Free discovery, puzzle mobile game
Merge Mansion is a free, casual mobile release that tasks you with restoring a deteriorated estate to its former glory. The game offers a series of tasks and matching-element puzzles, providing a story to keep the engagement levels high throughout the experience.
Uncover stories of old
You take on the role of Maddie, visiting an abandoned family home. This home and your Grandma have stories to tell about the family’s adventurous past.
As you’re managing the home makeover, you’ll see how far you’ve come against a colorful, 3D background, but also learn more about your elders and their secrets.
The narrative element isn’t as in-depth as in visual novel-style games like Device 6. Still, if you find yourself bored of monotonous puzzles like in Flow Free and SNOOPY Puzzle Journey, you’ll love the plot behind the simple, engaging tasks of this massive property.
Well-structured gameplay
The game gives you a list of cleaning and renovation tasks to perform. Some of them trigger stories upon completion, while others only unlock the subsequent ones. In either case, you’ll need items to accomplish them.
The Garage area is a giant labyrinth packed with parts for you to merge and use for your chores. At least two are necessary to make your tool functional. Attaching together more of the same items boosts it up to level 35, and also improving its efficiency.
These puzzles are mechanically simple but highly rewarding, blending into the casual, in-game atmosphere.
Slow progression
After you use an item and perform a task, you must give it time to recharge before progressing to the next one. That’s where the most significant gameplay drawback becomes evident.
You can play for more than approximately half an hour at a time without obtaining special items or purchasing gems and coins. While it’s not pay-to-win, the progression feels painfully slow without the microtransactions.
Our take
Overall, Merge Mansion is an intriguing, well-executed title. It offers a clear sense of progression while keeping the atmosphere relaxing and casual, which makes the recharge periods worth the wait.
Should you download it?
Yes, if you have the patience or the budget for the slower gameplay elements. It’s a beautiful game that promises a lot of fun to all types of players.
