Twin Mirror Reviews

Twin Mirror has an intriguing premise but ultimately fails to do anything remarkable with it. While it's DONTNOD's most impressive game technically, Twin Mirror is a by-the-book thriller that only just manages to scrape through to solve its core mystery that's unfortunately lacking thrills.

Without a key mechanic to keep gameplay fresh, or even a story that's both fleshed out and well-structured, Twin Mirror fails to find any kind of hook beyond the fleeting intrigue in how it all ends. Even then, brief a run-time the game actually requires of its players, the conclusion is a far-cry from the studio's better works. Clearly there's a theme, maybe even a message, tucked beneath the downtrodden attire the game sports, but with such a rushed progression and lackluster attempt to develop both characters and setting alike, Twin Mirror's overall story is likely to fall by the wayside. Dontnod are capable of so much more than what this latest outing provides -- it's not terrible, but Twin Mirror is a misfire from a developer whose experience and past achievements would have you presume they should know better.

Graphically, this is the best looking Dontnod game I’ve played. The lip sync is a little off at times but overall, it’s a very beautiful game, and I even particularly like the UI. Choosing a minimalist look that barely makes itself known unless you’re specifically looking at something you can interact with or in an actual menu. When Sam receives a text message and a text conversation happens, they frame Sam beautifully on the left with the conversation on the right and it feels very natural. The sound design is alright but outside of the intro song, the music isn’t much to write home about. In fact, that’s another thing that makes this one of the most disappointing Dontnod games, the soundtrack. In their other adventure games, they have this transitionary ‘slice of life’ moments with a montage of the characters in transit with some poppy or sad indie music going in the background. These moments were scarce in Twin Mirror. It’s hard to say if these scenes were never intended to be in the game because it’s supposed to be a thriller or if they just didn’t have the budget to add them in. Either way, they’re missing, and it’s noticeable.

I really wanted to enjoy my time with Twin Mirror. However, besides its beautiful presentation, the game lacks any of the substance that made all their previous adventure games great. Sam Higgs just isn’t an interesting enough character to get behind when most of his dialogue choices are whether he should be a dick or not. Dontnod and their games mean something to the people that love them, be it because of their characters or the themes they inhabit. Where Life is Strange and Tell Me Why soar, Twin Mirror simply flutters in the wind. It’s not a bad game, it just feels like so much wasted potential.

Twin Mirror is a psychological thriller from DONTNOD Entertainment, the makers of Life is Strange and Tell Me Why. This is an atmospheric adventure that does a fantastic job at setting up the initial mystery and intrigue although it sadly loses much of that energy towards the end.

After 2 years away, Sam Higgs has returned to the old mining town of Basswood in West Virginia to attend his friend's funeral. However, he soon finds himself in trouble and must rediscover the town to uncover the truth of what really happened.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Twin Mirror is the rare game where I love the world, premise, and characters, but can’t actually professionally recommend it. The foundation was laid, but a good story needs more than just the building blocks. In hindsight, following Life is Strange‘s episodic model might’ve worked wonders here, as it would’ve bought Dontnod extra development time along the way. All throughout Twin Mirror, people complain that Higgs abandoned Basswood and won’t spend any time there. As it turns out, we need to spend more time in Basswood too.

While Twin Mirror is Dontnod’s worst game so far, it’s still a somewhat enjoyable experience, especially for fans of their work. It’s a game that feels like it needs a redo, because while it presents interesting concepts, it doesn’t flesh out any of them.

Twin Mirror is another compelling DONTNOD experience that is backed by some of its finest gameplay yet

Like the game itself, my opinion of Twin Mirror is split. The story is enticing and imaginative, the characters are interesting and varied, the magic realism is even slightly more down to earth for a more mature vibe. But it is a game that tugs slightly too hard at the darkness - at the edginess - for its own good.

Twin Mirror is in many ways the natural evolution of the Dontnod narrative adventure. It combines the reconstruction aspect from their debut, Remember Me, with the cinematic and narrative focus of Life is Strange. It is a very polished game, but it left me wanting more in a few areas and I didn't feel like I was having a true impact on the story's outcome. It will definitely appeal to genre fans but it never quite develops its own clear identity. Ironically enough, it feels like a hazy reflection of what it could have been.

A psychological mystery that fails to go any deeper than the surface.

A dramatic, emotive and affecting interactive drama that shows Dontnod are still the masters of branching narrative and serious-minded storytelling.

Twin Mirror's concise narrative and innovative detective gameplay is heartfelt and earnest, though the small-scale, personal story is left open-ended.

The building tension and well-written characters make this small town mystery captivating, but it bites off more than it can chew in its rushed depiction of a man struggling with his mental health

Twin Mirror won't win any awards for creativity or interesting narrative choices, but it's strong themes that tie the entire experience together make it well worth the price of admission.

Twin Mirror is a frustratingly uneven adventure; it feels slow-paced yet ends too quickly, it features a wide cast of characters but doesn’t give them enough depth, and it presents you with crimes to investigate without letting you play much of a role in solving them. The back and forth between Sam and his double provides the odd enjoyably tense moment, and the mind palace sections at least provide a change of pace, but the overarching narrative doesn’t so much as gradually ramp up to a startling climax as skid and thud into a clearly signposted deadend. Outside of the eccentric influence of Pac-Man, the biggest surprise in Twin Mirror was that it left me with so little to reflect on.