Twin Mirror Reviews
Twin Mirror is a beautiful-looking game but doesn't have the same narrative punch that made previous games from Dontnod so memorable.
Poorly written and dreary directed Twin Mirror doesn't worth a second of your time.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Twin Mirror is a shallow, dour few hours of adventure, with only a few moments that would make it worth a curious gamer's time. Every time you find yourself trying to fall under its narrative spell, one problem or another causes the whole illusion to shatter.
Twin Mirror has some elements of it that can't help but be admirable; its concept is intriguing, its voice cast is compelling, and it could have easily been the next buzzworthy photorealistic video game. But, in execution, it comes across as a dated, surface-level experience, one that isn't sure whether to be a complex character study or an open-world mystery, and is nowhere near as rewarding as the time and effort it asks you to put into it. Twin Mirror will undoubtedly find an audience of some who want to dive into its ambiguous mystery, but it's far from the most engrossing or well-executed title that video game fans could pick up right now.
It’s really a pity, as I believe if Twin Mirror had a lot more development time and a bigger budget to refine and flesh out its story, it would have been a great narrative murder mystery to rival Life is Strange. This isn’t to say I hated my time with the game. I still enjoyed the world, characters, and especially its overall central premise, which I found to be less grandiose and more grounded. Unfortunately, the short length, rushed plot, and presentation issues bring it down a bit.
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.
Whilst not a true tragedy, Twin Mirror didn’t live up to expectations in my book. The visual and auditory style of DONTNOD is fantastic, and the way it ties into the gameplay is nice. However, it doesn’t stack up to its peers both inside and outside the developer’s library. The magical realism is a bit confusing and lacking in context and the eleventh hour save doesn’t pull it above criticism. A mystery existed but there just wasn’t enough meat on that bone. I can see this game aging well for me, as I remember only the nice parts and filter out the bad stuff. But as it stands, as I write this review, there is just too much of a gap between me and unqualified praise to be able to give it a proper stamp of approval.
A narrative game that doesn't have enough time to tell the story it's trying to tell, leaving characters and plot lines feeling unfinished. Whilst it has a lot of interesting ideas and some nice mechanics, none of them feel fully realised. Twin Mirror is bursting with potential, which is why it feels so disappointing.
Twin Mirror is an interesting experiment, I like the idea of a shorter narrative driven adventure but found this largely forgettable.
For every absolutely fantastic game DONTOND Entertainment gives us, we receive another one which unfortunately is not as good. Although Twin Mirror is not utterly bad and it offers a couple if interesting ideas, it also feels rushed and unpolished. Especially in the narration department as the story fails to grasp the player’s attention, boring them with rather dull dialogues between underdeveloped characters.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Twin Mirror is the inferior Dontnod offering of 2020, and probably one of their most disappointing games yet. It is mediocre in every sense, failing to live up to the potential of its concept and the reputation of its developer.
It might not be as groundbreaking as some of DONTNOD Entertainment’s other games, but Twin Mirror really holds up as a replayable adventure. Its Mind Palace mechanics are a lot of fun and each ending was a delightful revelation that made me question my own sense of truth. Overall, the game is an excellent addition to this company’s library of high-quality narrative-driven games. My only complaint is that it’s a tad steep in price for its length, so I’d probably wait for a sale.
It's a shame that Twin Mirror manages to create such a compelling and interesting opening but just doesn't manage to stick the landing. It definitely didn't take me on the same kind of emotional journey as some of DONTNOD's previous games, and unfortunately I found myself not really caring too much about Sam or the residents of Basswood.
DONTNOD Entertainment’s decision to depart from their usual episodic format and release Twin Mirror as a full experience without interruption is a welcome change. However, the short length means that characters and plot points are not fully developed therefore hindering the emotional connection the gamers tend to have with the company’s deep and usually complex personalities. Although not as strong as some of DONTNOD’s previous efforts, Twin Mirror is still a solid Interactive Drama which includes some interesting mechanics. The introduction of the Mind Palace is great but is unfortunately underutilized. However, even with pacing issues, the intriguing story and characters will keep you hooked.
Twin Mirror's inconsistent presentation and short length contaminate its otherwise excellent story-telling and solid detective gameplay to a degree, but thankfully, it still manages to land on its feet as a respectable narrative-focused adventure.
Twin Mirror has the assets of an intriguing story, but it fails to capitalize on it. The result is lackluster and doesn't present any real value to replayability.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Whether or not you take away a positive or negative experience may totally be up to you, for I found it to be different. Not bad, not great… Just good. But certainly an uncommon blend of DONTNOD’s previous workings.
Twin Mirror is a passable mystery adventure with a varied cast and the occasional satisfying use of deductive reasoning but its story and protagonist leave a lot to be desired and on top of that, it's far too short.
DONTNOD doesn't disappoint with its diverse cast and the interesting concept of Sam's mind palace. A bit of gloss is however missing to Twin Mirror and it feels like a grey loner compared to some other games the studio has made.
Review in German | Read full review