If you wanted a game inspired by Silent Hill and Stranger Things, this is the game for you.
Mirror Forge
Publishers: MystiveDev, DreadXP
Developer: MystiveDev
December 6, 2022
I’ve never played a Silent Hill game in my life, but I have watched others play them, as well as watch the movies (mainly the first one), and let me tell you, I got some serious Silent Hill vibes from this game. And lo and behold, the developer was inspired by said franchise. You can tell how much love the developer has for that game, as well as the other inspiration, Stranger Things. A wonderful, and creative, combination for a psychological horror game.
You play as the protagonist who we discover right at the beginning, is an amnesiac. Something happened in his past that he can no longer remember, which involved him crashing a bus… with children on board. Now, his ex-girlfriend is missing, three buses filled with children have gone missing, and it appears monsters are roaming the streets. Also, you travel through portals to another realm altogether. Surely none of this is good for someone trying to move passed trauma. Already you can see the Silent Hill influence. A man placed in a world where he must figure out his past, involving creatures that are representative of things in his life. Freaking awesome, if I do say so myself. And the Stranger Things vibes from the alternate realities are cool, too.
controls
I’m a simple game enthusiast. If the game has too many controls, my interest wans, as I become focused on more on how I move, than the actual story. Thankfully, the controls for Mirror Forge aren’t complicated. It has the usual WASD and mouse controls, along with inventory buttons. All-in-all, simple to play, and simple to remember, which is great for a scatterbrain like myself.
artstyle
You know I gotta comment on the art-style. The graphics are pretty cool. They aren’t super hi-res, with fluid motions, which honestly works for this game overall. With the Silent Hill vibes, the graphics match perfectly from the games of years past. It felt a little retro, and gamers are becoming attracted to that style again. You don’t need cinema levels of graphics to make a good game. Sometimes good controls and an engaging story is all you need. But this is making it sound like the graphics are horrible – they’re not. They’re great!
I’ve played games hosted by DreadXP before, and I have to say, they know what they’re doing. They can sense a good game when they see one. If you’re curious about their taste in horror, check out our review on the Dread X Collection 5!
All-in-all, a fantastic game, with a compelling story.