In March of this year, Bremen-based developer King Art Games announced completion of the concept phase for the sequel to The Black Mirror, one of the most successful adventures in the last couple of years. Afterwards, publisher dtp assigned further development to Cranberry Productions, which originated under the name 4Head-Studios. At this year's Games Convention, we were shown the first gameplay scenes from the sequel, which takes place twelve years after the events of Black Mirror and is intended to appeal to more than just the fans of the first game from 2004.

In Black Mirror 2, physics student Darren works at a little photo store in Biddeford, a coastal town in the state of Maine. He's known as a reclusive loner and is only able to bear with his dislikeable boss Fuller because of his love of photography. One day, a young English girl enters Fuller's shop and catches Darren's eye. However, his morose boss makes sure that the two of them don't come too close to each other. Watching her leave the store, the student notices someone following the beautiful Angelina. When she subsequently goes missing and his boss seems to be somehow connected, Darren wants revenge, determined that Fuller should pay. From this point on, Darren is plagued by horrible nightmares which will eventually lead him to a small town in England: Willow Creek, residence of Black Mirror Castle...

The original plan to develop Black Mirror 2 completely in 3D was dropped early in development. Fans of the first game in particular will thank the developer, as the game looks great and manages to keep the visual style of its predecessor. The pre-rendered backgrounds and the 3D characters are elaborately designed and left us with the same good impression as the graphics engine, which was specifically developed for Black Mirror 2. According to the developer, players will be able to explore about 150 scenes during their adventure. However, many backgrounds are still only basic drafts at the moment, and will be implemented into the game over time. Still, if the unfinished parts of the game turn out to have the same level of quality we saw in the nearly finished locations, there won't be anything to complain about in terms of visuals.

Like in Black Mirror, it will be possible to visit some locations during both day and night. The scenes at night or at dawn in particular look very atmospheric: a cottage by the sea in hazy weather, blanketed by wafts of mist and blue-gray light, emits an eerie and cold atmosphere. During daytime, the same scene looks a bit more inviting once the authentic coastal town is drenched in sunlight. But even then, the developers managed to inject the scenery with a bleak and oppressive ambience. A prime example of this is Fuller's photo store, which made us feel like we could actually inhale its stale and moldy air.

Another thing we really liked was one of the scrollable backgrounds, which spanned three screens. Several such backgrounds are supposed to find their way into the game. The one shown to us consisted of a rather big plaza in Biddeford, which already looked alive despite the lack of animated objects, light and shadow effects. On the other hand, Black Mirror Castle, a location already known from the game's predecessor, looked a bit more advanced. However, players of the first game won't just experience a déjà vu, but will also enjoy the improved level of detail, wincing at every thunderbolt that illuminates the castle's interior with brilliant light. Apart from the castle, many other locations from Black Mirror will also return, for example the town of Willow Creek and the town church along with its cemetery.

The developers are well aware that they won't please many players, especially fans of the first game, by experimenting too much. This was also the reason why they decided to go back to 2.5D and keep the control scheme from the first game. Even the cursor's shape and its functions have been retained completely. In terms of music, the developer also looked at the first game for inspiration. While the pieces of music from its predecessor have been freshened up and remixed, the new game will also feature new songs in the same vein.

Concerning puzzles, the plan is also to stick to the original game’s formula. Aside from inventory and dialog puzzles, switch puzzles will also make a return. However, the developer doesn't plan to resort to especially complex slider puzzles or riddles that the player won't be able to solve without special knowledge or external help, something the first game's zodiac puzzle was criticized for. Also noteworthy is that the logic puzzles, which didn't meet favorably with many players of the first game, are now supposed to be skippable. The game's structure will be strictly linear, as well as its story, which will again be divided into chapters.

Black Mirror 2 will also dispense with unpopular “features” like the delayed availability of hotspots or specific events that only happen after moving through a certain number of screens. One thing the game will retain, though, is the possibility of the protagonist dying at specific times. However, while it was possible to unknowingly walk into such situations in the first game, making it necessary to load a game and repeat tasks one already completed, Black Mirror 2 will feature auto saves before such specific events to avoid stressing the player needlessly.

While players will once again be able to take photos, it is not known yet how relevant this feature will be to gameplay. Currently, it is planned that players will be able to unlock extras like artwork and the like by taking photos of certain buildings and items. One other aspect a Black Mirror game just wouldn't be the same without is the odd murder now and then. Since unnatural deaths inherently include a gruesome element, publisher dtp anticipates an FSK 16 rating in Germany (equivalent to a Mature rating in the US). Last but not least, one other aspect of Black Mirror is supposed to make its way into the sequel: the long play time. Whether Cranberry Productions will be able to keep this boastful promise or not will have to be seen.

What we saw of Black Mirror 2 looked very promising. It's obvious that the developers are conscious of Black Mirror's level of quality they need to live up to, and they’re taking care not to disappoint. Designing the game in 2.5D seems to have been the right decision to make, as current screenshots resemble Black Mirror much more closely than the first ones in 3D did.

It will be interesting to see how the story of the first game will be integrated into its sequel. Both the trailer for the new game and Willow Creek's former photo store-turned-museum (featuring a waxworks display of the murders from twelve years earlier) promise many references to its predecessor, and a poster at the GC booth featuring Darren seeing Samuel Gordon in a mirror also suggests a link between the two games' stories.

Unlike the discarded 3D engine of developer King Art, whose current title The Book of Unwritten Tales was also received very well at the convention, their preliminary work on content was integrated into the project. Furthermore, while Future Games, creator of the original Black Mirror, is not actively taking part in the development, Cranberry Productions have now and then been asking for advice from the Czech developers.

The remaining development of Black Mirror 2 is supposed to take one more year – a long stretch of time in which much may happen. However, we think the developer is on the right path and are looking forward to the game's release.


This article was originally published on the German website Adventure-Treff. It has been translated and reprinted here with permission. Translation provided by Max Ledwon.