Forum LEVEL

At gamescom 2017, I had the welcome opportunity to meet Martin Kreuch – a producer at publisher THQ Nordic – to bug him with loads of questions about the reboot of the Black Mirror series. The newest game in the franchise is currently being developed by German studio KING Art, who are not only the acclaimed developers of adventures like The Book of Unwritten Tales and The Raven, but were also significantly involved in the development of Black Mirror 2. If you are wondering what to expect from a new Black Mirror game, read on as our interview with Martin should answer most of your burning questions.

Martin Kreuch: We’re rebooting the franchise, which means that the new Black Mirror isn’t connected to the plot or characters of the original games. The previous titles were pretty self-concluded story-wise. Also, a lot of mythological details were already revealed within that universe. So it’s neither a sequel nor prequel.

Players who are into jump-scares and gore will probably have to look for different games. What we have is a rather psychological type of horror that puts an emphasis on eerie atmosphere. All of the characters are pretty twisted.

Martin: There are no point-and-click controls which enable you to play the game just with a mouse, but we have a direct control system that allows you to play by using a combination of the mouse and the WASD keys on the keyboard. We do want players to be able to use a mouse, but of course point-and-click controls are connected to point-and-click gameplay, where you must search the environments to find interactive elements. I think that this kind of gameplay isn’t the most important element for a lot of adventure players anymore. Also, it doesn’t harmonize with a controller. We have decided to put a stronger focus on staging instead.

The game will be out November 28, 2017 on all platforms – PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox One and PS4.

The Good:

Suitably macabre storyline; lovingly designed, gloomily gothic Scottish setting for the new Black Mirror mansion; impactful creative visualisation; decent voice acting.

The Bad:

Dated and clunky gameplay controls, graphics and character animation; copious backtracking and incessant load times; shifting camera angles disorient in open spaces; some flawed and repetitive gameplay design.

Our Verdict:

A brief reboot of the cult classic series, Black Mirror does well to pile more richly atmospheric doom and gloom on the Gordon family, but is hobbled by creaking mechanics and poor design decisions.