Blackwood Crossing tells the story of the orphan brother and sister, Scarlett and Finn, who’s life changes drastically on what seems to be a usual everyday train ride. Suddenly, a very dream-like sequence takes place of the ordinary, and you start feeling a bit surreal things take turn for the macabre.
I have recently had a chance to wet my toes – and not much more – in the Beta Version of this game. Aside from the generic problems that all betas have, there was a specific atmosphere that reminded me somewhat of Donnie Darko, but minus the darkened intensity. Well, at least for the beginning – the demo lasts only for a short period of time and I was asked not to go too far into the story in order to not create any spoilers. So I kept the recorded video under 15 minutes to give you guys an impression of the game itself, without even narrating it.
Mysterious creature appears. Reference to the White Rabbit or Donnie Darko?
You are playing the sister, Scarlett (you can get a glimpse of yourself when you approach a window or mirror), who is looking for Finn in the train, and it gets weird real fast – Finn keeps disappearing, teasing you, odd people wearing animal masks start appearing, including a boy with a rabbit’s mask (hence the Donnie Darko vibe, I guess), and all of this happens in the limited part of the train where the game starts. Interacting with other characters can be clumsy, you need to wait until they are done with their dialogue to get the idea if you can interact with them at all. It seems pretty obvious that the game was built in mind to be played on a controller, but if the story turns out well, I have no doubt that there will be a lot of PC audience willing to give it a chance.
It is impossible to give any assessment right now, but the story just might be the deciding factor concerning the game’s success. For that reason, I will simply let you check out the video and get the impression of beta; the complete version should be in our hands in a month or two, and then I will get back to you with the full review.
The game is developed by ex-Disney’s Black Rock Studio folks and Oliver Reid-Smith, the author of The Room. The game itself should be out beginning 2017 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
