The total playtime for Dontnod’s newest explorative mysteryTwin Mirroris unexpectedly short and somewhat uncharacteristic of the studio, which may have partially led to reception of the game being less enthusiastic than anticipated.
So far,Twin Mirrorhas not been well-received by critics, with average scores hovering between 5 to 6 out of 10. Earlier this year, Dontnod releasedTell Me Why, following in the footsteps of its trending progressive platform, this time for the trans community and those struggling with mental health. In terms of reception,Tell Me Whyperformed a bit better, with scores falling between 7 to 9 out of 10, so it’s surprising to see the successfulLife is Strangedeveloper release a title that many feel is a miss.
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Many critics expressed thatTwin Mirrorfelt like an underdeveloped, truncated experience, ultimately resulting in a hallow storyline that didn’t receive as much attention as it deserved, especially in the way of Sam’s unnamed mental health issues that are never fully explored. This could be due to the game’s exceptionally short playtime, approximately six hours or so. This isn’t the norm for Dontnod narrative games, save forCaptain Spirit, which acted more as a demo precedingLife is Strange 2.
The player assumes the role of Sam, a former investigative reporter who has returned to Basswood to attend his best friend Nick’s funeral. He and Nick haven’t spoken in years, however, leading to some complicated feelings in the protagonist. Sam soon learns, following a bar brawl gone very wrong, that Nick has been murdered, and Sam employs himself with the task of solving the case.
To solve the mysteries withinTwin Mirror, Sam uses his Mind Palace, where he can view past memories in a polygonal, realistic world at will. To get to the bottom of the murder case, there are only a handful of scenes that Sam analyzes with his Mind Palace. While reported average playtime online fall between five to seven hours, some uploadedYouTube videos of the entire gamefall as short as four hours. While a shorter game isn’t necessarily a criticism, the game costs $29.99, a hefty price tag for one that can be completed in a single sitting.
Unlikepast Dontnod games like theLife is Strangeseries andTell Me Why,Twin Mirrorisn’t broken up into episodic chapters. Rather, the full game was released at once, likely due to its shorter playtime than past titles.
Twin Mirroris out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
