Code provided with many thanks to Game If You Are.
A Mystery Begins in Mithra
Mithra is a point-and-click adventure following Kyra, a young woman searching for her missing mother. After receiving a strange email in the middle of the night, Kyra finds herself pulled into a much bigger mystery involving cryptic messages, hidden clues, and people who may know more than they’re letting on.
One of the first things that caught my attention was the art style. Mithra has a cute and colorful look, but there’s also something slightly creepy underneath it all. The music gave me that feeling almost immediately. Even when nothing particularly scary was happening, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something more sinister was going on behind the scenes.
I was interested in talking to everyone I came across and asking if they had seen Kyra’s mother. Some characters offered small pieces of information, while others seemed to know Kyra and her family from years ago. I didn’t learn a lot about what actually happened to her mother during my time with the game, but the mystery was interesting enough that I wanted to keep searching for answers.
Exploring the Neighborhood
Most of my time in Mithra was spent exploring, talking to people, inspecting objects, finding clues and helping people around town. I liked that clicking on seemingly ordinary things would sometimes give me a little comment from Kyra, such as a memory about somewhere she used to visit or a random thought about what she was looking at. It encouraged me to click around and see what I could find.
Some objectives also turned into little chains of tasks. At one point, I needed to bring someone a coffee, but the coffee machine was broken. Before I could get the coffee, I had to find the missing part, repair the machine, get the coffee and then finally take it back to the person who wanted it. I enjoyed how one simple task could lead me somewhere else and eventually help me progress.
The neighborhood itself, however, felt a little empty to me. There were only a handful of NPCs in the area I explored, and most remained in the same spot. The characters I met were interesting enough, and the conversations never dragged on for too long, which I appreciated, but I would have loved more dialogue and opportunities to get to know them.
I felt similarly about Kyra. There were little moments where her personality came through, especially when interacting with the environment, but I wanted more of them. After almost two hours with the game, I still didn’t feel like I really knew her yet. More little comments and interactions from Kyra, along with more activity around town, could help give her a stronger personality while making the world feel more alive.
Cracking Codes With the KODEX
One of my favorite parts of Mithra was Kyra’s KODEX. This little device became an important part of my investigation and contained my inventory, chats, downloads, a codebreaker and even minigames.
The KODEX was very easy to navigate, and I especially enjoyed using it to decode the clues I found while exploring. One puzzle had me connecting matching letters to reveal a hidden message. It was fairly simple once I understood what I needed to do, but figuring it out myself was still satisfying.
There was also a block-based minigame on the KODEX where I had to navigate toward food while working around obstacles. It was a small addition, but I found it surprisingly fun and challenging.
I liked how the KODEX made collecting clues feel more involved. Instead of simply finding something and moving on, I could take information I’d discovered and use the device to investigate further. It made me feel more involved in solving the mystery, and the KODEX ended up being one of the gameplay features I enjoyed the most.
Puzzles, Puzzles and More Puzzles
I’m not normally a big puzzle gamer, so Mithra definitely challenged me at times. There was quite a bit of variety, though. During my time with the game, I investigated environmental clues, decoded messages, hacked a security system, repaired equipment and completed smaller minigames.
Some puzzles were easier for me to understand than others. I really enjoyed the decryption puzzles because they gave me enough information to work things out without outright telling me the answer. There was something satisfying about finally figuring something out on my own without any help.
Then there was the hoverboard.
One task required me to repair a broken hoverboard by placing its internal components in the correct locations. I understood what the game wanted me to do, but I couldn’t figure out which part I was placing incorrectly. I probably spent a good 10 to 15 minutes moving things around before finally getting it right. Solving it was satisfying, but I was also very relieved that it was over!
I don’t necessarily think the puzzles need to be easier. In fact, figuring them out is part of what made them rewarding. However, I think some additional feedback could help when a player is really stuck. An optional hint system or even a visual indication that a particular component is incorrectly placed would help without taking away the satisfaction of solving the puzzle yourself.
Puzzle fans may have a much easier time than I did, but even as someone who doesn’t normally play many puzzle games, I still enjoyed most of the challenge.
Cute With a Creepy Side
Visually, I really like Mithra’s art style. The character designs are cute, and there are some nice little animations throughout the world. One of my favorite NPCs was a street performer who was juggling outside. She had one of the more memorable personalities I encountered, and little animations like hers helped bring some life to the environment.
At the same time, I would have liked the town itself to feel a little busier. The environments looked nice, but there wasn’t always much happening in them. More movement and activity in the background could help make the neighborhood feel more alive.
The soundtrack was another highlight for me. It’s relaxing and atmospheric but can also have a slightly creepy feeling that fits the mystery really well. The music doesn’t play constantly, which gives the environmental sounds a chance to stand out too. I could hear Kyra’s footsteps, sounds around the coffee truck and other little details as I explored.
There isn’t any voice acting in the build I played, but I didn’t mind reading the dialogue, especially since conversations were generally short and easy to get through.
Easy to Pick Up and Play
Mithra is controlled primarily with the mouse, and I found it very easy to navigate. It was usually obvious what I could interact with, moving between areas was simple, and a small door symbol clearly showed when I was about to leave one area for another.
The KODEX was equally straightforward to use. Despite having several different functions, I never felt lost navigating through it.
The only control that occasionally felt a little awkward was running. Holding the left mouse button seemed to make Kyra run, but there were times when I couldn’t get her to do it consistently. It’s possible I was doing something incorrectly, but otherwise I didn’t experience anything that felt particularly clunky.
Final Thoughts
I spent just under two hours with the Mithra playtest and didn’t reach the end of the available content. I had just collected the items needed to unlock a mysterious new area and was interested in seeing what was waiting for me on the other side.
Unfortunately, when I returned to the game, I discovered that my progress hadn’t been saved and I would have needed to start again from the beginning. In the build I played, I couldn’t find an option to manually save my progress or even a traditional menu for exiting the game, so I’m unsure whether this was a limitation of the playtest or something that will be added later in development.
Aside from that, the build I played felt quite polished. I didn’t encounter any crashes, graphical glitches, strange animations or noticeable typos during my time with the game.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Mithra. I wouldn’t say it completely hooked me, but its mystery was interesting enough that I would have continued playing if my progress had been saved. I wanted to find out what happened to Kyra’s mother and understand what was really going on underneath this seemingly ordinary neighborhood.
I’d love to see more life added to the town, more dialogue that lets us get to know Kyra and the other characters better, additional guidance for some of the trickier puzzles, and, most importantly, a clear and reliable way to save progress.
Mithra offered a different kind of experience than what I normally play, and I think players who enjoy mysteries, narrative-driven point-and-click adventures and puzzles will find plenty here to investigate. I’m interested to see how the game continues to develop and where Kyra’s strange journey ultimately takes her.
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