Half Mermaid, led by Sam Barlow, is known for making video games using FMV, and they often require the player to sort through footage to solve mysteries. But for the studio’s next projects, it seems the mystery will begin before the games are even announced – today, two Steam listings were posted on Half Mermaid’s developer page, but most of their information is redacted.
The games, currently called “Project C” and “Project D,” have very few concrete details listed. White text blocks give the page a redacted look, so only a few words in each sentence are legible, and the images and videos in their galleries are surreal and vague. Obscure details are still details, however, so here’s a breakdown of what we know about each game so far.
The description underneath Project C’s profile image is as follows:
Gifted with the ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ███ ███ ████ ██ ████, █████ █████████ kaleidoscopic █████████████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ██████ █████████ ███ ██ future.
And the “About This Game ” section in Project C’s Steam listing is as follows:
For now we see through a glass, darkly;
but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Project C██████ is the new cinematic ███████████ ████ Sam Barlow ███ Half Mermaid. █████ ███████ ███ for the first time ever in a video game █████████ ██████ ██ ████ ██████.
The word “kaleidoscopic” is definitely an important theme in this listing, both in the images and in the imagery in the listing. The poetic words at the start of the “about” section are actually from the Bible – it’s Corinthians 13:12. In this context, however, it could be interpreted as a poetic way of looking at someone’s face through a kaleidoscope, especially when placed right next to what’s depicted in the image gallery, which we’ve assembled below.
Based on the words we can read in the second part, this seems like a relatively straightforward Sam Barlow/Half Mermaid game. The word “cinematic” lines up with what we’ve come to expect from the developer, and while they tease something will appear “for the first time ever in a video game,” we have no idea what that is. Something similar could be said for Immortality, the studio’s last game that included footage from three original feature-length films. In that regard, doing something “for the first time ever” would be right in line with the studio’s past.
There’s a video as well, but there isn’t much new information there. Kaleidoscopic imagery, a blinking face, and a gasp at the end all fall in line with the themes assembled thus far, but provide no further answers.
The description underneath Project D’s profile image is as follows:
Something bad ███ ████████ ██ █████ ███ ███ ███ █████ ███████ ██████ ████. Some doors ████ ████ ███ ██████████. Some doors ████ ████ ██████████. ███ ███ ███ home?
And the “About This Game ” section in Project D’s Steam listing is as follows:
██████ █████ ██ 1983 ██ █ █████████ ████ ████ ████████, ███ ████ ████ ██████ ██████ nurse █████ ███ ████ ███████ █████ ████ ███████ in ███████ ███. Be careful ███████ ████ ███ ████ ████ █ nightmare.
Right off the bat, this game looks like a completely different venture for Half Mermaid – the “about” section lists it as a survival horror game. We also can guess the game will take place in 1983, presumably in America, thanks to the image in the gallery that says “America.” The only other things we can put together here are “doors,” “nurse,” and “nightmare,” which isn’t quite enough to draw conclusions about. Perhaps the “D” in Project D stands for “Doors”?
But while Project C’s video was mainly about the vibes, Project D has a lot more going on. After clearly hearing the words “shots fired” over a radio, the audio track is crowded with chatter, presumably from police. Then, the chatter stops suddenly, and the voice of Ronald Regan says, “We are Americans.” This further establishes that the game is set in the year 1983 since that was right in the midst of Regan’s presidency. Still, it’s unclear what horrors the player will be surviving in this game. You can see the image gallery for yourself below to draw your own conclusions.
Sam Barlow himself has responded to the discovery of the postings with relative surprise, posting a message on X saying, “Trying to sneakily put out teasers for 2 games and the internet notices quick!” At the time of writing, neither game is listed on Half Mermaid’s website yet, but hopefully, the studio will share more details soon. For more Half Mermaid, learn why Immortality was one of our favorite games of 2022, and then read about when you’ll be able to pick it up on PlayStation.
