For those unaware, this is when your choices in dialogue don’t reflect the tone that your character is going for. This is combined with a little concept known as ludonarrative dissonance, a cardinal sin of narrative games. As the icing on the cake, only the final choice has a true part in the game’s ending. Not to mention they often led down the same road anyway, making much of the adventure feel shallow and linear.

Beyond the final two choices of the game, I knew which choice I was going to make the moment it was presented to me. This is mainly in its idea of choices, which for the majority feel like they’re obvious choices that end up having little to no impact on the overarching narrative. What I can’t appreciate as much is Twin Mirror’s detraction from nearly everything that made the studio as revered as it was for Life is Strange 1. That’s something rather unique for DONTNOD’s adventures (at least from what I’ve played) and I can appreciate that.

This makes dialogue interesting, as you are forced to choose between taking the calm approach or telling them all the choice words you’re thinking of. It makes things interesting, as it’s clear that Sam has very few friends in an already small town. Needless to say, the people don’t see it the same way and Sam will often run into those who’d rather he stayed gone. I won’t go too much into that to avoid spoilers, but Sam’s definitely done a number on this town in the honor of good. Everything is quite dreary and dark, especially with the way Sam left it before his two-year exodus. Unsurprisingly, this small town isn’t the most exciting, but that’s the point of this kind of setting. As such, it’s up to Sam and those around him to pick up the pieces and discover just what lies beyond the mirror of this rather humble small town.įor what it’s worth, this premise serves well enough to place you in the setting of Basswood. While many are grieving his death, some suspect that something else may be at play. Following the untimely death of his ex-best friend Nick, Sam returns for the funeral only to find that all is not as it seems. Twin Mirror puts us into the role of Sam Higgs, an investigative journalist returning to his hometown of Basswood, West Virginia. Twin Mirror is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Does it truly live up to the studio’s signature name? Find out in our review below. Their latest title though is December’s Twin Mirror, a story that seeks to explore the depths of depression and other mental illnesses. Even though their following works aren’t as well revered, they’re still making great titles such as last year’s Tell Me Why, which was revolutionary in bringing transgender voices into the mainstream (even if not the first to do so). The team shook up the narrative adventure scene when they created Life is Strange, a title that truly offered some in-depth choices that had a lasting impact throughout the experience. DONTNOD has become something of a spectacle in the eyes of mainstream and critics alike.

Twin mirror summary