Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid

About

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid is a single player casual simulation game with a mystery theme. It was developed by ROSEVERTE MYSTERY and was released on January 29, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

What will you do if you can redo the last 7 days before you died? Try this unique supernatural mystery visual novel!

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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62%

Audience ScoreBased on 120 reviews

story44 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features an intriguing premise that keeps players engaged as they uncover the mystery of the protagonist's death.
The art style, while criticized by some, has a unique charm that some players found appealing.
The music enhances the atmosphere of the game, contributing to the overall experience.

The story feels rushed and lacks depth, with important plot elements receiving insufficient attention.
Character development is minimal, making it difficult for players to form attachments to the characters.
The game is very short, with some players feeling that it does not justify its price, especially given the need for multiple playthroughs to unlock all endings.

story
147 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
6%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the intriguing premise and plot twists but criticizing the execution and pacing. While some found the narrative engaging and enjoyed the multiple endings, others felt it was rushed, lacking depth, and at times confusing, leading to a sense of disappointment. Overall, the game offers a unique story structure that may appeal to dedicated visual novel fans, but its shortcomings in writing and character development detract from the overall experience.
- “Cafe 0 is an amazing short visual novel which explores the differing storylines of its patrons.”
- “The story is well done, the last one is really well done.”
- “The story branches out in 'routes', that lead to several ends: 4 'main' ends, one 'true' end, and one 'bad' end.”
- “I was excited for this due to the intriguing premise and prologue, but then once the story was supposed to begin (or so I thought), I was under the impression that the actual plot just got skipped until the sudden ending.”
- “I'm just not a fan of how elements of the plot that interested me the most barely got any screentime (which was seeing how the protagonist adapts to the circumstances and deals with the mystery in detail); additionally, everything was too rushed for my preferences.”
- “The main character was obnoxiously reactionary to everything, and you learned so little about the other characters in the story that it was hard to care about them at all.”
graphics
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
75%
11%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique art style while others find it lacking and awkward. While the visuals are generally considered average and sometimes jarring, they do not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment of the story. Technical quality is deemed acceptable, but many players feel that improvements could enhance the aesthetic appeal.
- “The artwork had a curious style that I haven't seen in a while, but time appears to have been spent on making it look professional.”
- “The graphics are really above average, the background music is repetitive, and the plot in general is a bit poor.”
- “The game has decent graphics, a well-done voice over, and a story we can believe.”
- “The graphics are not really well made, but not too shoddy either.”
- “Technical quality-wise the graphics are okay..ish, seen much better to be honest, and some of the CG screens have weird anatomy.”
- “The artwork leaves the characters looking somewhat less than human, and the plot itself sounds a bit like an angsty teenager's daydream.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
50%
15%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its ability to create an eerie atmosphere, while others criticize it for being mismatched with the game's tone or overly simplistic and forgettable. Several reviewers noted instances where the soundtrack felt inappropriate for the scenes, either being too upbeat during serious moments or eerie during lighter ones. Overall, while some found the music enjoyable, many felt it lacked depth and coherence.
- “I also liked the music in this title a lot; it works nicely to give that kind of eerie/mysterious atmosphere that I love to experience in games such as these.”
- “The artwork was only average but the soundtrack was pretty well done.”
- “The soundtrack is nice.”
- “Other aspects of the game I had an issue with would be the characters’ art, writing of the characters, and the soundtrack choices for certain scenes.”
- “With the music, there were scenes where the music seemed too upbeat even though the conversation was so serious, and some of the not-so-serious scenes have eerie music playing.”
- “The soundtrack is merely okay, with the music being rather plain and forgettable.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
67%
20%
The gameplay of "Cafe O - The Sleeping Beast" is characterized by its straightforward mechanics, focusing on dialogue choices that influence the player's alignment with light or dark paths. While the game offers multiple save slots and branching storylines, many players found the gameplay overly simplistic and short, with a total playtime of about two hours. Despite some unique elements, such as the mirror mechanic and the mystery aspect, the overall experience lacked depth and refinement, leaving some players unsatisfied.
- “I have always liked that mechanic because it requires you to build on what you learn from previous runs to get the whole picture.”
- “The game has plenty of save slots to allow different gameplay and dialogue choices to be made during the game, with a black or gold butterfly popup icon to reach a different storyline branch, Marin taking on a white, black, or green appearance, additional mystery items to make inquiries on after each playthrough, and the option to skip and fast-forward any part of the game.”
- “The gameplay was overly simplistic and very short.”
- “Mechanically, the entire game comes down to making a choice of who to talk to and hopefully making a choice in the conversation that'll push you to the light or dark side.”
- “The basic score keeping and trial and error dialogues are not very refined mechanically either.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
Overall, reviews indicate that character development is a significant weakness in the game, with many players feeling a lack of depth and attachment to the characters due to rushed storytelling and insufficient content. The short length of the visual novel exacerbates this issue, leading to a clichéd execution of the ending. While character design is noted to be adequate, it does not compensate for the shortcomings in character development.
- “It does suffer from the short length of the visual novel though (less than 3 hours), which greatly cuts and rushes character development and cheapens the true ending a bit by making its execution a little bit cliché.”
- “There wasn't enough character development for me to get attached to the characters.”
- “Character development is nonexistent.”
- “As far as the writing itself goes, each day could have included much more content and character development.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its captivating blend of mystery and eeriness, enhanced by strong character performances and effective music. However, some players feel that the overall ambiance is diminished by the narrative and sound design, which may not resonate with all audiences.
- “The charm of the story lies in its atmosphere.”
- “Each character played their part well to deliver an atmosphere of mystery.”
- “I also liked the music in this title a lot; it works nicely to create an eerie and mysterious atmosphere that I love to experience in games like this.”
- “The charm of the story would be its atmosphere.”
- “Each character played their part well to deliver the atmosphere of mystery.”
- “I also liked the music in this title a lot; it works nicely to give that kind of eerie/mysterious atmosphere that I love to experience in games such as these.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game involves replaying routes multiple times to collect plot items, which can feel tedious despite the short playtime for each route. While this mechanic is not a complete failure, it detracts from the overall experience by making the reading process feel more laborious than enjoyable.
- “That aspect of the game wasn't exactly a failure, but it really wasn't inspiring at all, and made the reading a bit more tedious than it should have been.”
- “Like this you play 4 times (sounds tedious, but each route is pretty short so it doesn't take even half an hour to finish one), every end will give you a plot item, and then you play the game for the 5th time you take those items to the 3rd character, your female friend, and manage to figure everything out and get the 'true end'.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Replayability is seen as debatable, largely depending on individual perspectives regarding the desire to explore every ending and experience various story outcomes. Players who enjoy uncovering all narrative facets may find significant replay value, while others may not feel compelled to revisit the game.
- “The replay value is debatable, depending on one's perspective on experiencing every ending to see all sides of the story and different realities/outcomes.”
- “Each playthrough offers a unique experience, making it worthwhile to explore different choices and their consequences.”
- “The game encourages multiple runs, as each decision leads to varied outcomes that keep the experience fresh and engaging.”
- “The replay value is debatable, depending on one's perspective on getting every ending to see all sides of the story and different realities/outcomes.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play through it again; the story doesn't change enough to warrant a second playthrough.”
- “While there are multiple endings, the journey to get there feels repetitive and lacks the depth needed to keep me engaged for a second run.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game is generally enjoyable, with many players finding it hilarious by the end, despite some repetitive elements throughout the routes. While it may not be groundbreaking, it offers a fun and entertaining experience overall.
- “It's not something amazing, but it's still fun to read and hilarious by the end, especially after completing all the routes, even if there are some repetitive elements.”
- “The humor in this game is genuinely entertaining and keeps you engaged throughout.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the clever jokes and witty dialogue sprinkled throughout the game.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid is a casual simulation game with mystery theme.

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid is available on PC, Mac OS, Phone, iPad and others.

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid was released on January 29, 2015.

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid was developed by ROSEVERTE MYSTERY.

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid is a single player game.

Similar games include Blood Code, Sound of Drop: Fall into Poison, Seduce Me the Otome, Fading Hearts, Soul Gambler and others.

Cafe 0: The Drowned Mermaid

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