At it's basic component Archer Maclean's Mercury is similar to Marble Madness or Super Monkey Ball where the player tilts the board to guide a character to the exit. Mercury differs however in that the "character" is gelatinous blob. This allows additional puzzle elements to come into play, for instance some levels require that the player seperate the blob into several individual pieces color each piece and then use them to unlock doors that correspond to each color.
The game was an early standout puzzle game for the PSP and eventually spawned two additional sequels. These sequels would look significantly different, as starting with the second game in the franchise the games would adopt a Cell Shaded look as opposed to the polygonal style of the original.