Night Book

If you’ve got the slightest interest in the horror genre, you’ve already seen what Night Book has to offer. The idea of a full motion video tale with multiple endings is a noble one, but the poor acting and breakneck pace ruin its chances of ever standing out.

As much as I wanted Night Book to be good, not even FMV can salvage this otherwise lackluster experience. Despite solid acting performances from the entire cast, it isn't enough to elevate this paint-by-numbers slog to the next level. It's probably best to leave this tome on the shelf where it belongs.

Night Book is a good example of the kind of modern FMV game that Wales Interactive produce. It brings together an interesting story with some strong performances and a topical site of anxiety. At a run time of about 45 minutes for each playthrough this is perfect for a quick play with a glass of wine but may not feel like the best value. There's plenty of replayability though if you want to unlock all the endings, but many of them involve only slight variations of events you’ll have seen before. Night Book is very much an FMV interactive experience rather than a game but it is undoubtedly a solid example of its kind. Just don’t go into it expecting much in the way of gameplay.