Black Mirror

Once you’re into the right mindset though, this is a game which will capture your attention and keep you guessing even after the credits have rolled.

KING Art and THQ Nordic have breathed a life into Black Mirror that it most definitely was lacking in 2003. The mystery and suspense are still there and the puzzles are diverse and challenging, but the house has taken on an excellent visual redesign. Exploring and investigation is an intriguing endeavor and the ghostly moments provide a fascinating highlight to puzzle solving and plot advancement. If that wasn’t enough, the story is chock full of interesting characters with passionate voicing that make the story that much more interesting throughout the game. We certainly wish the animation was a little better in both gameplay and cutscenes at times because it hurts the mood the game is trying to build when the cracks show. That said, when everything is in proper working motion, Black Mirror is a suspenseful horror adventure that will tickle brains with its puzzles and exploration and quicken pulses with its dark story.

This entry walks away from the traditional point & click gameplay of the series, but it still offers a very engaging and interesting adventure.

Story and atmosphere make the new Black Mirror worthwhile, but the reboot of the series lacks gameplay substance.

Black Mirror is a very traditional adventure game. It has some remarkable moments in its narration and puzzle parts, yet boring pace, terrible characterization, clumsy mission design, and tons of bugs have destroyed the experience of the game. But of course, considering we barely can see this kind of games nowadays, we still recommend you give it a try, if you are a big fan of AVGs.

With a wonderful story and a great voice cast Black Mirror tries to provide a fresh and original take on the adventure genre. Unfortunately, a myriad of technical and artistic problems keep it far away from its objectives.

Despite the gripping story and the intriguing mystery, Black Mirror has a lot of software issues that detract from the enjoyment of the gameplay experience. I can’t help but feel that if the game had been designed from the get-go with a more Book of Unwritten Tales type control scheme and gameplay experience, most of my gripes would be dealt with. If you play games for their story, then do play Black Mirror. Just beware that you will have to suffer through the gameplay to get to it.

Some great puzzles and interesting situations can't entirely make up for Black Mirror's shortcomings. [Issue#269, p.59]

Black Mirror is a difficult game to recommend. The story falls flat, characters are forgettable, and exploration is tedious because of poor environmental design and wonky camera angles. Despite a few clever puzzles, this emotionless journey into gothic horror left me with more questions than answers.

KING Art's take on the series was supposed to introduce it to a new generation of fans, but as things stand, it would be better for those interested in it to get the older Black Mirror games, as the reboot is marred by a variety of issues that prevent from being a memorable experience. There is a decent adventure game hidden somewhere beneath the mediocre writing, bland characters, and technical issues, but it would be better to look elsewhere to get a better experience.

It's scary. Unfortunately not in positive terms.

After The Book of Unwritten Tales series, Black Mirror feels like a clear step back for the developer King Art Games.

The original game was akin to an epic novel. The remaster feels like an abrupt, kitschy fanfic.

It is mind boggling how the team behind such a gem like the Book of Unwritten Tales, could take a great series like Black Mirror and release such a poorly designed game. Clunky controls, poor animation, short length, frustratingly many loading screens and an overall lack of polish make us wish the Black Mirror had remained buried underground were it belonged.

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.

Black Mirror has potential to be a decent horror puzzle adventure, but its technical limitations and pacing issues prevents that from ever becoming apparent. Its £25 entry fee is steep for the short experience you’ll be getting, and the end product feels like a shadow of its former self.

The restart of the Black Mirror adventure series has failed. Not only that the curse of the Gordon family is a bit cliché, but mainly it's wrapped in an interactive movie that doesn´t worth much and is troubled by a lot of technical problems.