Mermaids of Ganymede

Here is a choice-based game that I found very pleasant to navigate. Despite being a sci-fi adventure taking place on another world (not my usual preference), I was drawn in right away; I attribute that to the fact that the setting is more of an underwater environment than an alien planetary location. There are five chapters to this story. I have played the game several times. While I enjoyed the writing, I was a little disappointed that it seemed like nothing you do in the first three chapters keeps you from arriving at the same place in the fourth one. Another nitpick is that in the first chapter, you have to choose what to say to crew members to hopefully inspire their confidence. However, even when I tried to choose carefully, the NPC's reactions seemed very random. On top of that, I didn't see how it made a difference at any point going forward. I enjoyed the exploration and problem-solving of the second chapter, possibly my favorite section. The third chapter lets you decide a few things, but as I said, you end up in the same place regardless. Probably the most challenging portion was the mini-game in the fourth chapter. Tension started to build here and decisions became more consequential. Still, the game is pretty forgiving, and it seemed pretty easy to get a satisfactory ending. I would have liked more time with the NPC mermaids, as they were the most interesting part of the story, but I also enjoyed a lot of the other strange creatures. On one hand, I appreciated the brevity. On the other, I felt like more details could have enriched the experience. Fun, not too difficult, it makes for a solid entry in the 2021 IFComp.