A pretty old adventure game which marked the start of the Black Mirror game series. You play as Samuel Gordon, returning to his family home (the creepy Black Mirror manor) after the tragic death of your grandfather William. In the game you will be trying to piece together what has and is actually still happening that has led to his fate in six different chapters, all the while uncovering secrets about your family's past.

Facts

• Six chapters to play through.
  
• Atmospheric, dark locations.
  
• Fully voice-acted.
  
• Start of a series of games.

Pros

• Beautiful backdrops.
  
• Challenging puzzles.
  
• Interesting story, at least for half of the game.
  
• Oozes atmosphere.

Cons

• The game is an extreme slow burner and plays accordingly.
  
• Adventure game sin #1, tedious pixel hunting.
  
• Clickables change depending on progression, gets confusing.
  
• Game length is too much for its own good.
  
• Technical issues on modern systems (slowdown).
  
• Story takes a nosedive in later chapters.
  
• Samuel is a douche.

Recommended?

Not really, unless you're an adventure game enthousiast. The game is overly long, plays extremely slow and most of the characters aren't that interesting, which makes it kind of a chore to play through. The voice acting is pretty stale, especially for protagonist Samuel, who seems to be devoid of all emotion and is a very unlikable character in general. The puzzles tend to be tedious, because certain items in the game world have their properties change depending on what you have or haven't already done or clicked on. On the positive side, the game's locations and horror feel are done really well. Accompanying sound effects during gameplay like heavy rainfall also serve to create a thick layer of atmosphere, which is the only thing I would recommend it for.

Un bel gioco, coinvolgente sino all'ultimo, finale non certo imprevedibile, ma solido.
voto 8+/10

This is one of the games that used to come as addition when purchasing a random with PC game magazine. I heard of it but actually never played before.
When I realized was on Steam I definitely gave it a go.

I'll point straight away at the elephant in the house: It is an old point and click adventure game.
As such, it's focus is not on graphics or "gameplay" but it's core is narrative, atmosphere, enigmas but most important: it does require patience as there aren't many helps.

Story is very well written, you get immersed quite quickly into it.
Sounds and captions are also very well made and play a big positive impact on the overall Gothic atmosphere.
I din't found many of the enigmas very difficult, exeption made for 3 or 4 that got me stuck a good few hours figuring things out.
I will rate it as difficult mainly beause in 2024 we are not really into this kind of games anymore and some can definitely struggle.
I could finish this game without using any guide so if you take your time you can definitely make it through.

My ratings:

---{ Graphics }---
🔲 Awful
🔲 Bad
🔲 Will do
✅ Decent (Nothing special)
🔲 Stunning
🔲 Visual Masterpiece

---{ Gameplay }---
🔲 Bad
🔲 Okay
🔲 Nothing special
✅ Good
🔲Very good
🔲 Try not to get addicted

---{ Audio }---
🔲 Bad
🔲 Not too bad
🔲 Decent
🔲 Good
✅ Beautiful
🔲 Masterpiece

---{ PC Requirements }---
✅ Potato
🔲 Decent
🔲 Fast
🔲 High-end PC
🔲 Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
🔲 Just press a bunch of buttons
🔲 Easy
🔲 Significant brain usage
🔲 Easy to learn / Hard to master
✅ Difficult
🔲 Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
✅ Nothing
🔲 Only if you care about 100%
🔲 Average grind level
🔲 Too much grind
🔲 Insanity

---{ Story }---
🔲 None/Not important in this game
🔲 Bad
🔲 Average
🔲 Great
✅ Well written
🔲 One of the best i've had the pleasure of playing

---{ Price }---
🔲 Free
✅ Cheap
🔲 Under priced
🔲 Acceptable price
🔲 Overpriced
🔲 Complete waste of money

---{ Bugs }---
✅ Never heard of
🔲 Minor bugs
🔲 Can get annoying
🔲 Bugpocalypse: Proceed with caution


---{ ? / 10 }---
🔲 1
🔲 2
🔲 3
🔲 4
🔲 5
🔲 6
🔲 7
🔲 8
✅ 8.5
🔲 9
🔲 10

PROS:
-Very well written story.
-Gothic Atmosphere, Spot on.
-Enigmas are quite logical

CONS:
-Doesn't give any help if get stuck
-Dialogues will not be wrote so you have to remember at which point on the story you are
-PATIENCE required


LAST TIP:
-Mouse is the most prevalent interface you will use. Make sure to check ANYTHING on screen.