The pacing is very disjointed in this sense. Once we’re whisked off to solve the murder of Higgs’ buddy, Twin Mirror barrels toward a conclusion without a whole lot of breathing room given to all the stuff on the periphery. Only a few of those relationships matter by the end, and the rest are never really spoken of again. That dissipated quickly because Dontnod isn’t able to build on that foundation. As someone who tries drawing the best out of all these situations, it almost felt insurmountable realizing the odds weren’t great that we could get to a place where Higgs restored his reputation with even a fraction of these people. Former bosses, former lovers, goddaughters, people who straight-up hate Higgs’ guts - everyone has an opinion and there’s a lot of conversation driving the first act. The opening hours of Twin Mirror set a very strong foundation with all the interpersonal relationships it introduces. Popularity isn’t priority number one for a good journalist. He’s a social pariah after the town’s coal mine was closed down after he ran an exposé in the local newspaper. Higgs had a good excuse for running away in the first place. Sam Higgs is an investigative journalist who returns to his hometown of Basswood, West Virginia following the death of one of his closest friends. Everything isn’t quite alright in the end. However, Twin Mirror is also Dontnod’s first self-published game and that might be the reason it falls short of its promise. In a lot of ways, it feels like Alan Wake by way of Life is Strange. Twin Mirror is Dontnod’s first attempt at explicitly leaning into the psychological thriller label, something it toyed with in previous games but never outright committed to. The French developer loves examining personal relationships, amplifying them through the lens of a much larger conflict, and then heaping an avalanche of emotion on top of it all. That’s Dontnod’s MO, and everyone should know it by now. Things have gone from bad to worse, from unfortunate to bizarre, and from Kinda Suspect to Super Murdery.
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