The first Black Mirror game came out seven years
ago, in 2003. It quickly became known for its easy
puzzles and, even more so, a rather confusing
ending. Black Mirror 2 has a lengthy opening that
explains the events of the first game (including that
dreadful ending) and introduces us to the new
protagonist: young Darren, a science student. He is
on his summer vacation in Biddesford, a small town in
Maine, USA, working for Mr Fuller, a grumpy and
unpleasant owner of a photo shop.
The game starts off slowly - you have to do a few
simple everyday things for your employer, such as
changing a fuse in the basement and getting a
package from the local post office. You slowly get to
explore the town (some areas are closed off until you
finish the task given), meet the residents and learn
more about its past. This feels very natural because
Darren is almost as much of a stranger to Biddesford
as you are.
A beautiful girl named Angelina shows up at the shop
to have her photos taken. Even though she is new in
town, it seems someone’s been following her. There
isn’t much time to find out who her stalker is,
especially when Angelina becomes a murder suspect.
There are many characters you will encounter on
your journey, some new, some old. The old ones are
mostly our friends from the Black Mirror castle. Each
character has their own story to tell, although I wish a
certain few were more developed.
There is much to discover about the main character.
Some of the early events revolve around him
personally, encouraging you to press on and discover
more about him. He may come off as rude and
childish at first, talking about his favorite grunge
bands and snapping at people when he probably
shouldn’t, but he grows into a stronger person as time
goes by.
The game has a lovely concept of transitioning from
light to darkness. The main character changes as
events force him to, the weather changes as the story
gets darker and closer to the feel of the original
game. You travel from sunny sea shores of
Biddesford to rainy and gloomy Willow Creek, where
a lot of events take place at night.
Atmosphere is one of the things that kept me playing
this game. I was eager to find new locations and
explore them. When you’re playing a game that
requires exploration of every pixel on the screen,
even the smallest details jump out at you. Whether
it’s the books on a shelf or a tiny bird on a nearby
tree, it is clear that the developers paid special
attention to the backdrops. You will be additionally
rewarded if you’re familiar with the first game - it is
fun to explore some old areas and see how they
changed over the years.
Like the first game, Black Mirror 2 contains elements
of horror. There is implied sexual abuse and you get
to see several dead bodies, much like in the original.
There are also moments where camera dramatically
zooms in (usually on a character), but those look
rather funny.
Another thing that is carried over from the first game
is the difficulty of the puzzles - or the lack of thereof.
Most of them are inventory-based. Difficulty level can
be changed in the options menu. If you select the
'Easy' level, a 'Skip' button will appear over puzzles
that are considered harder and the game will do that
part for you. These puzzles are not that hard, in my
opinion, and most experienced adventure gamers will
just breeze through. It is a useful option if you don’t
have much time to spend on the game.
Controls are very basic.. You can click a hotspot until
Darren has nothing more to say about it, after which
the cursor disappears. Inventory is located on the
bottom of the screen and all you have to do is put
your mouse there to bring it up. If you press the Tab
button, all hotspots will be revealed on the screen,
which allows you to fine-tune the difficulty of the
game. It’s good for seeing what options you have in a
room and also for making sure you don’t overlook an
important object.
There are action sequences scattered throughout the
game. There aren't many of them, but they make the
game more dynamic. You will usually have to do
something in a limited amount of time (a timer is not
displayed, though). Don’t worry, they are not hard to
do and if you do fail, the game will reload the last
autosave, usually made right before the sequence
starts.
If you haven’t played for a while, there is a journal
that will help refresh your memory. Designed to look
like a real journal, if often contains Darren’s sketches
and valuable pieces of information, as well as a short
recap of previous events. Another nice feature is a
map that lets you quickly travel from one area to the
other - no tedious walks around the town unless you
want to!
As a photography enthusiast, you always have your
camera on you. If you take photos of certain objects
or during some events in the game, you can unlock
game artwork, mini-games and special modes (such
as Bobblehead Mode... which looks rather creepy).
After seven years of waiting, this is what I have to
say: it was worth it. While the game doesn’t bring
anything revolutionary to the genre, it expands on the
story of the first game, deepens it and sets a good
footing for the recently announced third game. It is
perfect for those who don’t have time to spend hours
upon hours solving a puzzle or those who want to
enjoy a bit of an eye candy and a solid story.
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