Telling Lies

Telling Lies is not like most other games and while many could have easily ruled out games that make use of Full Motion Video, this work does a remarkable job at it. Thanks to its plot, a great actors' performance and good implementation of a touch-screen control system, Telling Lies will reward those players who will invest the necessary time and concentration to follow the game's plot.

As for Telling Lies itself, it's an outstanding story and one that's told in a novel way. What makes the game especially memorable is the individual acting performances and how the actors are able to convey a range of emotions. There was nothing over-the-top or anything that made me want to mock the dialogue. Everything is well-written with strong performances to match. I missed the original PC release, but I'm glad I got to experience the Telling Lies story on Switch.

Any search can act as a doorway to a juicy, hard-to-reach scene, or even lead to a whole new storyline. Any unusually placed word could be a clue leading to a game-altering revelation. It’s a compelling mechanic that leads to easy immersion. Anyone who’s used a simple video editor will feel at home scrubbing back and forth through digital videos, and jumping between clips. The Switch’s touch screen makes this even more intuitive than it would be using a mouse.

Telling Lies offers a great narrative where we control an intriguing videogame from the first second. Although there are aspects that can be improved, the overall experience of the title is positive. It is one of the Nintendo Switch FMVs that must be played by lovers of good stories.

On paper, searching a large database of phone-filmed video clips doesn't sound too exciting, but Telling Lies offers an exhilarating few hours of detective work thanks to clever construction, strong performances and exceptional polish. Given that the game takes place almost entirely in windows on a virtual desktop computer screen (and would therefore seem 'at home' on PC), it survives the transition to Switch entirely intact. While there's not much incentive to reopen the investigation once it reaches its climax, uncovering Telling Lies' web of relationships and intrigue is a case definitely worth taking on.

When compared to other games, Telling Lies is a massive accomplishment, bringing unheard of levels of talent. But when compared to movies or TV, the performances and production design feel a little bit lacking. I’ll certainly be playing future Barlow games — the ideas are too cool to ignore. But in the future, I’d be keen to see him try his hand at something campier, or maybe let a more experienced director handle the actors. Sam Barlow presents Command and Conquer: Red Alert? Yes, please!