Welcome to The Playfield, a new weekly column about the games we’re currently playing here at The A.V. Club. Every Saturday our games writers Garrett Martin and Elijah Gonzalez will look at whatever they’ve been digging their thumbs into that week, from video games to pinball to the tabletop, with a weekly rotation of our regular freelancers joining them. And who knows, other A.V Club staffers and contributors might pop up from time to time, too. We’re not just interested in what we’re playing, though; we want to know what’s on your docket, as well, so consider this an open comments thread for games talk of any stripe.
This week’s guest: Games contributor Dia Lacina.
Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse
Platforms: PC, Switch, iOS, Android
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries Of Honjo seemed like the platonic ideal of a cult visual novel/adventure game—the kind that, while rightly beloved by those who played it, would never, ever in a million years get a sequel. It just seemed too niche. Thankfully, Square Enix’s release pipeline sort of makes no sense. Abruptly announced in February and then put out two weeks later, The Mermaid’s Curse tells another supernatural mystery featuring murder, ghosts, gags, and a well-defined cast of oddballs, many of whom have conflicting goals. Curses are being used to kill, and you’ve got to find out how and why. Based on real Japanese myths, series director and writer Takanari Ishiyama taps into the past to explore the present, weaving a complicated but cohesive story that references everything from The Tale of The Heike to deep mermaid lore. There’s a lot going on, but at least there’s a glossary to help sort things out. Tasked with parsing this wave of information, the player is cast as a sort of occult archaeologist, forced to reckon with questions like which groups have traditionally borne the brunt of history’s misfortunes, and how that bleeds into the present. Don’t let Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse’s visual novel-adjacent presentation put you off; this is an exciting ride that ranks among this year’s best (unless the ending is bad, in which case I take it all back; I haven’t got there yet). [Elijah Gonzalez]
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