Black Mirror Review
Release Date: November 28th, 2017
Developer: KING Art
Platforms: PSN (Reviewed), XBL, Steam
Price: $40 on PSN/XBL and $30 on Steam
Black Mirror is a reboot of a PC game from the early 2000s that touches upon the spooky goings-on in Scottish Manor. This is an adventure game which may have many gamers scratching their heads over. Join The Gamers Lounge as we poke around this mysterious game and ask is it worth someone’s hard earned money?
This was a point and click adventure at one time on PC which was a genre I was ignoring back when it was originally released. The reviews of the PC version from 2003 are mixed, and after several hours of playing the game myself I can see why. Gamers play as the son of a once wealthy family in the Scottish countryside in the early 1990s. The player, David Gordon, has been living abroad. Your father has died under mysterious circumstances and you have come back to try to figure it all out.
I have high hopes for the adventure genre as Telltale’s many games and Thimbleweed Park have shown gamers that adventure games are not going away anytime soon. I loved the LucasArts adventure games from the early 90s. But unfortunately for players, Black Mirror broadly misses the mark of a great adventure.
One of the biggest problems is the controls. They feel clunky and antiquated. David is constantly running into objects and getting stuck. The camera isn't much better and it doesn't help players in any situation. The camera reminded me of playing a bad N64 game in the mid to late 90s. This doesn't help when players are supposed to be examining things in the environment and the shoddy camera doesn't make it easy to get what they need.
Most of the gameplay will have David trying to talk to the irritable house staff and coax some info out of them. They seem to be uninterested and present everything in a terrible monotone.
There are a few puzzles; some of them are interesting and others are just time wasters. There are also long load times. Graphically, the game has some high points. The house is well detailed, but everything seems to have a low texture detail. The character models are off.
Did I mention the longer than needed load times? The game has long load times as players wander from room to room. I can say that if you are looking for a different adventure game, one that has some scary elements, this might be for you. I would watch a few gameplay videos before deciding for yourself. Thanks to the publisher for letting us review this game.
Pros
-Mystery Story
-Unique Location and settings
Cons
-Bad Camera
-Bad Acting and Dialogue
-Terrible Controls