In doing so, the Mind Palace will help Sam to highlight why his hypothesis might or might not be correct. In it, Sam can adjust certain aspects of a crime scene to play out a hypothetical situation. The Mind Palace is where the crux of the “game” aspect of Twin Mirror happens. It’s incredibly disappointing given how closely the team worked with GLAAD for Tell Me Why and is just another thing about Twin Mirror that feels half-baked. Given the way Sam acts and behaves, it seems that DONTNOD is dancing around the fact that Sam is meant to be somebody on the autistic spectrum, but the representation here is spotty at best. Both sides of Sam’s psyche are at odds with each other – and most players will eventually find themselves gravitating towards one more than the other. The other is “Him” or “The Double”, a cooler suaver version of Sam that appears to Sam to help him overcome social situations while still overly analytical. It’s a place that Sam can escape mentally to piece together his investigations and come to accurate conclusions. The “Mind Palace” mainly represents his more analytical side. Twin Mirror attempts to shakeup the now ubiquitous DONTNOD formula to introduce two elements of Sam’s personality.
It’s just there, and that’s unfortunate given DONTNOD’s otherwise stellar pedigree. None of the characters ever experience meaningful development, and there’s barely any twists or turns that you either didn’t see coming or were revelatory enough to shock. It sounds great! But unfortunately, Twin Mirror fails to capitalise on its tantalising ambition, instead plodding along as Sam sleepwalks through the plot. A small-town mystery, a central protagonist with tumultuous history with literally everybody in the town, and a dark and seedy underbelly disguised by a typical middle America. Adding to the investigation’s challenge, Sam isn’t very well-liked in Basswood, having written a controversial expose piece that not only closed the booming mine that the town built upon economically but also left many people unemployed.Īt first appearance, Twin Mirror’s premise sounds like a sure-fire hit. However, as both Sam and his friend’s daughter suspect foul play, not all is as it seems. Twin Mirror follows the story of investigative journalist Sam Higgs, returning to the fictional town of Basswood, West Virginia, following the death of one of his close friends. It pains me to say, then, that Twin Mirror fails to deliver on its intriguing premise.
My point is that all their games up until this point have been fantastic in one way or another. I struggled to connect as quickly with Life Is Strange 2 on the same level as their other games but found Tell Me Why to be a refreshing and enlightening experience. I was enamoured by how different and ambitious Vampyr was. I loved how simple but effective Life Is Strange was. They’re one of my favourite studios, and one that I feel is oft underappreciated when it comes to storytelling in games.
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