Returning to a chapter in your life you’ve closed is never easy. Returning to it due to the death of your best friend Nick here in your hometown of Basswood, especially after burning the bridge is simply audacious.
You play Sam Higgs, a former investigative journalist for the Basswood Jungle who left for 2 years after writing a piece that resulted in the closure of the town’s mine which made you plenty of enemies. A short stop to pay your respects turns into what could be the next big story to grace the small town after Nick’s daughter, Joan (Bug) pleaded with you to look into the death of her father with the help or deterrence of He, your emphatic Double that only exists for you.
In the details
Twin Mirrors is a narrative adventure game that brings anything new to the table but has the fundamental parts and gameplay to the genre and does it very well. Relying heavily on it’s narrative strength Twin Mirrors manages to capture it’s visual storytelling with the environments and pieces in Basswood.
You learn about characters by interacting with them, finding snippets of a note they leave behind, or items/momentos they lost or leave behind at locations, items they hid in locked drawers. Every information you interact with and find are then written in your journal that help fill out the bigger picture to the characters you meet.
Touch, feel, think
In every section of the game you’re able to explore the locations you’re in and learn about the story of what happened there and how it links to the overarching goal by interacting with objects and characters. Some items will have a special meaning to you and will bring you to your Mind Palace, where you recall and relive memories.
The Mind Palace is also where you enter to deduce, understand and envision the outcome of the clues you find in order to solve mysteries and unanswered questions along the way.
The characters you meet or live with makes Basswood more than a small isolated town. Your dialogue choice could help or hinder your goal in learning about important information. The interaction with He helps bring emotion to the otherwise logical but empty side of Sam. Anna is an epitome of dealing with the past to make good of the future even if it is uncomfortable.
Thoughts
What makes Twin Mirrors an enjoyable game is the fact that DONTNOD knows the right amount to give the player in every moment of the game. No dialogue felt too long, no location inspection felt too big and aimless, no recreation of a scenario will swarm you with too many possibilities, nothing is stretched too far. When a game delivers you the right amount of everything, that’s when you initially feel content but soon after you’re hoping for more. And that’s how you keep fans coming back.
Hailing from a small Island. Huge football fan. Drinks too much tea.
Survival, Roguelikes, Turn-based or Indie games in general are my go to genres but I like to dabble in all kinds of genres. I tend to have a soft spot for Shmups and Hidden Object Games once in a while.
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