Mata Hari

About

Mata Hari is a single player puzzle game with fantasy, romance and historical themes. It was developed by 4Head Studios and was released on July 29, 2009. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

In "Mata Hari," experience the dangerous world of espionage and sabotage leading up to World War I as a double agent. Utilize era-specific gadgets, break codes, and tap phones to complete perilous missions. Your choices and actions will determine the outcome of the game, leading to multiple endings. Based on real historical events, players must trust no one and use their charm and wit to elude pursuers and complete objectives. With 8 mini-games in 4 chapters, this game offers a thrilling and immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

61%

Audience ScoreBased on 79 reviews

story26 positive mentions

gameplay5 negative mentions

The game features a charming atmosphere and beautifully drawn backgrounds that effectively capture the Art Nouveau period of Europe.
Mata Hari's story is intriguing, providing a unique perspective on espionage and historical events, which may appeal to history buffs.
The voice acting is generally well done, and the game includes a variety of dialogue-driven interactions that enhance the narrative experience.

The gameplay is marred by excessive backtracking and tedious travel mechanics, making the experience feel repetitive and frustrating.
Puzzles are often too easy and lack challenge, which may disappoint veteran adventure game players looking for more engaging gameplay.
The dialogue system is cumbersome, requiring players to drag and drop icons to interact, which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.

story
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The story of "Mata Hari" is a heavily dialogue-driven narrative that blends historical events with fictional elements, focusing on the life of the titular character, a Dutch dancer turned spy during World War I. While the intriguing espionage storyline and atmospheric setting engage players, the pacing can be inconsistent, and the gameplay often feels secondary to the storytelling, with simple puzzles and mini-games that may detract from the overall experience. Despite mixed reviews on its execution, the game offers a unique perspective on a historical figure, appealing primarily to those interested in interactive storytelling rather than traditional point-and-click mechanics.
- “Mata Hari is an older point & click narrative that focuses far more on telling its fictional story based on the real-life person Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer who gained popularity in Paris for her exotic dancing.”
- “The story is quite intriguing; it shows Mata Hari as a brilliant dancer turned spy against her will -- fortunately, her womanly wiles and quick thinking help her overcome every obstacle.”
- “All in all, it was an interesting story to learn about and see a bit how it developed; it got me to read a little more about the real Mata Hari and her life.”
- “The story is boring (and not in the least historically accurate, but real-life Mata Hari was even more boring unfortunately). Puzzles are trivial yet some involve pixel hunting if you don't use the space bar. Getting around is a chore due to both the dialog UI being annoying and the traveling minigame being pointless (but eventually skippable).”
- “The story is ok and uses a few famous names but isn’t that engaging, partially due to the constant back and forth nature and the long time span it covers.”
- “The events that unfold throughout the story are supposed to be a big deal, but everything happens off screen and nothing seems to affect the protagonist at all.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
66%
19%
The gameplay is primarily a point-and-click adventure that emphasizes storytelling and dialogue, often leading to a lengthy experience. While it features classic mechanics like puzzle-solving and exploration, many players find the gameplay tedious due to repetitive backtracking, clunky mechanics, and dated animations. Despite some enjoyable elements, such as the atmosphere and character interactions, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, with many reviewers noting that it detracts from the overall experience.
- “Nevertheless, I have always appreciated the gratifying puzzle-solving mechanics.”
- “Gameplay focuses on classic adventure mechanics: exploring detailed environments, solving puzzles, talking to characters, and completing espionage assignments.”
- “Accessible puzzles and classic point-and-click gameplay.”
- “The game is pretty simple as a point & click with short bouts of puzzles and it focuses very hard on storytelling instead of the gameplay; due to being so heavy on dialogue, the game also becomes very long from all the talking.”
- “Gameplay is tedious and doesn't make you want to keep playing.”
- “There is too much repetitive backtracking, dialogue, and inventory mechanics that are quite impractical, and mini-games also quickly become repetitive and tedious.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
23%
18%
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the atmosphere and detail, particularly for its age. While some describe the visuals as satisfactory and fitting for the time of release, others note issues such as low resolution, stiff animations, and technical difficulties. Despite these drawbacks, the graphics contribute positively to the game's historical setting and storytelling.
- “As time passed, there was a natural transition from 2D to 3D graphics, accompanied by other technological advancements.”
- “The graphics, considering the time of release, are satisfactory.”
- “Dated graphics and stiff animations.”
- “The game successfully brings you to the depicted time period, with decent visuals (except the awful dancing animations) and music.”
- “I tried to run this on my laptop (Windows 8.1 64-bit Intel GMA 4400 graphics) after I finished Bioshock on that laptop, and it could not get past trying to connect to the DirectX adapter.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The music in the game is generally well-received, effectively capturing the pre-WWI atmosphere and enhancing the overall experience with an engaging soundtrack. While the voice acting is mostly good, some players noted issues with overlapping music tracks. Overall, the sound effects and music contribute positively to the game's aesthetic, despite minor gameplay mechanics that could be improved.
- “The music and atmosphere successfully capture the pre-WWI era.”
- “On the plus side, the backgrounds were gorgeous and the music was engaging.”
- “The soundtrack is excellent and Mata Hari is a very seductive character.”
- “It would be much better if it was like a quicktime event, but instead you have to put your mouse inside the boxes on the four corners of the screen as the music notes are right in the boxes.”
- “The game successfully brings you to the depicted time period, with decent visuals (except the awful dancing animations) and music.”
- “The sound effects and music are also adequate, and I have no major complaints in that regard.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with repetitive mechanics, excessive backtracking, and unengaging mini-games contributing to a lack of enjoyment. While some elements of the story and atmosphere are appreciated, the gameplay is often described as shallow and annoying, leading to a negative experience.
- “Gameplay is tedious and doesn't make you want to keep playing.”
- “There is too much repetitive backtracking, and the dialog and inventory mechanics are quite impractical. Mini-games also quickly become repetitive and tedious.”
- “It's a shallow, easy game that augments its simple playtime by including a number of mini-games--all of which you'll be doing multiple times--that aren't particularly fun and are often tedious.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its captivating presentation and successful evocation of pre-WWI art nouveau Europe, complemented by charming environments and fitting music. However, some players feel that the enjoyable atmosphere is undermined by easy puzzles, tedious travel, and poor gameplay mechanics. Overall, while the atmosphere stands out as a strong point, it is marred by certain gameplay issues.
- “Charming environments and period atmosphere.”
- “Mata Hari is a charming and atmospheric adventure that offers a unique take on spy storytelling.”
- “I did enjoy the atmosphere and story, but bad gameplay mechanics, bad voice acting, and tedious travel make this a big thumbs down.”
- “I rarely played a game with such an atmosphere.”
- “The music and atmosphere successfully capture the pre-WWI era.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
While the game features different endings based on player choices, enhancing its replayability, the mini-games are poorly executed and quickly lose their appeal. The scoring system offers some incentive to replay, but its impact on the overall experience is minimal.
- “Overall, this is a recommendable adventure game with some replayability, as there are different endings to achieve depending on three values: wealth, spycraft, and skills.”
- “The mini-games add some variety but are poorly implemented, becoming boring quickly, and the scoring system, which offers some replay value, has no bearing on the game.”
- “Overall, this is a recommendable adventure game with some replayability as there are different endings to achieve, depending on three values: wealth, spycraft, and skills.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users noting that while the performance can be inconsistent and occasionally awkward, it does not significantly detract from the immersive character experience. However, others have pointed out that the overall performance issues hinder the potential of the story.
- “The story of Mata Hari had some great potential, but the performance is rather poor.”
- “The 'performance' puzzles are mechanically weird sometimes, but a small price to pay for an otherwise immersive character experience.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game features some interesting and funny dialogue, but overall, it suffers from poor execution, which detracts from its effectiveness.