The Bradwell Conspiracy

About

"The Bradwell Conspiracy" is a first-person narrative-driven game with original photography mechanics, where players explore a Brutalist-style gameworld and uncover secrets via the Bradwell Guide Glasses. Featuring a 3-6 hour gameplay, this game boasts a rich storyline, hidden lore, and an illustrious voice cast, including Rebecca LaChance and Abubakar Salim. Created by an international, award-winning team, this game offers a unique NPC relationship and immersive environment to delve into.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

58%

Audience ScoreBased on 98 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

stability12 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and engaging atmosphere, complemented by good voice acting that brings the characters to life.
The photo-communication mechanic is clever and adds an interesting layer to the gameplay, allowing for unique interactions with the NPC.
The story has intriguing elements and potential, with moments of humor and a captivating narrative that keeps players engaged.

Puzzles are often simplistic and unchallenging, leading to a lack of satisfaction in solving them, which detracts from the overall experience.
The game suffers from significant performance issues, including frame drops and bugs that can disrupt gameplay and immersion.
The narrative, while interesting, feels incomplete and fails to fully explore its themes, leaving players wanting more depth and resolution.

gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
85%
6%
The gameplay is primarily centered around a 3D printer gun mechanic for creating and manipulating objects, but it suffers from poor execution, including frustrating object placement and limited interaction. While the photo-communication feature is praised for its creativity, overall, the gameplay is described as underdeveloped, linear, and often boring, with many mechanics failing to enhance the experience. Players noted bugs and a lack of engaging puzzles, leading to a gameplay experience that feels empty compared to similar titles.
- “Gameplay is very much like a linear walking simulator with puzzles here and there, using the gimmick of the game - the 3D printer gun.”
- “You have limited construction/deconstruction abilities, and the puzzle gameplay revolves around this (building bridges, weighted switch/tile puzzles, etc).”
- “This mechanic glues the whole game together, and I really enjoyed my time taking photos of random objects, posters, books, you name it, with Amber having a piece of mind to share about almost anything.”
- “The whole gameplay in general is underdeveloped and dry.”
- “Interesting idea but the story doesn't get more interesting, the gameplay is rather boring and the final chapter was buggy for me.”
- “But those prior niggles aside, the gameplay just never really rises to the occasion.”
story
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
45%
7%
The game's story is generally viewed as intriguing and well-crafted, featuring a captivating narrative set in a futuristic context with strong lore and decent voice acting. However, some players found the pacing uneven, with a lack of significant plot twists and a resolution that felt rushed, alongside gameplay issues like bugs and design flaws that detracted from the overall experience. While many appreciated the potential and creativity behind the story, others felt it fell short of its promise, leading to mixed reviews.
- “The story is interesting and captivating, set in the future you suddenly awake after some kind of terrorist attack towards a fundraiser.”
- “It was intriguing, and I loved the little hints here and there that point towards the big secret that ties the whole story together.”
- “Great game and wonderful storyline, so much so I ended up playing it in one sitting.”
- “You launch the game ready for jaw-dropping plot twists, for atmosphere of suspense, for excitement of discovering a new clue, but the game delivers none of that.”
- “Passable dialogue, somewhat ropey story and buggy puzzle design let down what could have been an interesting game.”
- “The story itself has some real potential, but it ultimately fails to really flesh out some of the more interesting beats hinted at in news reports and audio logs.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a sleek and vibrant art style that some players find appealing, while others consider it a matter of personal preference. Many reviews highlight the bold and bright visuals, though some note the absence of 4K support and describe the graphics as simple or average. Overall, the aesthetic is generally well-received, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere and narrative.
- “The sound and music are very good, and the graphics are sleek with good art design.”
- “Graphics and soundtrack are good; the less realistic art style really works out.”
- “The graphics are average.”
- “The graphics are simple in the vein of The Stanley Parable.”
- “The graphics are bold and bright, simple for the most part (so why no 4K support?), and the various Bradwell thingies are fun to examine.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with multiple users reporting numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. While the concept shows potential, the execution is marred by a lack of polish, particularly in the final chapter and puzzle design. Overall, the game's stability is a major drawback, overshadowing its interesting ideas.
- “Like they took Portal, Prey, and another game and mixed it into a buggy nightmare.”
- “Passable dialogue, somewhat ropey story, and buggy puzzle design let down what could have been an interesting game.”
- “Very buggy.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues even on enhanced hardware, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, the lack of touchscreen support and limited 3D printing mechanics further hinder immersion, leaving players disappointed with the game's execution.
- “Puzzles never get interesting or complex; performance is terrible even on an enhanced machine, and it’s too short to let its mysteries simmer.”
- “Performance issues impact immersion; there is no support for touchscreen controls, and 3D printing is more limited than it seems.”
- “What slowly started poisoning my experience from the very beginning was the performance.”
- “Puzzles never get interesting or complex, performance is terrible even on an enhanced machine, and it’s too short to let its mysteries simmer.”
- “And with so many issues with performance in its launch state, The Bradwell Conspiracy on Switch doesn’t prove itself to be the ultimate portable version it really should be.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a well-crafted script with a distinct British flavor and a dry sense of humor, enhanced by strong voice acting, including notable talents like Jonathan Ross. While it presents interesting concepts, the humor feels somewhat superficial, serving more as an accompaniment to the narrative rather than a driving force. Overall, players can expect a lighthearted experience with a sprinkle of wit.
- “The game has a perfectly functional script and story, and there's a healthy dollop of humor sprinkled throughout. They've hired some great voice actors, including a very good actress for your Firewatch-style sidekick, and somehow wrangled Jonathan Ross to do the induction narration!”
- “But it's got a distinct British flavor and a slightly drier sense of humor.”
- “The Bradwell Conspiracy presents some interesting concepts and good humor, but all it really does is present them.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its beautiful worldbuilding and engaging design, creating a nice overall ambiance. However, some players feel let down by the lack of suspense and excitement, as the anticipated plot twists and discoveries do not materialize.
- “The overall atmosphere was nice, and I liked the worldbuilding.”
- “[Beautifully designed world, engaging atmosphere, decent voice overs].”
- “The overall atmosphere was nice, and I liked the worldbuilding.”
- “You launch the game ready for jaw-dropping plot twists, for an atmosphere of suspense, for the excitement of discovering a new clue, but the game delivers none of that.”
- “You launch the game ready for jaw-dropping plot twists, for an atmosphere of suspense, for the excitement of discovering a new clue, but the game delivers none of that.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music and sound design in the game are highly praised, complementing the sleek graphics and effective art style. Reviewers appreciate the quality of the soundtrack, noting that it enhances the overall experience.
- “The sound and music are very good, and the graphics are sleek with excellent art design.”
- “The graphics and soundtrack are impressive; the less realistic art style really works well.”
- “The sound and music are exceptional, complementing the sleek graphics and great art design.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and boring, primarily due to its barebones presentation and frustratingly simple puzzles that require fiddly execution. This combination detracts from the overall enjoyment and engagement with the game.
- “I liked the concept, but the game was tedious and boring.”
- “This was due in large part to the barebones presentation and issues with the settings, but the frustrating combination of simple puzzles with fiddly and tedious execution definitely didn't assuage my concerns.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers note a significant lack of emotional build-up in the game, which detracts from its overall resonance and impact on players.