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These actually apply an element of peril to the game that is much needed. The main exception to this is the interactions with haunted memories. Voice acting is mostly good and the writing here is effective, but once more, the overall effect is of the need for gameplay getting in the way of the story.
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There are few options to choose from and most conversations are essentially cutscenes with an occasional button press. This is not a criticism of old school games per se – I am a big fan of many retro titles and remakes – but instead a comment on how Black Mirror takes the worst aspect of older games and fails to improve them.Īside from the disappointing adventuring there is a lot of dialogue to work through. It feels stranded between the genres of point and click and walking simulator, whilst never really committing enough to either to truly exploit their styles.Ĭomparing its old fashioned marriage of narrative and gameplay to the likes of What Remains of Edith Finch shows Black Mirror to be a relic of a previous age with a shiny lick of paint. There are puzzles, but these are rudimentary and rarely rise above finding an object and using it in the obvious place. Much of the gameplay is dated, with clunky exploration and searching for the occasional interactive elements on the screen in order to progress the story. The potential for an interesting collision between David’s Scottish origins and his Indian upbringing is never really explored however, and his long exile from home becomes a background detail. Returning from India to deal with the legal issues surrounding his inheritance, he finds the family home wracked by haunted memories and unexplained deaths. Its twisting narrative of family mysteries, haunted Scottish manor houses, and the legacy of ancient Druidic rituals combine successfully to create an effective take on classic Gothic.įollowing this vision we join Black Mirror’s protagonist, David Gordon (not the most inspiring of names) who is a very much a Poundland Edward Carnby. The whole storyline could easily be mistaken for a short story from one of these greats. One early highlight for this literary nerd was the amble around a beautiful library with appropriate quotes from genre titans like M R James and H P Lovecraft available to be read. So how does the marriage of old school adventuring and cutting edge consoles fare?īlack Mirror displays its early 20 th century Gothic inspirations proudly. This game marks the console debut and reboot of the series, with it hoping to carve out a new niche for spooky adventure games.
#THE BLACK MIRROR REVIEWS TV#
They share no similarities aside from their name indeed, the deeply historical setting of the game could not be more at odds with the cutting edge modernity with which the TV programme is concerned.
#THE BLACK MIRROR REVIEWS PC#
The Black Mirror series has been around on PC for over a decade, predating the Charlie Brooker TV series that has taken the name to a much higher profile.