Figuring out the pieces of the puzzle becomes child’s play and there’s no fun playing a whodunit, when you know who’s done it right from the start. What hurts the game is not only it’s dreadful writing, but also that the core murder mystery of the story is just awful. Him is unarguably the most interesting character, he interjects with Sam throughout the game and presents moral dilemmas, although no action carries much weight in this journey, which made the game feel short of purpose. All this happens while you go through an internal struggle with your alter ego, Him. The latter duration of the game has you figuring out the events of the past day, as well as trying to prove that your best friend’s death was in fact a murder. You walk into the bathroom and find your shirt covered in what could’ve been insane amounts of ketchup, and everything goes downhill from there. It ended rather abruptly you wake up the next day with such a bad hangover that the events of the previous day remain foggy (Doug and friends would be so proud). This segment was perhaps the most well-made with their familiar style of slowly introducing the characters and seemed to work out well. The first hour of the game sees Sam interacting with other characters at the wake, helping us learn more about his relationships in the past and having his backstory unfold from a second- hand perspective that felt like a fresh interpretation. Apart from this single element, the rest of the landscape feels barren and lacks any personality for it to draw us towards uncovering its secrets. The effect of their closure as depicted in the game draws real life parallels that’s quite authentic, their efforts to repaint these issues are truly commendable. One thing the developers get right is the role coal plants played in towns like these since the vanishing of coal plants from the American landscape began years ago.

Unfortunately, none of that depth, charm or mystery can be found anywhere in Basswood. We notice the setting trend of the quintessentially forgotten and under evolved American towns to continue here, an essence of which they perfectly captured previously with Arcadia Bay. Thrust into the shoes of protagonist Sam Higgs, an investigative reporter who left his hometown of Basswood, West Virginia to seek greener pastures after a controversial article and a proposal gone wrong, you’re now returning home to attend your best friend’s wake overthinking how hostile the welcome party might get. Here’s our experience with the one that could’ve been their next memorably impactful title. However, after the first hour passed, all hope was shattered like a broken porcelain. As someone who’s loved all of the work DONTNOD has put out before, and considers the first Life is Strange to be one of the greatest works of art in video games since it’s ascension, I was naturally very enthusiastic to test the waters with their latest psychological thriller.

Twin mirror reviews