Twin Mirror | Preview of the first minutes of the game
Thanks to the opportunity provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment, we were able to observe the first minutes of Twin Mirro r together with some samples of its particular philosophy. Although this is only a small appetizer, what we have seen has already made us quite confident about the quality of the new story of Dontnod.
Among the foliage of trees
As mentioned above, the creative team has once again decided to focus its efforts on a location that could faithfully resume the stable canons of rural American cities. With Life is Strange 1 and 2 we have seen how effectively Dontnod has demonstrated its ability to better manage similar environments, transforming the intimacy (positive or negative) of the American communities into a strong point for storytelling. In Twin Mirror, the city is closely linked to the protagonist, a source of unpleasant memories despite an entire life spent in its streets.Sam Higgs , a former investigative journalist, will be our alter-ego, called in his “dear” Brasswood to attend the funeral of his best friend remained in the city along with all its other knowledge. In our preview we started from the arrival at the promontory that overlooks the entire city, a place that Sam knew well and often visited in the past. The richness of details and objects with which to interact, there has then allowed us to discover more about the environment of the game and on the previous history of the protagonist, showing us also how the interface is used for Twin-Mirror can be considered as one of the most clean and least “intrusive” of Dontnod.
Reflecting on the town and its history strongly mining, we have been able to take a look at the Palazzo Mental Sam : a dreamy place made of glass where the memories of the man are represented vividly to his command. A very useful tool for an investigator , even if this of course can mean a big cross to carry if you have special memories, like the marriage proposal refused by his ex-girlfriend, right on the headland of Brasswood.
In the hardness of the memories Sam could feel the contrast with a setting of lush, green and seemingly peaceful, the canon stable for this particular strand and that has never disappointed in its performance, as well as in the Life is Strange", or in other kindred works. More than in the scenario, the perception of this duality is entrusted to the narration of the memories of the protagonists and of their prior events, featuring Brasswood through events that are strictly personal, able to give character to the spaces of the game. At the moment we could see only two places in this charming West Virginia town, but from their exposure, it is possible to derive much useful information.
A Double, so many choices
Among these is the presence of an odd character that dwells in the mind of our investigator: the Double . Completely different from Sam in the aesthetic presentation, this figure will appear in various moments of the Twin Mirror to give us his opinion about the choices or the problems that plague Sam. In the promontory, gives us some small board not required, but moving in a parking lot of a local and talking with the daughter of the late Sam's best friend, will intervene just to suggest another path of action and creating a sort of important choice between his opinion and that arbitrary of Sam.Read also: Twin Mirror, tried the double personality of Sam Higgs
The young girl wanted to, in fact, that investigassimo on the death of his father, according to her, occurred under circumstances that are impossible for the kind of person he was. The Double, however, intervenes, saying to keep her off from anything that could happen and stay in a land of doubt, without giving then promises that Sam would do without too many problems. The player is then given the task of finding the path is more correct, even if it is difficult to determine which is the most “right”. The Double, in fact, appears to us as a figure normal, almost detached . It is neither bad nor good, it could be said to be gray in his characterization. It is also true, however, that the interaction connected with him was very short, and there are very few details about his influence, even if some of the clue leaves us to assume that it is the result of a mental condition previous to Sam for what should take specific medications.
The part in the parking lot was rather short and he has closed our eyes to the Twin Mirror, leaving many more questions than answers, as a true mystery worthy of the name. The steps shown, however, – compared to the movies of the past couple of years – are quite obvious and there is a blatant work up from a technical point of view and graph, while preserving all those elements that distinguish the traits of Dontnod. At the time, so there is even more of a tendency to cinematographic techniques and the investigation itself, with the menu used as a sort of notebook digital which keeps track of the thread to untangle in the Palace of the Mental; a function – we want to specify it – that the developers have completely revised since the last time he appeared in public.
ultimately, Twin Mirror can be a good turning point in the history of Dontnod , almost as an artistic maturation. At the moment it is still all to be seen and certainly there will be other opportunities for you to take a closer look at the town of Brasswood, but without a shadow of a doubt we are before a game that fans of the film and video game narrative should keep strongly an eye on, especially if you are in search of a plot capable of keep them on their toes and force them to make difficult choices.
Twin Mirror will be released in 2020 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and, as exclusive time on the Epic Games Store
