Blackwood Crossing Review

• Game: Blackwood Crossing
• Developer: Paper Seven
• Publisher: Vision Games
• Price: - $15.99
• Size: - 4.29 GB
• Release Date: Out now
• For More Info - http://www.blackwoodcrossing.com/

For a few years now, narrative-cut games have become genre in their own right, centering on telling stories over and above mechanically playable. This is something that happens with several visual novels, walk simulators or even Telltale Games titles. Sometimes, some games try to offer to tell some interesting argument, and the rest of type of puzzles so that we feel that they have weight in the adventure, and not only mere spectators.

We will take control of Scarlett, Finn's older sister, with whom she is on a most peculiar train journey. At first it seems that the young man only wants to play a little with his sister, but as we will soon discover, this train trip is anything but normal.

Duration

The game works very well, but if there is one aspect in which Blackwood Crossing pricks big, that is in the duration. The game can be easily completed in about 90-120 minutes without overdoing it. Maybe it will last a little longer if we do not solve a puzzle (which is complicated), and this duration would be less if we could make Scarlett run instead of walking so slowly.

In a unique game, we will be able to discover everything that the game offers, including hidden collectibles and all the achievements. Being such a narrative title, once you have completed it there is hardly any incentive to go back, since there are no alternative paths or anything like that.

Gameplay

The whole argument of Blackwood Crossing we will discover in a mixture between adventure and walking simulator. However, it´s a very guided experience, walking a little on the stage, having to solve a simple puzzle, and again to continue walking another bit. It´s a good combination between both genres, so there is nothing especially complicated that prevents us from discovering the story. This is good and bad according to the tastes of each one, but in this case they have done quite well, since the puzzles have a lot to do with the story.

A rather recurring type of puzzle, is to relate characters in the right order. We will meet several people from the surroundings of Finn and Scarlett who are paralyzed in time and wearing a mask. By interacting with them, we can listen to part of the conversation they are having with another character, and we will have to relate them so that the conversation makes sense based on what they say and the position they have. Then we can see how his dialogue continues, which helps to understand the whole story.

Graphics & Design

In the visual, Blackwood Crossing is at a fairly high level, but with nuances. The use of the Unity engine is noticeable, and as is too common in consoles, performance is not ideal, there are times when the game hits any other pull, plus loading times may be lower to make the experience more fluid.

Despite these problems, we can enjoy a sensational artistic style, reminiscent of a Pixar film. The facial expressions of Finn and his animations are also at a very high level, something key to being the character that we will see more in the whole adventure.

Something I like is that, unlike in other first-person narrative-cut games, we physically control Scarlett. That is, we can see his body when we look down, and even the objects with which to perform some action will be in his hand. This gives a greater sense of immersion, which is key to really making us feel like we are on this crazy trip.

Conclusion

Blackwood Crossing is a rather good narrative adventure, which tells an intriguing, emotive story that engages from beginning to end. The relationship between these two brothers is explored beautifully, and the conclusion is really satisfactory. Even puzzles, although extremely simple, help to enhance the narrative, which is always a plus. Adding a pretty good technical section (with some performance problems on consoles) and a fantastic dub, it seems that we have all the ingredients to have a game highly recommended.

Unfortunately, the duration is a pretty poor aspect, and is that you can beat the whole game in just two hours. This is going to throw back many users, and it´s definitely the most negative part of the game. If your brevity does not matter to you, you will enjoy an endearing story and two brothers to whom we will take great affection.