Skip to main content

Dontnod’s upcoming mystery ‘Twin Mirrors’ should appeal to ‘Life is Strange’ fans

Twin Mirror

Dontnod Entertainment recently released the action-role-playing game Vampyr for consoles and PC, and the studio is also working on a follow-up to its hit Life is Strange. Now the studio has one more project in the works that should be right up any mystery fan’s alley. Twin Mirror is a disturbing new thriller set in a dark and depressing West Virginia coal town, but it still had Dontnod’s unique charm.

Revealed during a PlayStation pre-E3 presentation, Twin Mirror stars Sam, a man who returns to the town of Basswood, West Virginia after spending a year away. The recent death of Sam’s friend, a local journalist, has brought him back to the town, while a recent breakup has put him in a dark place. Before he has a chance to mend relationships in Basswood, Sam wakes in his hotel room to find his shirt covered in blood, leading to far more questions than answers.

Dontnod is being predictably vague about what happened to Sam or where his investigation will lead him, but Twin Mirror will contain similar narrative choices to that of Life is Strange or Vampyr.

Twin Mirror is a compelling journey that explores the elements of choice and hypocrisy, while paving a player’s way toward the conclusion of their investigation,” said Bandai Namco community specialist Cyrus Weston in a post on the PlayStation Blog.

The game’s first trailer used the tagline, “Your mind is the one place to find the truth,” suggesting that Sam’s investigation will largely be psychological. The game contains pieces of television shows like Twin Peaks and HBO’s The Night Of, but it appears there will be more supernatural elements, as well. We see Sam punch a ghost-like figure in the face in one scene, and later he walks across floating rocks and bridges.

Bandai Namco is the third publisher Dontnod is currently working with. While Square Enix published Life is Strange, the smaller Focus Home Interactive published Vampyr earlier this week.

Despite being announced at PlayStation’s event, Twin Mirror will release for Xbox One and PC in addition to PlayStation 4. The game is scheduled to arrive in 2019.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
This HP gaming PC just had its price slashed from $830 to only $530
The HP Victus 15L gaming PC on a desk.

You don't have to spend thousands of dollars right away on gaming PC deals if all you need is a starter machine, as there are cheap but reliable options like the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop. From its original price of $830, it's down to a more affordable $530 following a $300 discount from HP. We're not sure how much time is remaining on this offer though, so if you want to take advantage of it, there's no time to waste -- stop hesitating and proceed with the transaction as soon as possible.

Why you should buy the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop
The HP Victus 15L won't match up to the best gaming PCs in terms of its performance, as it's only equipped with the 12th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Intel Arc A380 Graphics, and 8GB of RAM. However, these specifications are enough to run the best PC games, though you'll have to sacrifice visual quality for some of the more demanding titles. That's not a bad trade-off for a gaming desktop this cheap, as you can also combine it with some of the more affordable choices from our roundup of monitor deals.

Read more
Naughty Dog devs suffer layoffs, reportedly impacting Last of Us multiplayer spinoff
Ellie looking concerned.

A new report revealed that Naughty Dog has ended several contracts it had with developers early, laying off around 25 developers. This had a negative impact on The Last of Us multiplayer game but, more importantly, is chillingly just the latest batch of layoffs in a rough couple of months for the video game industry.
These contracted developers were informed that their contracts were ending prematurely at the end of October and that they'd get no severance afterward, according to the report at Kotaku. Reportedly, most of these layoffs at Naughty Dog, PlayStation's darling studio that employs over 400 developers, come from the quality assurance, art, and production teams. According to Kotaku, Naughty Dog asked its developers to keep quiet about it. That didn't happen, though, with developers telling Kotaku not only about the layoffs but that the multiplayer The Last of Us game "while not completely canceled, is basically on ice at this point."
Concept art for Naughty Dog's Last of Us multiplayer title. Naughty Dog
These layoffs are unfortunate but sadly not uncommon for the game industry. Throughout the last few weeks, studios like Ubisoft, Creative Assembly, Ascendant Studios, and Epic Games have all laid off people. Epic, in particular, cut a whopping 16% of its workforce despite the fact that Fortnite is one of the most popular video games. Then, there are studios like Saints Row's Volition, support studio Puny Human, and Boomerang X's Dang are closing entirely.
Although 2023 has been a year full of fantastic games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, and Baldur's Gate 3, it's unfortunate that it has been so rough for the developers who actually make the games in this gigantic industry. It's clear something needs to change.

Read more
Every video game delay that has happened in 2023 so far
David Harbour and Jodie Comer in Alone in the Dark.

Few things feel as inevitable in the video game industry as delays. Ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, game delays have only become more and more common as developers find previously set timelines unrealistic and adjust their release plans accordingly. Three-fourths of the way through the year, we've already seen some notable AAA games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Skull & Bones, Pragmata, Alan Wake 2, and Alone in the Dark shift their release dates. Because video game release date delays are so common, it can be tough to keep track of every game that has had its launch date shifted in some way.
That's why, just as we did in 2021 and 2022, Digital Trends is rounding up every game delay that's announced throughout 2023. Here are the high-profile ones that have happened so far, listed chronologically by their new intended release dates.
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (March 16)

As Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is one of the best games for PlayStation VR, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR, Supermassive Games' PlayStation VR2 successor, is a highly anticipated launch title for the upcoming VR headset. Unfortunately, it will no longer make PlayStation VR2's February 22 launch and will instead be released on March 16. On Twitter, a message from Supermassive Games says this delay will ensure that players "receive the most polished, terrifying experience possible" at release. The game was released on that date to mixed reviews.
Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key (March 24)

Read more