French studio DONTИOD has been working on Twin Mirror alongside Bandai Namco for a while now, teasing the project all the way back in 2018 – which in a year with a worldwide pandemic, feels as if it was decade ago. The team has given us a hands-off look at a preview build for Twin Mirror, which will be making its way to PS4 later this year, and here’s what you need to know about it!
The first big change when comparing Twin Mirror to the Life Is Stange franchise, is that Twin Mirror will not be an episodic release. You’ll be taking control of one Sam Higgs, and thanks to the hands-off preview, we’ve now learned that there is a bit of a supernatural twist to this game – more on this in a bit. Gameplay looked great, and showed what one would expect from a third-person perspective adventure game with a very introspective protagonist who has a duality to himself that might/might not be a severe case of schizophrenia.
Going from the preview for Twin Mirror, I could definitely see how the game evolves on what DONTИOD did with the bellowed Life Is Strange series, while also adding a dash of a Twin Peaks vibe – by way of Deadly Premonition – to the whole thing, thanks to main protagonist Sam’s overall behavior and him going back to his hometown in Virginia – where a mystery will need to be solved – is a bit too convenient. Sam will be interacting with another individual that only he can see – again, Deadly Premition-ish! As an added twist, he sorta looks just like Sam – see the schizophrenia comment above, dialed up to 11.
A friend’s funeral might have brought him to town, there’s going to be a lot to keep him from leaving right away. There are certainly some surreal elements in this one, especially because of how your investigation will require you to make good use of Sam’s… talent.
While, yes, you’ll have to interact with a wide variety of objects and individuals during your time with Twin Mirror, not all of these interactions are mandatory, so the way your story unfolds, and how your investigation will go, will depend on what you do and who you talk to, as well as on how you use Sam’s mind to unravel the mystery. The real world has a very lived in – and for some sections very gritty look –, diving at times into what feel like film noir styled interactions. Sam’s mind is the complete opposite.
As you can see from the screen above, Sam’s mind is a very pristine and clean environment, with clues nicely separated and floating around the area, waiting for the player to call them into play, so that Sam can start to slowly but surely put the puzzle pieces back together. Even his clothes change when Sam enters his mind, going for a more casual look to match the more casual and relaxing feel of this crystal-like palace. You’ll review memories to try and find anything that you might have missed the first time.
I definitely liked what I saw of Twin Mirror in this hands-off preview, and I very much look forward to bringing you a review for the game’s PlayStation 4 version later in the year. A 20 minute preview was just what I needed to get me even more interested in playing this mystery adventure game, and it did its job at scratching a particular itch while certainly leaving me wanting more. There’s no set release date for the game – yet – but be sure to stick around at PS4Blog.net since we’ll let you know as soon as one has been shared by DONTИOD and Bandai Namco!
