I can recommend Dark Parables 8 for those who want some balanced fragmented object scenes. If you want anything more though, like a good story or puzzles, then you may have to rethink buying this.

Do you remember the giant lore behind the Dark Parables series? Keep them cherished in your memories because they are gone now. As Eipix took over from Blue Tea, they did their best to mimic some gameplay elements, but they never bothered to keep track of the story.
On top of that, the plot feels weak and rushed. There is an undersea kingdom, an antagonist with a little backstory, and some vague catastrophe we must prevent. Still, it lacks something to hold it together. In the end, it is not terrible, but it leaves no lasting impressions.

Okay, I will admit it: the fragmented object scenes in The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide are better than ever. They are easy, but the internal achievement system still makes them interesting. I also liked some of the puzzles, although they repeat too much.
However, the adventure gaming parts are terrible. We now have a quick-travel map, but we also have to backtrack way too much.

Lovely ! Wonderful !
One of the absolute best ! Beautiful graphics, lovely music, great story , and great puzzles !
In addition, you have three different types of hidden stuff to find , which makes the game even better !
You play as a Fairy-tale investigator - what could be more interesting and fun ? :) And this time you have to
investigate the story of The Little Mermaid .
Some said the game is pricy, but I do not agree - it is worth every penny.

And now there are cards added ! The Mermaid background is Beautiful !

So , the only thing missing here, is Steam achievements - ! But !
There are lots of achievements in-game, and really fun ones to try and get !
These achievements added to Steam would have made this game Perfect !
Highly Recommended !

8th game in the Dark Parable series. (The Dark Parables series does have an overall series story arch which this game references. However, it is stand alone as it.) I highly, even passionately, recommend this game.

Storyline: In 510AD the palace of the Alexandros, King of Prasino sunk beneath the ocean waves ending a decades long war with King Bluebeard of Kokkino. Centuries later the palace rises from the ocean depths causing a tsunami and a lethal purple tide. As the Fairy Tale Detective you have been tasked with discovering the reason for this occurance. Upon arriving you free a mermaid, Althea, one of the former King Alexandros's 5 daughters, cursed by the Sea Goddess, Thalassa for the father's betrayal and imprisonment. And meet a mysterious stranger who has the key to everything. Find out why the palace rose again, break the mermaid's curse, free the Goddess, and stop the purple tide - all in a day's work for the Fairy Tale Detective.

Gameplay: A mixed combination of Hidden Object picture assembly, easy point and click, find and use inventory, and a variety of puzzles with a built-in strategy guide. Nothing overly hard and the sheer variety of things to do makes the gameplay smooth and effortless. The lock puzzles are logic "match" games and logic "mazes" (move a ball of energy from point A to point B without losing all the energy). There are sliders, picture puzzles, recipe, assembly, and a Master Puzzle (which is a puzzle with many smaller puzzles included). There is a skip option on the puzzles, and a hint feature. Also the inventory is interactive in some cases when assembly or disassembly is required.

There is a interactive fast travel map which shows the location of things that need done and the chapter objective. (One of the few maps I actually use.)

There are the 3 usual modes: casual, normal and hard. Though this game has a custom mode feature which allows the player to pick and chose how much or how little "help" they wish to receive while playing.

Extra finds: 40 crescent moons, 20 morphing objects which are the parable story pieces, and 2 sets of "secret" extra finds - 6 teacups and 3 Big Fish Game Felix the Fish mascot.

The 5 Parables tell pieces of the story line, a bit of back story and three tell the fate of the mermaid sisters Naida, Calliope, and Theresa. Which is pretty impressive considering each parable is only 4 pages long and about 100 words each.

Extras: Lots and Lots. Bonus chapter which recalls the events just prior to the palace of Prasino disappearing beneath the ocean waves, and tells of Bluebeard, King of the rival Kingdom Kokkino. An extra game called collectibles, where the player goes back through every scene in the game to find a single item or object (easy and fun). Replay feature of all HO scenes and puzzles. Plus wallpapers, music, video, etc.

Achievements: In-game only but there are Steam trading cards. The achievements are fun too and not the usual find everything in less then a minute variety. There is an achievement for idling, over-clicking and watching cutscenes. There is even one for watching the credits, which are really worth reading since they are so funny.

So the big question: Is this game worth the price? Yes, and well worth FULL price. The game itself takes about 4-5 hours to play and all the extra gaming that can be done probably adds at least another 3-4 hours. So an 8 hour HO game is well worth full price. Big Fish Games is not known for putting their games on sale either, and this is less expensive then the price in their web store.

By the 8th game, a different gaming company joined in to work on the series... You can clearly tell the difference.

The game is still beautiful, but the items seem to have lost their charm. The H.O. scenes are much easier now and item combination is slower. There are map teleports and well... The Bonus Game is glitched... However... You can still play it. (Only the two women are glitched out, but thankfully the story continues... Regardless of you being ahead of what needs to be done lol).

Now... That doesn't mean all of this makes the game suck. They still kept the traditional darkness going and the Parables and a few other things. I just didn't like this one as much as the others. I was also enraged at the mermaid/merman for what they did to the Secret Visitor that tags along with you.

I will also tell you that I started playing the 9th game and the mistakes that seemed to be in this one? Were fixed. So we'll see.

Still good, but.. It's slowly becoming more like the modern H.O. games. Not that it's always a bad thing...

Thanks you! :> :)

I was pleased to see Big Fish Games releasing more casual adventure games on Steam, though I'm a little disappointed to see that there is no achievement added. However, there are ingame achievements. Anyway, Dark Parables is a huge series in the casual world, first by Blue Tea Games before being developed by Eipix.

The series is a chronicle of investigations in the world of fairy tales: the fabled detective is sent to different kingdoms or fantasy worlds in order to find what evil is wrecking havoc and how to appease it. This game concerns the tale of the Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide (not really familiar with this one, as the only mermaid tales I know are the Disney movie, Lorelei and the ancient Greek myth - as for the tale itself, I've vaguely heard of it in the Wolf Among Us).

There is a temple undersea that suddenly appeared and a monster is terrorizing everyone. However, arriving there, a mermaid seems to want to help you while a cloaked figure (from a previous game if I've understood clearly as the detective was familiar with the voice) is also waiting to enter the temple and to find a lost kingdom.

The story is full of twists and questions: the mermaid is helping you AND also trying to slow you down, the cloaked figure is a suspect but his identity is quite shocking, the ghost you encounter is blaming himself but isn't opposed to your presence and the mermaids, well, some of them are also tied to other investigations (which is not really a shock as the fabled detective is acquainted with nearly everyone - however, as the game isn't the first in the series, it's making you wanting to play every Dark Parables out there).

The gameplay is standard: find objects, use them, combine them, solve puzzles and clear hidden objects scenes. Everything is quite easy, though you have sometimes an hard time to see some objects or to link them to an area of interest. Even these areas can be hard to spot. On the other side, you have the hunt for Parables (to unlock the whole background on your case), for Moons and even for cups of tea (a nod to Blue Tea Games I suppose). Achievements are also present ingame but they can be upgraded: you have to find a cup of tea, then 3 then the whole pack. Even the fish mascot (Felix I think) from Big Fish Games is present.

I'm not going to tell you every bonus in this Collector's Edition but well, there is a bonus chapter on Bluebeard, wallpapers, etc...

I loved the graphics as the general ambiance of the game.

Anyway, this game is really a must-have, though I would prefer Artifex Mundi's work (developped by them like Enigmatis or Nightmares from the Deep) but well, while I find the price tag a little high, Big Fish is now participating on sales, so, when you see a discount, go for it.

Game Information

"Dark Parables: The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide" Collector's Edition is a Fragmented Object game. The game was developed by Eipix Entertainment and published by Big Fish Games Studio.

"The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide" is the eighth episode of "Dark Parables." Previous episodes: "Curse of Briar Rose;" "The Exiled Prince;" "Rise of the Snow Queen;" "The Red Riding Hood Sisters;" "The Final Cinderella;" "Jack and the Sky Kingdom" and "The Ballad of Rapunzel."

Since this is a collector's edition game, it comes with extra features that are not available in its' counterpart; the standard edition.

The Game Review

Game Visuals

I want to mention that the visuals in the game are nicely done. The visuals can be adjusted in the game's option menu.

Game Audio

I want to mention that audio for the game is well done. Even though the audio is somewhat simplistic and repetitive. The audio can be adjusted in the game's option menu as well.

Gameplay

There are four different game difficulty modes to choose from: Casual; Normal; Hard and Custom.

There is no notebook in the game. But there is an objective panel in the game. It is used to keep track of all of the game's objectives.

There is a padlock feature that's available to lock the inventory panel in the place to make it stationary.

There are some interactive items in the game. Some of these interactive items may require extra components before they can be interacted with. All interactive items are marked with a symbol in one of the corners.

There is an interactive map in the game. It allows the player to fast travel between each location quickly without having the need to constantly backtrack. It also indicates that there are a variety of tasks that can be completed at various locations within the game. The interactive map is automatically given at the start of the game.

The hidden object scenes consist of the following: Fragmented items. Some of these hidden object scenes may require a little or no interaction.

The puzzles are fairly easy to solve without having the need to skip any of them.

There is a collectible in the game: Parables. They are scattered throughout the game for the player to find.

There are morphing objects (beyond objects) in the game. They are scattered throughout the game for the player to find as well. The morphing objects are used to refill the hint bar.

There are twenty different achievements that can be unlocked from playing the game. Each of the achievements does come with some requirements that need to be completed before they can be unlocked. These achievements are in-game only.

Since this is a collector's edition game, there is a bonus chapter, but it can be accessed only after the main story is completed.

Miscellaneous

There are extra features in the game: Bonus Chapter; Wallpapers; Concept Art and Game's Strategy Guide. Some of these extra features can be accessed only after the entire game is completed.

There are six different trading cards to collect. Only three of those trading cards are given out by the game. There are several ways to get the rest of the trading cards: Purchased from the Steam's Community Market; Trade with friends; Booster Packs and its Booster Pack Creator.

Final thoughts: I have found the game enjoyable to certain extent. The replay value for the game is low. I would recommend this game, but not at the game's full price value.

I personally enjoy hidden object games, so I found playing the title a real treat. Great art, beautiful music and some seriously difficult objects to find make this game a winner. On the other hand, the mini-game puzzles became repetitive and stale. I am not a fan of those.

Pick it up on a Steam sale; the title will not disappoint.

You can clear it in under 10 hours of play.

I got this Game gifted from a former friend and I am very thankful for it ♥

First of all If you havent played any Dark Parables Games I recommend you to go back and play the first one as those games are meant to be played in Order.

Dark Parables: The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide Collector's Edition comes with the Main Story which is around 3 and a half hours long and a Bonus Chapter which gives you another half to an hour. It also comes with Extras, such as Wallpapers, Music, Mini Games, Ingame Movies and Concept Art.

The Voice Acting in this Game was once again rather nicely made and the Art Style was absolutely beautiful. I believe the Colours in this title, compared to the previous ones, have been even more vibrant.

Once again you could not change the Resolution which was no problem whatsoever as it was by default widescreen and unlike in previous Dark Parables it was proper widescreen and not just a stretched image.

Although you are not able to get Steam Achievements, this game does indeed come with some Trading Cards.

One of my favourite Parts of the Dark Parables games are, how you can collect during the Game pieces which will, once all of them are collected, give you a little background Story, which to my disappointment did not get read to you by a guy but you rather had to read yourself. Regardless of this little let down I have noticed that you can click on the missing parables parts to find them and read the full background stories yourself, even after the game has been finished. I do not believe I have noticed this function before and is a newly introduced feature with this title!

For the first time in the Dark Parables Series you can fast Travel. Personally I have it didnt bother me to much that you couldn't Fast Travel in the previous Games but I saw alot of people listening it as negative Point and I must admit after playing a Dark Parables Title with the Fast Travel Option, I dont want to be without it again!

I also have seen for the first time in the Dark Parables Series ingame Achievements. Personally I did not really like them, as I am playing those Games for their Story Parts and the achievemnts, once you have unlocked them, wont go away unless you click the achievements tab.

The Hidden Object Scenes were compared to the previous games rather easy, especially due to the higher resolution and the proper widescreen. Most of the Puzzles were also rather easy to finish and I had alot of fun doing them, however I found some of them challenging as well.

In the previous Game you were able to get 3 Different Endings depending on which item you choose at the end, sadly this Game does not have such a function, which I would have loved to see.

One of the Mermaids looks alot like Ariel, a Childhood favourite of mine, which made me even more excited to play this game and got me hooked immediatly into the story.

All in all this Game is Fantastic! Although it has some features of the previous one Missing, at the same time it does have some new ones added to it and honestly the story and the Art Style is just lovely.

I recommend this Game to any HO Fan and to anybody that loves a good Story.

Here are my other Reviews for the Dark Parables Series:
Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose Collector's Edition (Number 1)
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince Collector's Edition (Number 2)
Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen Collector's Edition (Number 3)
Dark Parables: The Red Riding Hood Sisters (Number 4)
Dark Parables: The Final Cinderella (Number 5)
Dark Parables: Jack and the Sky Kingdom Collector's Edition (Number 6)
Dark Parables: Ballad of Rapunzel Collector's Edition (Number 7)
Dark Parables: Queen of Sands Collector's Edition (Number 9)

Hi: I just wanted to share how I feel about this incredible game. I am a huge steam powered user and purchaser of these games. Dark Parables has to be one of the best if not the best pc games I have played to date. It is just wonderfully done and fun and wonderfully colourful with a great storyline, mapping and hidden treasures. I really hope you make another one soon because I am a huge fan ! All the best.

The Dark Parables series has always been a favorite. Glad to see some are available on Steam. Hope more will be added in the future. The art style and puzzles make this game series very engrossing.