Telling Lies

 Xbox One
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. MondoXbox
    May 4, 2020
    90
    Telling Lies is an atypical and surprising game that every lover of deep narrative and thrilling stories should try. Digging through tens and thousands of video recordings you'll unearth an intimate but complex world of love, lies, betrayal and human fragility that will glue you to the screen through the end, leaving you in anguish and willing to dig even deeper.
  2. XBLA Fans
    May 1, 2020
    80
    The way the game can allow you to interact with the videos works extremely well. It’s not something you play but is an experience. It’s very much an interactive movie that feeds you the information based on how your mind works. Certain keywords will stick out to you but not to others since you have a different history. This is the evolution of a jigsaw puzzle. Yet I still hated it. I would rather have just watched something than have to dig around a fake computer. That’s a lie! I admired almost everything about Telling Lies and, though I wouldn’t play it through again, it’s very much worth your time.
  3. TheXboxHub
    Apr 28, 2020
    80
    Telling Lies on Xbox One is not going to be for everyone. It is very much a cinematic, interactive story first and a game second. However, the brilliant performances and top-notch writing that stands among some of Hollywood’s best easily makes this a must-play for fans of FMV games or cinema in general.
  5. XboxAddict
    May 29, 2020
    70
    It’s obvious that a lot of work and care went into crafting the unique experience Telling Lies gives, it simply takes some out of the box thinking to really appreciate and hours of patience to piece it together. While I enjoyed the outcome and its complexity, it’s tricky to recommend unless you’re the type of person that would enjoy snooping through hours of private video conversations and can somehow keep track of it all.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 24
  3. Negative: 8 out of 24
  1. Xbox_Alive
    May 4, 2020
    8
    Telling Lies is an FMV Intrigue Narrative Desktop Adventure. From the creator of Her Story is a new FMV. Instead of one character, you will beTelling Lies is an FMV Intrigue Narrative Desktop Adventure. From the creator of Her Story is a new FMV. Instead of one character, you will be watching four. You are an unknown investigator given access to four peoples secretly recorded video calls. You're tasked with figuring out the connections between these people and the underlying plots. Each video is fully captioned, and superbly acted. You'll use a search bar to search the videos for key interactions about different nouns you can highlight from the captions. Each search will provide only the top five matches but will tell you how many matches there are. As I said before the acting is superb, allowing you to read expressions to help you along with your investigations. There is so much to dig through as you try to piece together these for people you know nothing about. If you're paying enough attention to details, these four strangers will be no enigmas by the end of the game. Telling Lies is easily one of the best FMV games to date, raising the bar drastically on the Genre. Sleuths will have plenty to go through and tons of in conversation hints. Matching the two sides of a conversation will shed even more light on the ongoing story. Telling Lies is a deep and intricately built experience that can provide rewarding gameplay.… Full Review »
  2. JayAlex
    Apr 24, 2021
    2
    Too expensive for what you get, and if you're expecting "Her Story 2," this isn't it, it isn't even close. Part of what made Her Story workToo expensive for what you get, and if you're expecting "Her Story 2," this isn't it, it isn't even close. Part of what made Her Story work was the micro-viewing sessions, which are replaced with longer, more tedious one-sided delivery that seems to be basically ignorant of what makes a game fun - this is more a slog than fun. Don't recommend.… Full Review »
  3. madmad90
    Jul 12, 2020
    5
    Way too boring, the acting is good but playing the game put me to sleep. The story is boring too.
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