''Twin Mirror'' is a narrative adventure game developed and published by

Dontnod Entertainment Don't Nod Entertainment SA (trade name: Don't Nod, formerly Dontnod Entertainment) is a French video game developer based in Paris. Founded in June 2008, it started development on '' Remember Me'' (2013). Because of its poor return on investmen ...

and co-produced by

Shibuya Productions Shibuya Productions is a Monaco-based entertainment production company. It is the organiser of the . History Shibuya Productions was co-founded by :fr:Cédric Biscay, Cédric Biscay and Kostadin Yanev in July 2014. In 2015, Shibuya Product ...

. It was released on 1 December 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Gameplay

''Twin Mirror'' is an adventure game played from a

third-person view In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...

. Players control the investigative journalist Sam, who has returned to his hometown of Basswood,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. The environment is interactive and its objects are obtainable. Whom Sam speaks to is optional and, based on the state of his investigation, there are multiple endings to unlock. Players navigate between the real world and Sam's " Mind Palace" to discover clues. Sam's inner voice, the Double, may aid or harm the investigation.

Plot

Samuel "Muley" Higgs, formerly known as an investigative journalist, returns to Basswood, West Virginia in light of his close friend Nick's death. He originally left Basswood due to an article he wrote about the coal mines which ultimately got them closed, leaving hundreds without jobs and angry townsfolk who all despise Sam. During his stay in the town, Nick's daughter, Joan, asks him to check on the events leading up to Nick's death as she finds his activity before he died suspicious. The player can decide whether or not to look into the events resulting in Nick's death, but will ultimately be forced to investigate. Sam teams up with Anna, his ex-girlfriend who knew Nick well as they worked together in the Basswood Jungle, in hope that by following leads and investigating clues may lead to finding the source of Nick's death.

Development

Partnering with publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe,

began developing ''Twin Mirror'' in 2016 with a separate team of senior developers. About forty people were working on it as of September 2018. Lead writer Matthew Ritter was influenced by adventure games like '' Beneath a Steel Sky'' and ''

Space Quest ''Space Quest'' is a series of six comic science fiction adventure games released between 1986 and 1995. The games follow the adventures of a hopeless janitor named Roger Wilco, who campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice and really cl ...

''. Contrary to previous titles, Dontnod desired to have ''Twin Mirror'' be void of any supernatural elements. According to art director Pierre-Etienne Travers, the game's primary concept is duality. The decision to set it in a fictional American town, based on southern

, was to broaden its appeal. In June 2019, Dontnod announced to self-publish the game, with Bandai Namco Entertainment acting as the distributor for the console versions. As well as

becoming a co-producer of the game. Bandai Namco decided to cancel the Japanese console versions of ''Twin Mirror'' shortly after Dontnod acquired the IP rights from Bandai. The game was originally designed as an episodic game when it was first revealed. Following the delay, the game was reworked and the episodic format was abandoned so it can be played without any interruptions.

Release

''Twin Mirror'' was announced with a debut trailer in June 2018, set to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and

the following year. In August, it was revealed that it would be an episodic title, with ''Lost on Arrival'' as the first of three. The game was delayed to 2020 in June 2019. The Microsoft Windows version was exclusive to the

Epic Games Store The Epic Games Store is a digital video game storefront for Microsoft Windows and macOS, operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as both a website and a standalone launcher, of which the latter is required to download and play gam ...

for one year, on which it was released on 1 December 2020.

Reception

''Twin Mirror'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic. Some reviewers criticised the game's gameplay mechanics and felt that the protagonist lacked personality. They noted it was too short. Critics praised the visuals.

Accolades

References

Notes

External links

* * {{Dontnod Entertainment Adventure games Video games about amnesia Bandai Namco games Detective video games Fiction about murder Video games about the paranormal PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Science fiction video games Single-player video games Unreal Engine games 2020 video games Video games developed in France Video games set in West Virginia Video games with alternate endings Windows games Xbox One games Psychological thriller video games Dontnod Entertainment