Telling Lies Reviews

Telling Lies is ranked in the 79th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10
Apr 28, 2020

Telling Lies is one of the best experiences to make use of FMV on PS4, telling a fascinating narrative that'll have you guessing what revelation will come your way next. What's more, the star-studded cast of characters does an excellent job of bringing the script to life, but it is held back by a perplexing rewind function. Had it been implemented better, the game would be on the cusp of greatness. Although, in its current state, Telling Lies is still a very safe recommendation for fans of the genre.

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10 / 10.0
Apr 27, 2020

Telling Lies is a flawless piece of work. This is Sam Barlow perfecting what he was able to achieve with Her Story and bolstering it with a bigger story and being supported by four powerhouse performances. Telling Lies offered me five incredible hours and everyone should experience this masterpiece with their own eyes.

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GameMAG
Top Critic
5 / 10
Nov 5, 2019

Telling Lies is a weak interactive film in screencast format that tries to become relevant at the expense of the left-wing agenda. The keyword search system still looks fresh and together with the player's imagination should have created the magic of immersion, but the lack of convenient rewind system, ability to conduct an investigation and match several videos finished off an interesting concept.

Review in Russian | Read full review

85 / 100
Sep 23, 2019

In sum, Telling Lies represents a niche genre that explores interactive storytelling in a very unique way.

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Aug 21, 2019

The Telling Lies video game is engaging yet not without flaws.

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8 / 10
May 19, 2020

Telling Lies on the Nintendo Switch brings a new life to the world of story-based games that make use of an FMV presentation. With its compelling plot and simple but capturing gameplay, a very good performance by its actors and a sharp use of the Nintendo Switch touch screen, Telling Lies will be more than enjoyed by players who will gladly keep a close focus on long video scenes to follow the story and make necessary choices based on what they just watched and heard.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Apr 28, 2020

Some people will absolutely love Telling Lies. The type of person who can watch five minutes of a movie and then has to watch the entire thing will surely be absorbed into this game's mystifying world. However, for other people, sifting through hours of footage and being forced to jigsaw a narrative out of it will just feel like a chore, even if the characters are well depicted. It's up to you to decide which category you're most likely to fall under.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 9, 2019

Whether you call it an interactive movie game or desktop thriller, Telling Lies is a gratifying and authentic-feeling fly-on-the-wall experience. For the most part. Exceptional performances and an intriguing, topical story are undercut by a jarring gameplay choice that forces you out of the game when you least want it.

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Sep 7, 2019

Without a sense of feedback or progress, the rambling, leisurely narrative of Telling Lies comes across as unfocused.

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9 / 10
Aug 23, 2019

Telling Lies is an absolute masterpiece. It offers some brilliant writing and acting that drive us to passionately discover all of its secrets through its very simple but effective mechanics.

Review in French | Read full review

6 / 10.0
Sep 12, 2019

Telling Lies has an interesting story but is let down by a lack of direction and a clunky UI design. Even interesting characters can save the game, and a watered-down epilogue which is supposed to entice repeated playthroughs just leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

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65%
Apr 28, 2020

Telling Lies is almost the perfect metaphor for real-life: inane bollocks for the most part, with some really interesting things happening every so often to stop you from falling asleep.

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8 / 10
Sep 3, 2019

Telling Lies is a rich drama told in an inventive and fun way, enabling the player to learn what happened in a personal and unique way.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 21, 2019

Telling Lies is a game defined by the individual's own terms and parameters, rewarding the wide spectrum of curiosity of anyone willing to put the time and thought into its mysteries.

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Spaziogames
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Sep 3, 2019

Quotation Forthcoming

Review in Italian | Read full review

EGM
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Aug 23, 2019

Telling Lies may borrow its core mechanic from Her Story, but shifting from monologues to two-sided conversations brilliantly expands the investigative gameplay, and a pivot from murder mystery to political thriller gives director Sam Barlow a much richer set of ideas to explore. A few storytelling hiccups and awkward edges do little to detract from a thought-provoking look at the modern surveillance state—delivered not through soapbox lecture but by forcing you, unsettlingly, to participate.

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GameSpew
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Sep 3, 2019

As it is, Telling Lies’ compelling narrative and phenomenal acting will be enough to spur you on. Searching and scrubbing through videos can be a chore, but it’s worth it, if just for that one tiny piece of information you’ve been waiting to find.

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8 / 10.0
May 6, 2020

Telling Lies is a brave endeavor at attempting to redefine interactive entertainment and remains a recommended title if you’re looking for something experimental focused on an intriguing narrative.

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7 / 10
Jun 16, 2020

Definitely a unique gaming experience, as it takes you in an exciting investigation journey with only a search bar and breath-taking acting skills leaving you on-edge for more evidence.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

NintendoWorldReport
John Rogers
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
May 7, 2020

It's a compelling mechanic that leads to easy immersion. Anyone who's used a simple video editor will feel at home scrubbing back and forth through digital videos, and jumping between clips. The Switch's touch screen makes this even more intuitive than it would be using a mouse.

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