Black Mirror
- November 27, 2017
- KING Art
- 13h median play time
With its atmospheric effects and foreboding settings, Black Mirror is a captivating third-person graphical adventure that unfolds over the course of six in-depth chapters. As a British nobleman returned home to the family manor, you work desperately to prove that the untimely death of an ancestor wa
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games StoreIn "Black Mirror," players explore the eerie Scottish castle of the Gordon family, uncovering dark secrets and supernatural forces. With a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, players must unravel the mystery behind the cursed lineage and the sinister events that took place. The game features a gothic horror atmosphere, paying homage to the original point-and-click game while offering improved graphics and gameplay mechanics.
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Reviews
- Engaging and intriguing storyline that keeps players invested.
- Atmospheric graphics and sound design that enhance the horror experience.
- Challenging puzzles that require logical thinking and exploration.
- Slow pacing and character animations that can frustrate players.
- Inconsistent interaction mechanics, requiring both left and right clicks for different actions.
- Potential for game-breaking situations if players do not save frequently, leading to lost progress.
- story327 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of "Black Mirror" is widely praised for its dark, atmospheric narrative and engaging plot twists, drawing players into a rich, gothic mystery. While many appreciate the depth and emotional weight of the storyline, some criticize its pacing and the need for excessive backtracking, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite its flaws, the compelling narrative and immersive setting make it a recommended title for fans of story-driven adventure games.
“The story is amazing - dark, gloomy, emotional, deep.”
“The setting, atmosphere, places, art style, characters, story, dialogues, how the game plays as an adventure, these are all done masterfully in my opinion.”
“The story is fantastic, the voice acting is superb.”
“The rest of the time was spent dragging back and forth between a few NPCs, while the story barely moved an inch.”
“Both plot holes -- e.g., there's no explanation ever for many major plot events, some of which were straight out impossible barring, ahem, supernatural involvement; moreover, the ending part makes no sense whatsoever and goes completely contrary to the in-game lore.”
“The story didn't work for me because it didn't finish what it started.”
- atmosphere117 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its gothic horror elements, immersive sound design, and beautifully crafted environments that evoke a sense of mystery and tension. Players appreciate the combination of engaging storytelling and atmospheric visuals, despite some criticisms regarding pacing and voice acting. Overall, the game's ability to create a haunting and eerie ambiance significantly enhances the player experience, making it a standout feature.
“The music and sounds are all very well matched to the theme and really help set the mood for an atmospheric immersive experience.”
“The atmosphere is unsettling and the characters are interesting to talk to.”
“The ominous and foreboding atmosphere always seems to get under your skin accompanied by the gothic pre-rendered scenery along with voxel-based character models.”
“The detailed and eerie environments of the Black Mirror castle perfectly capture the game's gothic horror atmosphere.”
- graphics92 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game, while dated, are generally appreciated for their atmospheric detail and artistic style, with many reviewers noting that they still hold up well despite their age. Some criticism is directed at the character animations and certain clunky elements, but the overall ambiance and background visuals are often praised as beautiful and immersive. Overall, the game's graphics contribute positively to its storytelling and atmosphere, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre.
“The graphics are beautiful in this game; it's a joy to wander around exploring and finding things.”
“What makes the game stand out is the atmosphere and the story, with some of the best graphics of its age and genre (and they do hold up even now), wonderful sound design and music.”
“The graphics are good; despite their age, they still hold up with plenty of good detail, a nice use of color, and a good atmosphere with plenty of good backgrounds.”
“I wish they made a remastered version with better graphics, just because the ambiance is already creepy even at low resolution; imagine how cool it would be in high resolution.”
“Comparatively, the graphics were decent for the time; 3D graphics were all the rage and the models used here aren't terrible for 2003, but they haven't aged particularly well.”
“My only peeves are a couple of things left unexplained (nothing major or organic to the plot, but I generally prefer that no loose ends remain), as well as a few instances where poor, outdated graphics or bad camera angles made simple things into frustrating moments.”
- gameplay76 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing its reliance on tedious mechanics such as timed events and excessive backtracking, which detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the storytelling and atmosphere, the dated controls and unintuitive puzzle-solving often lead to frustration, making it difficult to engage fully with the game. Overall, the gameplay feels slow and cumbersome, failing to meet modern standards for adventure games.
“The gameplay is enjoyable.”
“As you progress, you uncover shocking revelations and unexpected twists, making for a thrilling and satisfying gameplay experience.”
“While it has a few flaws, the story and gameplay kept me entertained for many an hour.”
“This game wouldn't stand today's gameplay standards for the lack of replayability, and this is one of the key reasons behind the demise of the adventure games genre as a whole.”
“Progression through this game is 10% puzzles and 90% timed or scripted events that you must somehow trigger by performing some action unrelated to your current goal, e.g. you may be told to wait until 7pm to be delivered a packet, and only after talking to someone about something will that time arrive to receive the package.”
“The gameplay is a bit tedious as you must exhaust all possible dialogs and do exactly the right thing before the game will let you progress.”
- music35 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the immersive experience with haunting melodies and well-matched sound design. While some players note the sparse use of music and occasional issues with voice acting, the overall soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's mood and storytelling, leaving a lasting impression. Many reviewers highlight the combination of music and sound effects as a key element that elevates the game's atmosphere, making it engaging and memorable.
“The music and sounds are all very well matched to the theme and really help set the mood for an atmospheric immersive experience.”
“The soundtrack matches the game perfectly and aids in the immersion of the game.”
“The music is a huge contributor and some of it will be spinning around in your head for days.”
“The voice-over is just about decent here, with the main hero sounding so stiff, it’s almost robotic, and the rest of the cast varying from 'middle-of-the-road' to 'above average'; and while the soundtrack is appropriately grand, there’s simply very little of it to make any kind of serious note.”
“Sometimes when the player character pauses, they pause for so long while music plays and nothing else happens.”
“Most of the soundtrack is different kinds of dead air, which gives the game a unique atmosphere.”
- grinding23 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight a significant issue with grinding in the game, characterized by tedious backtracking, slow character movement, and lengthy dialogues that detract from the overall experience. Players often find themselves forced to repeat actions and exhaust dialogue options, leading to frustration and a sense of monotony. While the storyline is praised, the gameplay's repetitive and slow nature has led many to feel that it has not aged well.
“The gameplay is a bit tedious as you must exhaust all possible dialogs and do exactly the right thing before the game will let you progress.”
“An interesting storyline; however, the tediousness of many of the required tasks severely detracted from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
“The little bit of the game that I have figured out has been due to random, tedious 'click everything' methodology and blind luck or chance.”
- humor16 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its clunky character animations and voice acting, which many players find unintentionally hilarious and endearing over time. While some moments are genuinely funny, often due to poor execution, the dialogue and character quirks contribute to a unique comedic experience that can be entertaining, especially when shared with others. Overall, the game's charm lies in its awkwardness, making it a source of amusement despite its shortcomings.
“There is also a kind of clunkiness in the character animations and voice acting, which, to be honest, is sort of hilarious and grows on you over time; it has a very unique style.”
“Others have already mentioned that the voice acting is... not the best, but honestly I found it funny; some moments made me laugh when they shouldn't have, for example.”
“In fact, the animations of others when you talk to them, and the weird pause where you say a line and they have to finish what they are doing first, is borderline hilarious at times.”
- stability5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent freezing, crashing, and various glitches that disrupt gameplay. Many players have noted that these bugs detract from the overall experience, making it frustrating to progress.
“Very buggy, keeps freezing and/or crashing.”
“Loud audio glitches followed by hard crash of the app.”
“This game has (in my opinion) some major flaws (horrible voice acting, very unsatisfying ending, having to talk to everyone in the game - however irrelevant to the current point of the story they are - in order to progress - and (as others reported) some annoying glitches).”
- emotional4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its deep and complex storyline, which is described as dark and gloomy, evoking strong feelings. However, some players find the overall experience lacking due to the gameplay, suggesting that while the narrative is compelling, it may not fully engage all players.
“The story is amazing - dark, gloomy, emotional, and deep.”
“This game somehow gets away with it, because the beauty and emotional complexity of the main plot makes up for it.”
“You play the part of an emotional character who comes home to find his uncle has disappeared.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized, with users noting significant performance issues that detract from the overall experience. While the voice acting is praised for its emotional depth, some performances, particularly that of the character "Samuel," have been described as subpar, suggesting a lack of polish in the game's audio quality.
“This game is not optimized.”
“The performance of 'Samuel' sounded like the star actor was sick, and the poor stage manager had to go through the play reading his lines!”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with players noting that it fails to meet modern gameplay standards, leading to a tedious experience that often requires a walkthrough. This limitation is seen as a significant factor contributing to the decline of the adventure game genre.
“This game wouldn't stand today's gameplay standards due to its lack of replayability, which is one of the key reasons behind the demise of the adventure game genre as a whole.”
“Cons: back and forth over and over again, boring at some points, unplayable without a walkthrough, and lacks replayability.”
