Twin Mirror Critic Reviews

While the premise of a small town beset by dark secrets is far from original, thanks to an intriguing story with some decent twists, interesting and well-written characters, and improved investigative gameplay, DONTNOD manages to deliver another compelling experience with Twin Mirror.

DONTNOD’s self-publishing debut is a worthwhile experience. Twin Mirror is anchored by a fascinating, unraveling mystery and its complex relationships between characters. Though our protagonist feels a bit generic, his unique abilities add a solid spice to gameplay. DONTNOD continues to be an expert at crafting unique and engaging stories.

Twin Mirror won't win any awards for creativity or interesting narrative choices, but it's strong themes that tie the entire experience together make it well worth the price of admission.

Dontnod Entertainment delivers a great adventure based on the same elements we loved in Life is Strange or Tell Me Why; a good story, full of complex characters and adult themes. The main addition to the formula, The mind palace, works great for mystery solving.

Twin Mirror is, so far, the sum of all Dontnod's strengths: it develops and extends major elements from Life is Strange, Remember Me and Vampyr, merging them altogether to deliver a fine thriller.

Ambitious and extremely intelligent in creating a playful and narrative system that is always coherent, Twin Mirror proved to be a fascinating title.

Twin Mirror is Dontnod's most mature and psychological game. His story and Sam's background are able to keep us until the end to know what the conclusion will be.

The gameplay is occasionally wonky, some of the more elaborate storytelling devices don’t land, and Sam is (deliberately) unlikable. However, Twin Mirror has a powerful story and it puts you in direct control of where it leads. If you play your narrative adventures for the narrative, Twin Mirror has the plotline for you.

Twin Mirror is a fun, pulp detective story filled with interesting plot beats and characters, hampered only by the inclusion of strange mini-games and a really boring central character.

Quotation forthcoming.

Twin Mirror is an interesting twist It has fabulous ideas such as the metaphorical and visual representation of the character's mental problems, Without the episodic format ends up offering a very run-down story in which more restraint is needed to delve into the characters and their relationships.

Twin Mirror tries to improve the formula that Dontnod has previously provided with success through works of the caliber of Life is Strange or Tell Me Why. The gameplay follows closely everything the developer has already done many times before, and it will undoubtedly convince fans of the genre, although its length and predictability do harm it overall.

Twin Mirror is a psychological thriller with a pleasant gameplay and excellent characters but which, unfortunately, suffers from a too hasty and superficial script.

Twin Mirror is DONTNOD's most experimental work in a long time, though it also pales in comparison to previous outings.

Twin Mirror is not Dontnod's most daring project. Even the most innovative gameplay elements deviate little from the beaten track or only partially succeed. As a shorter, more streamlined adventure with a grim atmosphere, it's also a great snack.

Twin Mirror is in many ways the natural evolution of the Dontnod narrative adventure. It combines the reconstruction aspect from their debut, Remember Me, with the cinematic and narrative focus of Life is Strange. It is a very polished game, but it left me wanting more in a few areas and I didn't feel like I was having a true impact on the story's outcome. It will definitely appeal to genre fans but it never quite develops its own clear identity. Ironically enough, it feels like a hazy reflection of what it could have been.

As DONTNOD’s first self-published game, the effort that’s gone into Twin Mirror’s world building should be commended. Between the added gameplay elements introduced by The Double and Sam’s Mind Palace, not to mention the colourful cast of characters living in Basswood, Twin Mirror had my attention from the get-go, but its short length prevents it from delivering an emotional journey comparable with anything the studio has done before.

Its brevity aside, Twin Mirror is an investigative thriller worth playing. A more grown-up story than Dontnod’s other narrative endeavours, it’ll keep you glued to your screen as you unravel its dark mysteries. Sam is an intriguing and complex protagonist, and the people he meets along the way are equally rich and realistic. It’s just hard to shake that feeling of disappointment, though, when it all gets wrapped up a bit too quickly.

Relying on great narrative ideas, Twin Mirror turns out to be less compelling on the gameplay side, especially during the investigation sequences. The main plot is not very captivating as the real focus of the game is put on the moral dilemmas of Sam, with the Double and the Mind Palace, manifestations of its mental wanderings.

A dramatic, emotive and affecting interactive drama that shows Dontnod are still the masters of branching narrative and serious-minded storytelling.