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Twin Mirror is often very pretty in its environments, and boasts a gallery of characters, some of whom are very endearing, but it doesn't reinvent the DONTNOD formula, or that of the interactive drama. The game's story sometimes pulls a few too many strings, is a little clumsy in its use of certain twists, and is ultimately not interactive enough, even for a narrative game. While not unpleasant to follow, Twin Mirror's psychological thriller escapade fails to sufficiently engage the player in its stakes to be totally unforgettable, although fans of the genre should still find something to enjoy.

<3

Let's get started: the game welcomes us for a short 30-minute single-player introductory session, which will perhaps become a real campaign when the final game is released. We can already see that the graphics and artistic direction are very well done, in my opinion; we're dealing with a game from 2023, and it's also very well optimized, which is something we're not used to anymore, especially on day one. 1 as well as ray tracing, and everything is perfectly clear and intuitive in the menus. To return to this mini-campaign, it is accompanied by various objectives to complete, with enemies hunting you down.

Once all that's done, we're sent to a large complex as part of a therapy program run by the Murkuff Corporation during the Cold War era, before the first two opuses. This complex serves as a living room, where you can play mini-games with other players, who are also free to roam the complex, customize your room, buy upgrades and unlock the game's 4 skills (one usable at a time).

There are currently 3 maps available (a fourth is expected soon, and according to some sources, more content will be added), and I've had a chance to try out the first two (the first was already available during the 6-month old beta).

So here I go with a group of 3 other strangers, we are invited to each take an SAS to go to the first map and we start with a first given objective, an overview of one of the "bosses" is given to us, we has to push a chair with a guy on it to a certain place of course there are doors to block us and keys to find scattered across the map and several enemies are roaming free to stop us from doing that and that's I'm going to tell you a bit about gameplay mechanics, we obviously already have a health, stamina and sanity bar (correlated to a specific enemy), various objects on the map (to heal yourself, projectiles to defend, battery for the night camera, hooks to unlock some boxes, antidotes for the mental state...), we have the possibility to hide in different places as well as to lock the doors, there is a whole mechanics around noise, such as avoiding walking on pieces of glass.
After for the second map, there are different puzzles and you should know that each map offers several missions that I have not tried, there is also a group note and your personal note at the end which count for the EXP gained.

Okay now I'm going to move on to the flaws that are not to be overlooked, already for me the biggest flaw by far is the content currently present which is really weak since we only have 3 cards as I already said moreover finishable in only 45 minutes for each of them even if I grant you it there are some missions which allow to increase the replayability, I nevertheless took pleasure in finishing each card several times during the beta and it didn't bother me because I found that each game was unique and we can approach them in different ways, in short, all that to say that it's still just fine, but I frankly hope for much more substantial content in the future, let's move on to second flaw of the game and for me it is in the lack of cooperation with our allies, there is too little interaction to help each other and in the end it isolates us more than anything else be careful there are still some but we talk about relatively little...
Last flaw, I was not a big fan of the "sanity" mechanism which is quite classic in horror games but here I find it really messy with a ton of effects that pollute the screen with an enemy imaginary that pursues us but that does us damage all the same, not hyper realistic, I would have preferred something with more like hallucinatory screamers because sometimes it's messy and completely messy.

Yet I was hyped and eagerly awaiting it.
Now I'm all the more disillusioned. On the positive side, the layout is quite impressive, especially considering that the game was developed by a single person. Graphically, it's not bad at all, with the main environment lit up by a greenish moon to great effect.
The tension is well conveyed, with indirect witnesses reporting disturbing events via walkie-talkie. It's a highly effective way of stirring the imagination: there's a strong sense of imminent threat, with strong inspiration from M Night Shyamalan's Signs.
What's more, the iconography inspired by UFO testimonies from the 50s to the 80s is very well rendered.

That's all well and good, but once you've actually played the game, it's a disaster. The sound design is poorly calibrated, with voices that are sometimes barely audible, and the overall game design is no slouch either, with vaguely defined objectives that regularly lead you in circles where you shouldn't be.
There's no pleasure to be had in exploring such a dark game, where interactive objects are indistinguishable from the rest and environmental interactions are ultra-limited.
Our avatar suffocates as soon as he runs for 14 seconds, with an indecent recovery time. The torch is an abomination (just like in Amnesia The Bunker, except that here it shines even less brightly and for even shorter periods). Fight doesn't work (8 bullets for the whole game and 2 bullets per alien), stealth doesn't work any better and escape and hiding are useless with an almost asthmatic character.

In fact, it's terrible, but the conclusion is clear: Greyhill Incident doesn't feel like a game once you've got the controller (or keyboard) in your hands. It's neither fun nor particularly scary, but rather frustrating and boring.
Another cold shower for indie games, as far as I'm concerned. And I can only regret it.

In the shoes of Max, a young art and photography student. Shy, sincere and uncertain. Max advances with the doubts pegged to the body. A little behind, with this thing that we see: talent, this kid, she has it. Future photographer.
Faced with Max, Chloé, a former childhood friend, long lost sight of. Strange reunions. Blue-haired Chloe is rebellious, irritable, fearless, hurt.
And the game, where is it? Our young heroine is soon confronted with a gun that clicks, a bullet fired, a body that falls, lifeless. The web of time forever marked by something irreparable.
…
Irreparable…really?
Max then discovers his power. Rewind. Erase the last 5 minutes and come back. To change something. Avoid the drama that is looming. The storm on the horizon. Incoming. Who will take everything. It's a certainty.
A key to press and the player can change his reactions to obtain the best outcome. Wrong answer ? Rewind. Bad move? Rewind. Bad reaction? Rewind.
Yet Max – like the player – will learn that there is no perfect ending…
Very well worked characters, who exist, who live and feel. A progressive attachment. A strong visual style that works, despite some weaknesses. A well-controlled pace overall.
So why this knot of frustration when everything is over, that, the face studded with tears, we have come to the conclusion?
Perhaps it is because the lesson the game seeks to impart and the playing tools it gives the player are in opposition. Because the destination is there waiting for us and despite all the decisions taken on this beautiful path, it seems that nothing has changed...
So we cry, we rage, we search the depths of Youtube in search of a real end, we drift on video montages of other players trying desperately to patch up the possibility of satisfaction. But no, it doesn't work, it's not true, we know that.
So, with a heavy heart, we look at this patch of gray sky that pierces through the window. The rain is lapping a little on the roof. Well... the trip was so beautiful, wasn't it the price of my tears?

We easily remember the first episode: a powerful game that touches you deep within yourself. A sensitive, melancholic, philosophical, poetic game, which left a taste of sadness once completed.

This Before the Storm takes place three years before the first episode. It highlights the rebellious Chloé and the controversial Rachel. The latter - who has a main role in LIS - is interesting because it is a complex personality (can be bipolar or manipulative). It is not easy to discern right from wrong with her. We are therefore in a love/friendship relationship that reveals passion (while the relationship with Max is more that of reason and adulthood), and all of this is well put together.
Once again, the artistic direction is of quality, as well as the music which gives an extra soul to the game.
The episodes follow one another in a pleasant way, with certain highlights (dreams, the show).

Nevertheless it is unfortunate that the game is so short. Only three small episodes. And so inevitably, the Chloé / Rachel relationship is linked far too quickly. There are also too many unanswered questions. What happens during the three years that separate us from LIS? How does Rachel switch to a certain state of mind, what becomes of Chloe?
Then, the system of verbal jousting is totally missed because it is incoherent. It's a good idea, but the mechanism needs to be reviewed.

In conclusion, it is extremely pleasant to return to Arcadia Bay. This episode continues the story of the very first LIS. Once finished I felt the same feeling as during the first opus: sadness and a feeling of emptiness. It is, without a doubt, the hallmark of great games, and more generally of great works of art. Cheer.