Mirror Forge
- December 6, 2022
- MystiveDev
- 7h median play time
Get on SteamMirror Forge is a first-person psychological survival horror game, where reality warps around you in twisted environments. Solve puzzles, survive threats, and uncover clues from an alien world to avoid deadly entities and the grasp of utter madness. Gameplay relies on exploration, stealth, and reflexes in constantly changing realities.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Mirror Forge successfully captures the oppressive atmosphere and horror elements reminiscent of classic titles like Silent Hill, providing a genuinely creepy experience.
- The game features a compelling story with engaging lore, particularly drawing from ancient Mesopotamian themes, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- Despite some bugs, the game is praised for its impressive visuals, sound design, and the effort put into creating a unique horror experience by a single developer.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and control issues, including a frustrating save system that can lead to lost progress, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Many players found the pacing and storytelling to be inconsistent, with a tendency to overwhelm players with information rather than allowing them to discover the plot organically.
- Enemy encounters and chase sequences are often criticized for being tedious and poorly executed, leading to a lack of tension and immersion.
- story148 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players praising its complexity, engaging atmosphere, and Lovecraftian elements, while others criticize it for being convoluted, poorly presented, or overly familiar. Many found the narrative rewarding despite a slow start, with twists and turns that kept them invested, though some felt it relied too heavily on jump scares and lacked depth. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a significant strength, but its execution varies widely among players, leading to a range of opinions on its effectiveness.
“This one had so much going on, crazy atmosphere, dark creepy visuals, plenty of scares and a hell of a story to go with it all!”
“The mystery in the story itself surprised me quite a lot when everything was unveiled in the end.”
“What I thought to be just another horror game turned out to be a great story-based experience!”
“I cannot even describe the story in a couple of sentences because it is literally making a U-turn throughout the game and discards any sort of psychological drama it had for an alien god.”
“The story is way too complicated and they lost it after a point with the multiverse and what was happening in Thomas's mind.”
“The story is convoluted.”
- atmosphere50 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in Mirror Forge is widely praised for its creepiness and immersive quality, effectively combining dark visuals, oppressive sound design, and a tense environment that keeps players on edge. While some reviewers noted an overreliance on jump scares, many felt that the overall atmosphere enhanced the horror experience, making it engaging and intriguing. The game's art direction and storytelling further contribute to a captivating atmosphere that encourages exploration and puzzle-solving.
“This one had so much going on, crazy atmosphere, dark creepy visuals, plenty of scares and a hell of a story to go with it all!”
“The game has some good spooks and an amazing oppressive atmosphere with the clanging of machinery and the growls of unseen enemies overwhelming your senses as you creep down the halls.”
“So far this game has been brilliant, it's full of story/lore that you begin to unfold from a state of amnesia surrounded by an atmosphere of fear and confusion.”
“The atmosphere is creepy enough, but the game is so heavy on the cheap jump scares that it became comical.”
“The story isn't scary - it needs to use jump scares (half of which I missed except for the loud music sting), which is a crutch I can't tolerate if there isn't real atmosphere to justify them.”
“The lack of atmosphere had me rolling my eyes every time the 'evil godlike voice' would come to taunt me.”
- graphics42 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the dark, creepy visuals and consistent atmosphere that effectively convey a body horror aesthetic. While some players highlight the beautiful textures and smooth animations, others criticize performance issues and the overall quality as being average or even poor. Overall, the art style and level design are appreciated, but there are concerns about the context and impact of the visuals on the gameplay experience.
“This one had so much going on, crazy atmosphere, dark creepy visuals, plenty of scares and a hell of a story to go with it all!”
“I really loved the art style here and I can't wait to see more from this developer in the future!”
“I have no words for the graphics and the textures - so perfect!”
“The graphics are terrible and I got trash performance on a computer that can run Doom Eternal well.”
“It also makes a lot of the visuals completely pointless and without context.”
“While it's obviously an indie title from its looks, it does really well with a consistent feel that is very unsettling.”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game offers a mix of styles over a 4-5 hour runtime, with some players finding it initially promising but ultimately disappointing due to pacing issues and simplistic mechanics. While there are moments of fun and chilling experiences, some mechanics can feel awkward, such as the crouching to pick up items. Despite these flaws, many reviewers consider the gameplay value to be worth the price, suggesting potential for improvement in future titles.
“Such a crazy story and super fun and chilling gameplay!”
“The game has a wide variety of gameplay styles in its 4-5 hour runtime.”
“At a usual $12.99, this price tag is a steal for the gameplay value and length!”
“A failed attempt at a Silent Hill love letter that started off very promising but ultimately fell flat on its face after an hour of gameplay and never recovered.”
“Somewhat simplistic mechanics, sometimes just comical instead of scary.”
“Those strange mechanics mostly deal with how you have to crouch to pick something up off the floor, which usually involves hitting a very small hitbox in an awkward way.”
- stability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's stability is criticized for being buggy, with poor controller functionality and occasional glitches, although some users noted that initial gameplay and graphics are decent. Overall, the experience is marred by inconsistent performance and control issues, leading to a frustrating user experience.
“The game starts well, has nice graphics, no glitches in movements, interactions with objects, no bugs.”
“It's buggy, the controls are poor, everything looks low poly and not in a PS1 nostalgia kind of way, the story is generic 'uh oh we made a dimensional oopsie woopsie' horror, the storytelling is incredibly direct (you're just told a bunch of things happened plus some 'oh no I am being killed by a monster' type psychic imprint flashbacks).”
“Buggy, the controllers don't work correctly, not able to select back if I use the controller, so don't buy it.”
“Obviously, there are some glitches and bugs in very few places.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players praise its performance on high-end systems, noting it runs smoothly even on ultra settings, others report poor graphics and subpar performance on capable hardware. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be a strong point for some, but not universally experienced.
“The game is very well optimized, and that's a feat in itself considering it runs on Unreal Engine.”
“Some amazing performances really add to the game and make it a worthwhile title.”
“I played it at ultra quality with a 3090 and didn't notice any performance issues.”
“The graphics are terrible and I got terrible performance on a computer that can run Doom Eternal well.”
- music4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for its absence of a compelling score, which detracts from the overall atmosphere and effectiveness of jump scares. Reviewers feel that the reliance on loud music stings fails to create a genuinely scary experience, leaving the game lacking in tension and immersion.
“The story isn't scary - it needs to use jumpscares (half of which I missed except for the loud music sting) which is a crutch I can't tolerate if there isn't real atmosphere to justify them.”
“Missing musical score.”
“Missing musical score.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating, citing enemy encounters as poorly designed, chase scenes as monotonous, and platforming as repetitive, leading to an overall tedious experience.
“Enemy encounters are atrocious, chase scenes tedious, platforming redundant.”
“Enemy encounters are atrocious, chase scenes tedious, platforming redundant.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is inconsistent, with some players finding it lacking or not genuinely funny at times.
