Help! I'm Turning Into A Mermaid!

The latest in Lached Up Games' Axonverse, [i]Help! I'm Turning Into a Mermaid![/i] (which I'll call Mermaid for short) is a technical marvel, where Lach utilizes a growing mastery over the Renpy engine to create his most technically impressive game yet. For the first time in the verse's visual novel adventures, [i]Mermaid[/i] stars a new protagonist: Hunter. He's just moved to Axon City for a new job at the Axon City Police Department, and is about to witness the pure chaos of the city first hand. This point of view of a complete newcomer is leveraged to make this an acceptable entry point for someone who has never played one of Lach's games before. There are references and characters all over the place from the previous games, to be sure, but everything needed to understand Hunter's story is explained when needed. Hunter passed the exams with flying marks to become a conflict de-escalation officer. He specializes in social work, reasoning, and talking down conflicts before they ever start. He's not even permitted to wear a weapon, as the mere presence of one can raise the tension in a tough situation. Given that this is Axon City, where invasions seemingly happen on a weekly basis, Hunter has his work cut out for him if he's going to prove the value of non-violence. And when he starts mysteriously transforming into a girl after using a machine to temporarily turn himself into a male mermaid (there are no such thing as mermen in this universe :P), his onboarding experience at the ACPD swiftly goes from bad to worse. Despite this, he never hesitates to step into a dangerous situation to try and help or even take a day off! His dogged persistence to always try to do the right thing without ever lifting a fist helps create a loveable protagonist that can be the opposite of Max in all of the best ways. [i]Mermaid[/i] is split up into 10 chapters, of which each has a bespoke puzzle section along with a bonus one you can tackle during any free time segment during the second half of the game. These puzzles have genuinely graduated into being the main gameplay loop, being both more frequent and complex than [i]Max's Big Bust 2[/i]. Inspirations from adventure games couldn't be any clearer at this point. While Hunter doesn't have Max's form changes as tools, he can combine items as a new mechanic that can lead to truly hilarious results. One downside to the more complicated puzzles is that situations with multiple solutions are rarer than before, but it's no less satisfying to figure out a tough solution. Between narrative and puzzles, there are free time sections where Hunter can hang out with romantic interests and work odd jobs to make some extra cash. These minigames are very different from each other and quite fun. The first is cooking at a noodle restaurant, racing against the clock to make meals before customers get impatient and leave. The second is working a trade in counter at a game store, examining used games to make sure they aren't too damaged or fake. Finally, there's a management minigame for Coffee Shrine, a recurring business in the series. Assign waitresses to tables that fit the desires of the customers to keep them happy while managing your employee's energy levels. If you've ever been taken in by the Cabaret Clubs of Yakuza/Like a Dragon, you'll feel right at home here. The game's presentation is one of its strongest aspects. I'm not sure there's a single default Renpy asset [i]anywhere[/i] in the UI here. New characters have great art, sound effects are leveraged excellently, and the musical score continues to grow stronger. Despite the excellence showcased elsewhere in the game, the romance unfortunately does fall short. You lock in a romance so late in the game that there's almost no time for any unique events to happen. Aside from the obligatory kissing scene, it's almost entirely a couple of line changes here and there in story events. The heart beat events leading up to the romances, however, are as great as ever. If you've never played one of Lach's games before, this is a shining example of why you probably should. If you have played his games before, why are you reading this instead of buying it?

I obsessed over this game for a bit. Played through the whole thing in one sitting, and then started playing through again to get all the stuff I missed the first go around. I loved the characters, the humour hit my funny bone many times, and I loved the gameplay. But for the life of me, I cannot recommend this game. Why? Simple; the story. I greatly enjoy games about gender bending, from the fluffy to the existential. When this game popped up on my Steam homepage, I picked up the demo right away, and while the demo didn't feature the mc being turned into a mermaid, I fell in love with the puzzles, and both the mc and supporting cast. I came to this game looking for a fun visual novel about being turned into a mermaid, learning to live as a girl, with the added bonus of some fun mini-games and somewhat challenging puzzles. Instead I got hit in the face with a frankly half-baked gender-swap plot wrapped in a narrative about abuse of power, discrimination and a dearth of other topics that I still can't wrap my head around. And the worst thing about it all? I genuinely can't find anything to complain about other than the lack of focus on the mc's gender-swap! I didn't like the story, but it's not inherently flawed in any discernible way to me, and it all wraps up so cleanly!(Other than a few open ends, but I have read in reviews of other games by this author that this is not uncommon for games set in this universe.) Honestly, the only things that stopped me from just leaving the game are the characters, who I had fun following through the narrative, and the puzzles, which I genuinely had a blast with. In short, if you're looking for a fun time with some puzzles ranging from engaging to genuinely challenging, and a few chuckles, this game, while maybe not worth the 39 dollar price tag, is something you might enjoy checking out. But if you're looking for gender-swap hijinks, this game is less-than-ideal.

This game unironically helped crack my trans egg. 11/10

Why did I spend all that money on HRT when I could have just moved to Australia and become a Catgirl

A TG/TF Monstergirl Yuri Dating Sim slash Visual Novel slash Mystery Adventure game? And it's set in... Queensland? Okay that's a strong pitch to live up to, and this game honestly nails it! (Note: I haven't played any of LachedUp's other games at time of writing, so I don't know how it compares) The script is somehow both hilarious and kinda believable at times, despite the pitch. There's enough niche and kinda bogan Australian Politics jokes that may well go over your head if you aren't Australian, but it's still super enjoyable. I haven't sent so many screenshots of dumb jokes to friends in a long ass time from a game - just for the fun of it! Both runs (Cute and Sexy alignments) are worth playing through for sure - the dialogue and minor plot elements diverge quite satisfyingly in both. Hunter is a really fun protagonist - Queensland cop, trans egg, and Conflict De-Escalation Officer in a city that just can't stop being attacked by tentacles makes for some fun little situations for the poor girl to fall into. The minigames can be a little jank in an adorably Newgrounds kinda way, but they're also pretty satisfying to get good at! And collecting outfits is pretty fun too - the art is super cute for this entry. I'm looking forward to trying the other games in the series - this one references the events of those enough times to get me curious about what's going on for some of the minor characters, and it's implied they're fleshed out more there.

So I have been in love with this studio's games since Max's Big Bust, first seeing them on Bosskwar's channel on YouTube, and I have got to say, this is one of my favourites. It is without a doubt the one that has had the most thought put into the puzzles and really shines in both its storytelling and presentation as well. With the cast of loveable new and returning characters, HITIAM is an absolute hit in my opinion. If you liked "Max's Big Bust 1 or 2", "Alluna and Brie" or "My Mad Scientist Roommate Turned Me into Her Robotic Battle Maiden", you will love this game.

Lach never misses with these, it’s funny, it’s cute, it’s incredibly Australian. Each game improves on the last, but this one is a great jumping on point.

Broooooooo, do I feel a little ashamed to have a game with this title in my Steam library? Yes. Was it still a surprisingly well-written story and just an extremely enjoyable game with interesting characters and incredibly nice mini-games and puzzles? YES!!!!!!!!!! I mean, sure — I’ll probably have to replay Elden Ring now just to recover from the blow this awesome game dealt to my masculinity. But still: 10/10, absolutely great game. Would play again, regret nothing. ... But ... THE FACT THAT WOLF ISN’T A CHARACTER YOU CAN ROMANCE IS A CRIME AND A BETRAYAL THAT WILL HAUNT ME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. And Tabitha is obviously the best character in the entire game. Period.

Great new adventure VN from Lachedup games! I've played all of the Adventure game VNs so far and this is the best one, Also works as a great entry point for newcomers who don't know where to start, the protagonist starts out just as lost as you. Great characters, great story, great puzzles, the full package.

Another fun story in the weird world of Axion City! New story, some returning characters from other games.