To contribute to Twin Mirror's slowness in terms of mechanics, there are also the dialogues with the various characters in Basswood. While this mechanic seems fun at first, it doesn't take long before it starts to bore: the fact that Sam is forced to track down all possible clues in a crime scene to be able to formulate his hypothesis and give his interpretation of what happened (although, most of the time, the solution of the enigma is quite evident), makes the experience slow and cumbersome in some way. In order to be able to elaborate possible hypotheses, Sam carries out an inspection in search of clues and possible connections once all the possible proofs have been found, he can begin to formulate theories to give a possible reconstruction of the facts. Thanks to his impressive ability to remember details and his extraordinary analytical mind, Sam is able to rework crucial information to solve some puzzles, accessing a sort of mental database containing all his memories and the people he met to make deductive evaluations. In the first Life is Strange Max had the ability to rewind time, for example, here Sam has a superpower called "Mind Palace". There are two aspects that the various Dontnod games have in common: one is the exploratory/investigative component and the other, which usually acts as a mechanic or as a consequence of the latter, is the presence of a supernatural power that distinguishes the protagonist. The return to the city reopens some old wounds and Sam, accompanied by his Double (a mysterious and inner figure who only Sam can see), tries to shed light not only on Nick's alleged murder, but also on his "inner self", with whom he has always been in deep conflict. Meanwhile, returning to Basswood, Sam is forced to deal with his past: former miners who don't like his presence, old friends who don't seem so keen to see him again, and Anna, a woman who has been very important in his life. The circumstances surrounding the incident are mysterious and this is how Sam - persuaded by Joan, his goddaughter and Nick's daughter - decides to investigate, to shed light on its causes and understand if it was just a tragedy or a murder. He's forced to come back to town to attend Nick's wake, his best friend and colleague, who died in a car accident. Sam is a former investigative journalist who moved away from his hometown following an investigation into the local mine, which led to its closure, and a series of painful personal vicissitudes. Set in Basswood, a former mining town in West Virginia. But is it still capable of winning over players just like its predecessors? Twin Mirror represents an exception within the path taken by Dontnod: while keeping intact some common characters with the games that preceded it, this game proves to be a watershed, a new direction for the studio. In recent years, Dontnod Entertainment has distinguished itself within this specific scenario, giving life to several games in that genre.įrom Remember Me to Life is Strange games up to, last but not least, Tell me why and Twin Mirror (of which we speak today), the French studio has shown that it has great narrative skills, mixing everything with a simple, but effective gameplay. Products like graphic adventure games, which have existed since video games have seen the light for the very first time, have endured for decades, reinventing themselves and offering new ways to tell compelling stories. Even if we've accessed a new generation of consoles with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S | X (and, consequently, also next-gen games) just a few weeks ago, it's still extremely important to maintain some cornerstones that keep us anchored to the past.
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