Peaky Blinders: Mastermind Critic Reviews

Overall Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is well built, no issues with graphics, glitches or sounds other than the puzzles being so hard that I decided to call it a day, I might go back to it in the future as I do like the game and that's not just because of the Peaky Blinders.

These last few levels really elevate Peaky Blinders: Mastermind for puzzle fans. The early levels could do with a little more meat on the bones, and the story elements might not be enough for some who live and breathe the show, but purely as a game it's a delightfully moreish puzzle adventure that will leave the player desperate for more.

Despite a truly intriguing gameplay formula, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind ends just when it really begins to show all of its potential.

Even with its budget price, it’s somewhat difficult to recommend Mastermind given its brevity and few technical issues. I expect Peaky Blinders fans will most enjoy Mastermind as a gritty snapshot at pre-series Birmingham that expands on their favourite television family. I’d even go so far as to give it a cautious thumbs up for those who enjoy working up a mental sweat.

Filled with good will, Peaky Blinders still feels like a missed opportunity due to a development budget that was clearly too tight. But if you can forget about the many drawbacks, you'll enjoy a nice gameplay which reminds us of Commandos/Desperados peppered with the cleaver time control feature.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, while not completely convincing and showing the side to many criticisms, tries to give dignity to Steven Knight's series even in this medium so different from that of origin. It does so with a peculiar gameplay that tries an unusual and enjoyable path, but it takes too much to mesh and stops at the most beautiful, a bit like it happens to the less convincing seasons of the mother work.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a puzzle game with interesting mechanics, which pays dearly for choosing to remain faithful to the structure of the TV series, only to reveal its potential in the final stages - just like Thomas Shelby usually does with his opponents, ironically.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a decent puzzle game that executes neatly an original, but somewhat very limited in ambition, plan. If you love the series you can give it a try, else, wait for a discount.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind isn’t a bad game by any means, it’s just a familiar one. It captures the tone of Birmingham really well, and exploring this world can be fun at times, but otherwise, nothing else really sets itself apart. For puzzle adventure fans there are plenty of other options that may have more to offer, but fans of the show may find some enjoyment in this title despite some of its shortcomings.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind's gorgeous aesthetic and solid puzzling are no match for its lack of depth, emotion, and substance.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is built upon a highly inventive central concept and smartly dressed in an authentic audio/visual package that accurately captures the dangerous world of The Shelby Family. The inventiveness of this core element is not captilised upon, however, resulting in uninspired action and repetitive gameplay. Peaky Blinders fans might find a few hours of entertainment but, overall, Mastermind is a missed opportunity.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is an average game at best. It features interesting puzzles and a decent enough art style, but the story feels shallow, offering nothing major to draw you in. It does feel like Peaky Blinders at face value and the puzzles, with the time-travel mechanics allowing you to create the perfect plan, makes you feel like you are part of one of Tommy Shelby's schemes, but this is still mostly superficial. It's short and inoffensive but, at the same time, it doesn't do anything to make it feel more than 'average'.

Peaky Blinders Mastermind could have been a great prequel and introductory game to the series with good puzzle design or it could have been a great real-time tactics game. But it never made the decision. It is neither one nor the other.

On paper, this should be a pretty solid heist game, but when you’re actually playing it, boredom is inevitable. This is more of a tutorial to a future game of grand master plans which you’re not allowed to play. What’s more, the missing voice acting is a real blow.

While Peaky Blinders: Mastermind has some style and a novel approach to puzzling, it's not enough to properly engage. It definitely clicks at times, and there are moments where solving a problem makes you feel like a meticulous planner. However, there aren’t the eureka moments you’d expect from better puzzles nor mechanics worth mastering in replays. It’s hard to recommend and it’s only for a niche of Peaky Blinders fans who want an average puzzler with a lot of dull micromanaging (if they even exist).

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is yet another proof of a famous licence put to no good. The game lacks it’s atmosphere from TV series and presents only boring logical gameplay with poorly executed controls.