Mystery Castle: The Mirror's Secret
Mystery Castle: The Mirror's Secret
Game
Game2009
Mata Hari
Developer 4Head Studios
Mata Hari is an adventure video game. It was released on November 21, 2008, in German-speaking territories. The game was worked on by ex-LucasArts alumni Hal Barwood and Noah Falstein. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
94 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 31, 2026 · last updated Oct 31, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
60
Fresh
47 positive · 31 negative
95% range 49–70%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 47 | 31 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
52 of 84 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
60% recommend · 49 yes, 32 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 81 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (86 of 147 positive).
Players appreciate the game's historical setting and story about Mata Hari. [1][2][3] Many find the puzzles easy and the gameplay repetitive due to excessive backtracking. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note technical issues like missing save files or lack of updates. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [17]
Like some other reviewers I find it difficult to give this game a pure thumbs up or down. It does have a charm to it--where else can one drug a man to sleep and steal his secrets while dressed in a nightie and high heels? The problem lies not in the story but in the game play. First, there is A LOT of traveling between countires and while the attempt to turn this into a minigame might have meant well it quickly …
- [18]
I play a lot of point n click games, and even in the roughst ones (Mystery of the Druids, Art of Murder, Murders on Tehran, My Boyfriend the Space Tyrant...) there is something that still pushes me to go forward and see where it goes. Mata Hari is about one of the most fascinating historical figures of the 20th century, with a great work on graphics and pretty much streamlined.It is unbearable. It is boring. It is …
- [1]
Really enjoyed this adventure game!! It's different than the average point-and-click adventure game in that the decisions made by the player will change how the story unfolds. Which, in turn, affects your scoring at games end. You play as Mata Hari and are recruited as a spy. As story progresses, you end up becoming a double agent. As with point-and-click adventure games, it is somewhat linear. However ... the key …
- [19]
THE CASE FOR Based on the real historical figure, you play as the famous exotic dancer/courtesan/spy. You engage with the game world not by shooting and punching but by dancing, seducing, investigating, solving puzzles and avoiding the law and enemy agents, the kind of variety and originality that mainstream games still struggle to even get close to more than 10 years later. THE CASE AGAINST It's shocking that with …
- [2]
I chose this game to be my first experience in the point and click genre, it's old it has mixed reviews but seemed interesting. And now after I finished it and despite a bit of me getting bored at times because it's a least favorite genre of mine, I am so ready to delve into more 'Point And Click' games. I dunno why the mixed reviews it plays good no bugs or anything and it narrates the story of Mata Hari a Dutch …
Summarised from 34 of the 95 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
60% of the 81 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Mata Hari. The complaint that keeps coming up: too much backtracking and slow travel. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Adventure Archiv thought that the game was short at a play time of ten hours. Adventure Treff wrote that reading the Wikipedia article of the subject of the game was more exciting than playing the game, and notes the game developers should have read it too prior to making the game. Adventure Corner felt the game's story was littered with plot holes. Game Captain felt the game came across as simple and superficial. Adventures Unlimited thought the game fell below expectations. Jeux Video described the title as one that exudes freshness, maturity and remarkable intelligence.
From the “Critical reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 94 · most liked firstReally enjoyed this adventure game!! It's different than the average point-and-click adventure game in that the decisions made by the player will change how the story unfolds. Which, in turn, affects your scoring at games end. You play as Mata Hari and are recruited as a spy. As story progresses, you end up becoming a double agent. As with point-and-click adventure games, it is somewhat linear. However ... the key is to strategize. You're a spy. Stop and think. Even though some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Like some other reviewers I find it difficult to give this game a pure thumbs up or down. It does have a charm to it--where else can one drug a man to sleep and steal his secrets while dressed in a nightie and high heels? The problem lies not in the story but in the game play. First, there is A LOT of traveling between countires and while the attempt to turn this into a minigame might have meant well it quickly becomes tedious. Second, I thought the the difficulty of the minigames ramped up…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its an average game, the story doesn't really get engaging until towards the end. The puzzles are decent, the graphics are meh, but not atrocious. The voice acting is done very well and makes up for any lack of polish the game may have. The main character seems a bit out of touch with reality in some cases. It would make a good stocking stuffer for anyone who enjoys point and click adventures.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ Decent graphics + Idea behind the game - Boring conversations - Boring gameplay - Low resolution - No customisation option
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mine is not a thumbs up, nor a thumbs down. The game has a particular charme: it's set in the first two decades of 1900, you travel in 4 countries of Europe, you meet some historical characters, and the main character is Mata Hari. That's probably the only good thing about this game. If you like the adventure genre and you have nothing else to play, and you find this game for a few bucks (like I did), give it a shot, but you better know that this isn't one of the best point'n'click adventure…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I chose this game to be my first experience in the point and click genre, it's old it has mixed reviews but seemed interesting. And now after I finished it and despite a bit of me getting bored at times because it's a least favorite genre of mine, I am so ready to delve into more 'Point And Click' games. I dunno why the mixed reviews it plays good no bugs or anything and it narrates the story of Mata Hari a Dutch dancer and spy in the events leading to WW1 with some interesting puzzles and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A glamorous spy dances and charms her way across Europe, though the game plays less like a gripping espionage thriller and more like a graceful, restrained period drama. Even so, its Belle Époque atmosphere has an undeniable allure.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've talked before about how Metaphor Re:Fantazio definitely has Type-Moon inspiration with More/Archetypes and Louis and Vlad but after getting Junah and then rewatching Cinn get Junah I think there's specifically a FGO Has Forgotten Mata Hari dev on the team they even have a similar colour scheme😭
neutral · AI labelView post →2008 game without achievements and without a complete translation of the dialogues. I find it absurd that it is not free. 4/10 my rating.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had to check it out since it's the first game of the studio who made the excellent Black Mirror II and III. Indeed, you can already see some helpful UI elements which show up in future games like teleporting to your destination by double-clicking, and the spacebar showing all hotspots. The game successfully brings you to the depicted time period, with decent visuals (except the awful dancing animations) and music. The game is fully voice acted and I found both the writing and the voice…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good Point-and-Click Adventure game offering a classic experience with some quite challlenging mini-game puzzles. Playing as the legendary spy who was actually a dancer by profession means you will be doing some fliriting, object-combination and item fetching throughout. Mata's mission are varied and interesting, even though the actual story progression is happening at a decent pacing. Overall this one is a recommendable adventure game with some replayability as there are different endings to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →That's just it. She's not a nutty spouse or child, off limits (although we DO pay for First Lady stuff). Even Barron, now an adult, is fair game. But IMO Natalie's not a Mata Hari or Tokyo Rose. She's really off, and if she's not being monitored, all the worse for us.
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is quite good. I bought it with a bundle and was pleasantly surprised. I am very fond of the scenery and the characters.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Made in 2008, this game is still version 1.0.0 meaning it never had any updates is abandonware not working on modern computers. Pulled out an old laptop from way back in 2008 and the game still had no cursor on screen making it impossible to select anything to even start the game. Whats more fun than this game to burn your money? Go to a store that sells Twilight Life Size standees, buy the one that you hate most, Team Jacob is a way of life so picked up the vampire Edward Cullen. Then…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Solid point & click adventure, I enjoyed it. Puzzles are not hard, it's more like story driven adventure. All dialogues have voice overs, nice soundtrack and art. Some historical references - your main character is Mata Hari - real person, there are other historical figures you know from school history class. I'm not sure if this game is 100% historically accurate but it's fun to play. Played on Debain 10, Nvidia drivers, Proton 4.2 - worked out of the box.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After TEN YEARS, Mata Hari has FINALLY gotten an animation update and a buff in Fate/Grand Order. One of the weakest characters in the game whom I took past max level because of her story and character. I may actually return for this. youtu.be/VYKZoorC1TA?... #FateGrandOrder #FateGO #FGO
positive · AI labelView post →Quite an interesting adventure game with some good art. The location design is colourful and vibrant, but still easy on the eye. The character details are pretty high as well, especially Mata's during the dancing routines. The story is quite intriguing, it shows Mata Hari as a brilliant dancer turned spy against her will -- fortunately, her womanly wiles and quick thinking help her overcome every obstacle. However, once you're a spy "the only way out is death" and so Mata is dragged into even…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Received as a gift. Very nice adventure about famous dancer and very likely a spy Mata Hari. At the beginning she wishes to get a patron for her dancing career, but she also get captured into web of spies from which she can't never leave. Remaining story follows her life in the background of forthcoming World War. Through the game you will notice few references on the historical situations, which was very nice! In addition to standard adventure "point and click" mechanics there are some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →started the game, played for some time, saved, turned game back on, no save files! gameplay is a little clunky 2/10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you enjoy adventure games this one is solid!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm currently playing an old RPG series called Shadow Hearts that also combined those fantastical elements with the 1920s... but they failed accuracy. Or aesthetic. I mean, just compare the real Mata Hari with the party member from the game. Fail. Views on women is accurate though. Unfortunately.
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is based on the life of an exotic dancer named Margaretha Zelle aka Mata Hari who was accused of being a spy and executed during World War I. Bally also produced 170 electromechanical Mata Hari machines and even 20 prototypes that had plastic playfields instead of wood. Continued…
neutral · AI labelView post →Rough time at the #pinball tournament. Got swept 0-4 in my matches, while Lily fought hard but fell 2-4. The irony? Did better in my 30 second practices. I also managed to tilt out of Mata Hari - a first for me! Still my favorite game though ❤️ l
positive · AI labelView post →This game would have been waaaaaay better with fast travel. The problem is that it takes a couple of minutes to go from location to location due to having to go through the dialogue options to get where you want to go and the slow walking from one end of the screen to the ticket booth, not including the map mini-game which I actually enjoyed. For a point and click game that requires you to go back and forth between cities constantly, it will drive you crazy and unfuns the game. Most of the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I play a lot of point n click games, and even in the roughst ones (Mystery of the Druids, Art of Murder, Murders on Tehran, My Boyfriend the Space Tyrant...) there is something that still pushes me to go forward and see where it goes. Mata Hari is about one of the most fascinating historical figures of the 20th century, with a great work on graphics and pretty much streamlined.It is unbearable. It is boring. It is irritating. It is probably the worst adventure I played in many years. I don't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →To be concise, the game is just barely ok, where it could have easily been at least 'good'. Cons: * Puzzles are just very easy. No real challenge here. * !!Too much backtracking!! For a game that requires so much going back from one place to another, the very least the designers could have done, is to make it easy and fast. Instead, moving between locations takes ~50-60% of the gameplay time. Moving between countries is required a lot, and often, but everytime you must: go to the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is an old-school point and click. You play Mata Hari, seductive, desired, curious and suspicious as she is meant to be. You will see the many sides of a sexual spy during a political, psychological and mysterious war. Although predictable, the story is a nice trip through history. The main issue with the game is repetitiveness. You have a huge amount of discussions, repetitive OST, repetitive puzzles, impossible dance mini game (another repetitive puzzle) and a bit too much of going…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Shadow Hearts is great! In what other game can you run around with Roger Bacon and Mata Hari in pre-WWI Europe and China while you try to stop a bad guy from summoning an elder god who'll destroy the world? Oh, and it has one of the best combat systems of any PS2-era RPG!
neutral · AI labelView post →I enjoy the atmosphere and audiovisuals, but puzzles are kinda easy and the game has way too much walking back and forth that wastes time. Overall though, if you don't have a better point& click to play you might enjoy it, but it's rather too average for someone who's not specifically interested in the genre.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THE CASE FOR Based on the real historical figure, you play as the famous exotic dancer/courtesan/spy. You engage with the game world not by shooting and punching but by dancing, seducing, investigating, solving puzzles and avoiding the law and enemy agents, the kind of variety and originality that mainstream games still struggle to even get close to more than 10 years later. THE CASE AGAINST It's shocking that with such a fascinating premise, they still managed to make a surprisingly dull…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In consideration of the calibre of game that Mata Hari is--a small, budget PC game of the type that were rife before the adventure game resurgence--I'll try to as fair as I can in order to afford the game the credit it deserves. However, if it's an abbreviated version one wishes, Mata Hari is not worth the time it would require to play it, as it simply doesn't do anything to single itself from the middling crowd. Taking as its protagonist the real-life historical character of Mata Hari, the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mata Hari is Japanese for "I Like To Shove Screwdriver Handles Up My Butt". If your doctor is unwilling to prescribe you Ambien, he will most likely recommend this instead. It's a super old game too so the face models & animations are the thing of nightmares. Rim job/10 Trump didn't collude with Russia, Hillary did.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is most definetely the worst point and click game out there:) With all do respect, I have never played anything more boring. Everytime you have a dialogue, you must drag and drop an icon onto your interlocutor, which makes the discussion tiresome and cumbersome. The whole story is a hole story:) Don't buy it. Try it for free if you get the chance. You'll see what I mean.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is the tits.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So-so p&c adventure. World famous spy from one hundred years ago mind-♥♥♥♥♥ and bangs dudes to manipulate them into giving up state secrets. There's way too much emphasis on lame mini-games involving traveling between train stations trying to elude other spies and they even found a way to make her burlesque show boring. Thankfully, they can be skipped if you don't want to rack up points and just play the adventure part. I got it for $5 and took me a little over five hours to beat. This game is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Week 6 of the #pinball league had us at home against the team one point ahead of us in the standings, featuring one @hipsmart.bsky.social. We split round 1 before taking control in round 2 en route to a 13-3 victory. Had a good game on Jaws & got carried by my parter on Mata Hari to finish 2-0.
neutral · AI labelView post →Here's a video of Mata Hari (Atari ST) that I made a few years ago 👠 💃 It's a game similar to Elevator Action/Mission Elevator 🪜 It was also released on Amstrad CPC. 🧵 2/ #MataHari #Loriciels #RetroGaming #AtariST #AmstradCPC
neutral · AI labelView post →Can't even run it. Very hard to close out. Don't recommend!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mata Hari is a point-and-click adventure set in the early 20th century, inspired by the life of the famous dancer and spy. The game blends espionage, mystery, and historical intrigue as you follow Mata Hari through Europe, performing exotic dances while secretly gathering information for various intelligence agencies. Gameplay focuses on classic adventure mechanics: exploring detailed environments, solving puzzles, talking to characters, and completing espionage assignments. The game offers a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is ok. It's not bad, it's fun. But it's also kind of boring. The setting and the story are nice, and it keeps you engaged at times. Main problem for me was the same thing other reviewers have pointed out: traveling is slow, repetitive and annoying. A simple thing like fast travel would make the whole experience so much better. Old school point and click gamers will probably enjoy it. For me, there's something missing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Follow our [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/36214917/]Curator Group for more reviews Mata Hari is a point and click adventure game centered around WWI espionage. The plot is based on a real person, but the writing is generally pretty bad. The dialogue for nearly every character is awkward and unnatural. Gameplay is tedious and doesn't make you want to keep playing. It is certainly a unique game, but it usually fails to hold your attention. Not an awful game, but would need a lot of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game. Point and click adventure. Nice design.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not bad. Point & Click game with not many novelties. Several good things like the overall look, the music and the voice acting. The story is interesting and easy to follow. Took me about 10 hours to finish it. Found no bugs or had any crashes. Runs fine on Win 7. Overall, is entertaining. The puzzles are mostly easy ones and the few mini-games are no-brainers. It's not a big deal, but later in the game some things, like the dialog choices and the constant coming and going from one scene to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very nice point n' click, not very difficult, but not too easy either. Having played a whole lot of games from the genre, it was quite interesting to play the story of a dancer spy, as weird as it sounds. The voice acting could've been better in my opinion, also the dancing minigame was very annoying, probably meant for touchscreens. I also hated the fact that the inventory/discussion topic system is clumsy and requires unnecessary clicking and dragging of items. But once you let these things…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really interesting game. The small issue with the game not starting is easy to fix. After that I was a bit surprised by the gameplay. After I got used to the approach, the story really got me and I now would recommend this game. I may play it again because it seems there were more things I could have done, and must have missed. :D really nice, and I liked the details and the graphics, though maybe not everyone would.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dancing shadows, spy jokes, and graphics that sparkle like fireworks at midnight. I’m thrilled and can’t stop playing this adventure!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Drop targets & rollover button: Playboy Inline drop targets: Paragon A/B Lanes & Saucer: Mata Hari Bottom lanes with potential save: Centaur (although this did come out after this game though)
neutral · AI labelView post →Here's a video of Mata Hari (Atari ST) that I made a few years ago 👠 💃 It's a game similar to Elevator Action/Mission Elevator 🪜 It was also released on Amstrad CPC. 🧵 2/ #MataHari #Loriciels #RetroGaming #AtariST #AmstradCPC
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm sure she's some Hamas sleeper-cell-in-scrubs, Mata Hari level super spy with the power to literally explode a man's testicles at 30 yards (that's like fucking 10 meters or something, maybe? Whatever, you get the picture) and is probably the new super secret head of Hamas, actually, so yea, supes dangerous terrorist bad bitch, nothing to see here
neutral · AI labelView post →Reviewing games I played a long time ago: Released right in the middle of the "point & click adventures are dead" era, when no one apart from German studios dared to make new games, Mata Hari was competent but perfectly encapsulated the state of the genre at the time: Stale, unimaginative and outdated. However, there's some strong points in here, mainly about the presentation and atmosphere of the time period of Art Nouveau Europe before WWI. We don't have enough games set during that time.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mata Hari was always my favorite game
positive · AI labelView post →Summary A very different point and click game focusing very heavily on story and dialogue more akin to a interactive story book. Pros + Interesting story + Different Cons - Mostly dialogue - Less point and click more story book Overview Mata Hari is an older point & click narrative that focuses far more on telling its fictional story based on the real life person Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer that gained popularity in Paris for her exotic dancing. The game is pretty simple as a point & click…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was given a free key for this game. Mata Hari is a pretty good game, not the best but definitely not the worst. I will say that the travel system can be quite annoying at times, it's starts as a puzzle until you get a bit further into the game then you get basically a fast travel. The puzzles are pretty simple for the most part and the story is decent. I can recommend it for the point and click adventurers out there but..... For a 15 year old game though I personally don't think it should be…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an avarage game... the story of Mata makes it a liitle bit fun to play but other than that you would need special motivation. During the game to travel around the cities you have visit the train station again and again and it makes things even more boring. A map or quick travel would be great. Puzzles are few and easy... There are also some bugs and game stucks without you realizing which would end up you travelling back and forth without an outcome. Naaah
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bad. It starts out pretty interesting and there is some funny dialog but the game itself is executed very poorly. The dialog system is awful. It doesn't let you click on buttons, you have to drag and drop them on people to interact even during conversations. Traveling is a horrible pain in the butt. There's no overall map, you have to keep using the taxi and drag and drop locations to various characters. At least you can skip the dialog and animations for the most part. Voice acting is wooden…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This easy and kind of historical point&click adventure game. I finished it almost in 2 hours. I give 7 out of 10 .
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tedious and often confusing.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried to run this on my laptop (Win 8.1 64 bit Intel GMA 4400 graphics) after I finished Bioshock on that laptop, and it could not get past trying to connect to the DirectX adapter. Installing a 2010 DirectX did not help, and Acer would not offer any more recent certified video driver. Don't try to run this on anything but nVidia.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Schmitt: “Mr. Smith, what would you say if I told you Mata Hari never called a Chicago Cubs game? EVER.” Smith: “Um. I was referring to Harry Caray, not Mata Hari.” Schmitt: “Perjury! You disgust me! Dirtbag!” Klobuchar: “Mata Hari died in 1917.” Schmitt: “HAH! Rehabilitating the witness, eh?”
neutral · AI labelView post →A hidden gem point and click game. This game works 100% on "Windows 10". and plays like Syberia or Art of Murder series. I highly recommend playing this game on a Touch Pad due to the dancing part which is impossible to beat, but can be skipped. THE GAME IS SUPPOSEDLY BASED ON A TRUE STORY ABOUT "MATA HARI" WHO WAS FORCED TO BECOME A FRENCH SPY BEFORE WORLD WAR 1, but not entirely historically accurate. In a walk through it says there are different endings depending on the amount of Wealth,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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