanced 3D evidence models (weight 0.13): The 3D evidence models that can be rotated add extra complexity and depth to the investigation process.
- Well-organized clues and deduction (weight 0.12): Clues are plentiful and neatly organized, facilitating enjoyable deduction gameplay.

Common complaints:
- Poor translation and localization (weight 0.18): Users report poor translation overall, including unclear mini-game hints, inconsistent terms like compass directions, and one instance of untranslated dialogue. This negatively affects understanding.
- Puzzle difficulty frustrations (weight 0.18): Some puzzles are considered finicky, frustrating, or requiring a guide, such as a final puzzle with many solutions and a ship steps puzzle that needed watching gameplay. One user found puzzles too easy despite mechanical complexity.
- Achievements not unlocking correctly (weight 0.17): Several players report that achievements do not unlock despite meeting requirements, including the achievement for completing the game. This is a widespread bug affecting player progress tracking.
- Achievements missable requiring replay (weight 0.14): Multiple users report that achievements are missable and require replaying the entire game due to save locks after certain scenes. This is a significant design flaw frustrating completionists.
- No manual save option (weight 0.13): Players cannot save at desired locations and report that pressing escape toggles fullscreen instead of saving. The lack of manual save and a dedicated save button is a recurring issue.
- Obvious plot threads (weight 0.12): Some plot threads are considered too obvious and distracting, and players figured out the murderer early by mannerisms. The murder method reveal also comes too late for independent deduction.
- Narrative loose ends (weight 0.12): There are a couple of narrative loose ends, and users note that the Felicia and Seaform relationship was not explored. The lack of a serpent plot despite frequent mentions feels unresolved.
- Game short for the price (weight 0.09): Multiple players note that the game feels short for its price, with one mentioning a cost of 85 zloty for 10-12 hours. This perception of low value is a common complaint.
- Volume issues and quiet audio (weight 0.09): The voice volume becomes almost impossible to hear when switching between fullscreen and windowed until a reset, and general audio is reported as too quiet. This hinders dialogue comprehension.
- Logic gaps in deductions (weight 0.09): Some logic gaps exist where the correct conclusion requires a specific item dialogue trigger, and the reasoning is not as good as Tangle Tower, possibly due to raised expectations.
- No borderless fullscreen mode (weight 0.05): The lack of a borderless window mode causes lag when alt-tabbing, which is a performance annoyance for multi-tasking players.
- Mac performance lag (weight 0.05): Mac users experience lag during puzzles and cutscenes with 3D models, indicating platform-specific optimization issues.
- Cannot skip voice lines quickly (weight 0.05): Players cannot quickly skip voice lines, making the experience torturous for fast readers who want to proceed at their own pace.
- Pirate flag puzzle unclear (weight 0.05): The pirate flag puzzle is difficult because it is hard to identify which pirate is wearing a hat, indicating a visual clarity problem.
- Pegboard puzzle minor complaint (weight 0.04): There are minor complaints about puzzle designs including a pegboard puzzle, which some find frustrating despite being small.

Gameplay feedback:
- Mystery puzzle game (weight 0.57): The game is consistently described as a mystery puzzle game with clue discovery and point-and-click mechanics. Many reviews emphasize exploration, deduction, and fair play clues.
- Great art and audio design (weight 0.22): The game features high-quality art direction, character design, and voice acting that enhance immersion. The atmosphere is praised for its attention to detail.
- Engaging puzzle challenges (weight 0.21): Puzzles provide eureka moments and reward intuition and experimentation. While some are challenging, hints and progression ensure players do not get stuck.
- 3D evidence examination (weight 0.21): Evidence can be examined interactively in 3D, allowing detailed inspection. This feature enhances the investigative experience with realistic object manipulation.
- Sequel with longer gameplay (weight 0.21): As a sequel to Tangle Tower, this entry offers longer playtime (around 10 hours) and bigger content. Players appreciate the expanded scope.
- Narrative detective story (weight 0.17): The game is a narrative-driven detective murder mystery with conversations and environment interactions. Players solve a case using clues and dialogue.
- Deduction from clues (weight 0.15): Gameplay involves deducing facts from collected clues and recontextualizing information. Logical reasoning is central to solving the mystery.
- Point-and-click deduction adventure (weight 0.12): The game is a point-and-click deduction adventure with puzzles and a gallery. It follows the series' tradition of interactive storytelling.
- Variety of puzzles and minigames (weight 0.12): The game offers a variety of puzzle types and minigames, keeping gameplay diverse. This includes logic puzzles and point-and-click challenges.
- Integrated puzzles and narrative (weight 0.12): Puzzles are seamlessly integrated into the detective narrative. Solving them progresses the story naturally.
- Evidence commentary mechanic (weight 0.11): Characters react to evidence and items presented, adding flavor text. This interactive commentary enriches the narrative experience.
- Characters lie and must be solved (weight 0.09): Characters may lie, requiring players to confront contradictions. Deductive skills are needed to uncover the truth through interrogation.
- Better ending than Tangle Tower (weight 0.09): The ending is considered stronger and more satisfying compared to the previous game, Tangle Tower. This is a notable improvement for the series.
- Mystical theme element (weight 0.08): The game incorporates a mystical theme with supernatural elements in the background. This adds an intriguing layer to the mystery.
- Simple puzzles with hints (weight 0.08): Puzzles are generally simple but can be challenging with the help of a hint system. This makes the game accessible to a wide audience.
- Comparison to Ace Attorney and Professor Layton (weight 0.05): Players compare the game favorably to classic detective puzzle series like Ace Attorney and Professor Layton. It shares similar investigation and deduction mechanics.
- Humor and puns (weight 0.05): The game includes humor and wordplay, adding a lighthearted tone. This makes the detective story more enjoyable.
- No failing penalty (weight 0.04): There is no penalty for failing, allowing players to experiment freely. This encourages exploration and reduces frustration.
- Text-heavy requiring English proficiency (weight 0.04): The game is text-heavy with advanced English, requiring good language skills. Non-native speakers may find it challenging.

Performance notes:
- Overall good performance (weight 0.16): Several users report no performance issues, bugs, or problems, and note good performance and low system requirements. This indicates the game runs well for many.
- Lag from alt-tabbing (weight 0.05): The lack of a borderless window mode causes lag when alt-tabbing out of the game. This is a specific usability issue that affects workflow.

Recommendations:
- Play previous games first (weight 0.52): Many reviewers strongly recommend playing Tangle Tower before this game for context and to appreciate the evolution, though it is not strictly necessary.
- Fans of Tangle Tower (weight 0.45): The game is particularly recommended for fans of Tangle Tower, as it continues the style and quality of that game.
- Highly recommended overall (weight 0.37): A large number of reviews strongly recommend the game, with phrases like 'cannot recommend enough' and 'highly recommended' frequently appearing.
- Great for mystery fans (weight 0.35): The game is recommended for fans of detective games, point-and-click deduction, mystery, and narrative-driven experiences.
- New players welcome (weight 0.32): The game is considered accessible to new players, with some reviews noting it can be played without prior knowledge of the series.
- Fans of the series (weight 0.26): The game is recommended for fans of the series, including Detective Grimoire and previous entries, with a note that returning players will enjoy it.
- Try demo first (weight 0.22): One review suggests trying the demo to see if the game suits you, indicating a low-risk way to evaluate the game.
- Perfect score recommendation (weight 0.19): Several reviews give the game a perfect score, such as 10/10, 100/10, or 5 stars, indicating exceptional quality.
- Worth the price (weight 0.18): The game is considered worth buying, with mentions of good value, day-one purchase worthiness, and bundle deals.
- Broad audience appeal (weight 0.17): The game is recommended to a broad audience, including those who enjoy whimsy, fun, murder mysteries, and strong voice work and art direction.
- Buy on sale advice (weight 0.12): Some reviews recommend buying the whole series, noting that previous games are often on sale, and suggest buying on sale if new to the series.
- Developer appreciation (weight 0.11): Several reviews express strong support for the developers, encouraging players to purchase the game to support their work.
- Good characters and writing (weight 0.07): The game is praised for its good characters, sharp writing, and strong voice work, contributing to its recommendation.
- Don't be afraid to try (weight 0.06): Some reviews encourage hesitant players to give the game a try, emphasizing that it is accessible and enjoyable.
- Game of the Year candidate (weight 0.04): One review calls the game an instant recommend and Game of the Year, highlighting its exceptional quality.
- Worth the wait (weight 0.04): One review mentions that the game was absolutely worth the wait, suggesting high anticipation was rewarded.
- Self-judge value (weight 0.04): One review suggests the game is worth considering but that each player should judge its value for themselves.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.18): Players are satisfied with the compelling mystery, well-written story, and balanced puzzles that are challenging without being frustrating. The game is seen as a significant improvement over its predecessor, with high-quality voice acting, music, and a satisfying ending that lives up to expectations.
- Excitement (weight 0.16): Excitement stems from long anticipation for the sequel, with players praising the connections to previous titles, improved atmosphere, and higher production quality. The culprit reveal, music, and character details kept players engaged, with many playing through the game immediately upon release.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players enjoyed the well-written story, charming characters, and logical puzzles, finding the game a fun and engaging experience. The balance of humor, mystery, and improved animation contributed to an overall positive experience.
- Frustration (weight 0.06): Frustration arises from technical issues like volume bugs, achievements not unlocking, and unclear puzzle solutions. The inability to save anywhere, poor translations, and progression-blocking bugs also detract from the experience.
- Love (weight 0.05): Players express love for the series, particularly the characters' relationships, art style, voice acting, and music. The game's story, puzzles, and humor create a deeply resonant and captivating experience.
- Delight (weight 0.04): Delight comes from the charming art style, animation, and dialogue, with players enjoying the ocean aesthetic and comedic timing. The ending surpassed expectations, and the full voice acting and endearing characters added to the enjoyment.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Admiration is directed at the game's atmosphere, music, art, and voice acting, which are considered magnificent. The detailed animations, localization, and well-crafted puzzles are praised as a masterpiece and a phenomenal improvement over previous entries.
- Anticipation (weight 0.03): Anticipation is fueled by the desire to see how the story ends, with players eagerly awaiting the soundtrack release and potential sequels. The ending's loose ends and engaging plot leave players excited for future content.
- Surprise (weight 0.03): Surprise is driven by unexpected twists, a pleasant ending, and the return of a surprising culprit. Players were also surprised by the inclusion of 3D objects and the game exceeding expectations.
- Disappointment (weight 0.03): Disappointment results from missable achievements requiring replay, unresolved plot points like the serpent story, and the lack of features such as manual saving and localization in Polish. Some players were let down by the previous game's ending.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy is experienced through the game's humor, beautiful design, and fantastic storytelling. Seeing returning characters and interacting with the world brought happiness, with players feeling constantly wowed and unable to put the game down.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Players hope for sustainable development of more sequels, wishing for the series to continue exploring the mystids and origins. There is also a desire for additional content like Steam Point shop items and a wish for others to experience the game.
- Happiness (weight 0.02): Happiness comes from the game's logical structure, recontextualization, and balance of interesting characters and puzzles. Players describe it as a perfect game that met expectations, being larger and more polished than earlier entries.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation is expressed for the indie team's effort, including full voice work, handmade art, and 3D evidence models. References to previous games, haunting set pieces, and Japanese support at launch are also valued.
- Gratitude (weight 0.02): Gratitude is directed toward the developers for the game's vibes, improvements over previous titles, and the effort put into creating another wonderful installment. Waiting a year or more was deemed worthwhile.
- Adoration (weight 0.02): Adoration is felt for the lovable and witty protagonists, dialogue, and new characters. The art, animation, writing, and overall series quality are deeply admired.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement is driven by the convoluted yet intriguing story that keeps players thinking, leading to marathon play sessions. The mysteries are captivating, drawing players in for the entire duration.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness is evoked by the emotional and sad story tone, with the ending and fate of characters like Mortuga and Khvat deeply moving players to tears.
- Amazement (weight 0.01): Amazement comes from the incredible puzzles, investigation, story, and final reveal, which exceed player expectations. The game improves on basically every aspect, with art direction that continues to astound.
- Awe (weight 0.01): Awe is inspired by the beautiful visuals and expert storytelling, which surpass the already high standards of the previous game, The game excels in every aspect.}