Wow, the series just keeps getting better. I liked the stronger noir vibes in Unbound, but everything else about Convergence was another step forward.
Most importantly, there were no puzzles that made me feel like I needed to mind meld with Dave Gilbert to solve. That's a big sticking point for me in the point and click genre, so it was nice to avoid for once. They also finally let you ask your spirit partner for a tip on what to do next if your stuck, which is really nice for the times when you suspect you missed something but aren't sure where you're best off spending your time looking. I had to pay attention, but I was never frustrated, so the gameplay was spot on for my preferences.
The story delves a bit deeper into the universe's lore and is even more introspective with the characters motivations and emotional states. The character writing and voice acting remain strong points for the game. As with the previous Blackwell games, it does a lot with a very short 3 hour run time.
The art moves to a higher resolution while maintaining the same overall style, which I enjoyed. The music brought in quite a bit of jazz influences from the second game, while largely returning to the more modern sound track of the first game. Very well done.
Most importantly, there were no puzzles that made me feel like I needed to mind meld with Dave Gilbert to solve. That's a big sticking point for me in the point and click genre, so it was nice to avoid for once. They also finally let you ask your spirit partner for a tip on what to do next if your stuck, which is really nice for the times when you suspect you missed something but aren't sure where you're best off spending your time looking. I had to pay attention, but I was never frustrated, so the gameplay was spot on for my preferences.
The story delves a bit deeper into the universe's lore and is even more introspective with the characters motivations and emotional states. The character writing and voice acting remain strong points for the game. As with the previous Blackwell games, it does a lot with a very short 3 hour run time.
The art moves to a higher resolution while maintaining the same overall style, which I enjoyed. The music brought in quite a bit of jazz influences from the second game, while largely returning to the more modern sound track of the first game. Very well done.
Oproti „druhému“ dílu zlepšení po všech stránkách, ale oproti prvnímu ústupek v délce i obtížnosti (a to rozhodně nešlo o kdovíjak dlouhý či náročný titul). Dvě originální mechaniky (propojování vodítek v bloku a fingování rozhovorů pro možnost dialogů s Joeym mezi lidmi), které to nejvíce odlišovaly od zástupu tuctových XY indie adventur, jsou ty tam. Zbývá sympatické duo hlavních hrdinů a jejich vzájemná škorpící se chemie a… A to je tak nějak vše.
In this game, you can see how the series has improved the in-game art and somewhat looks better than Gemini Rue, though I had no idea which one is better. A very fun game with same controls as last time, only now you can't combine notes in the note book and draw up conclusions.
Nice point and click game. A bit longer than the first in the series. Took me about 3 and a half hours to finish. THan I played it again with the commentary, which is interesting to listen to. Do recommend. Will probably play again.
The most polished and cogent iteration in this series, with puzzles that didn't require any leaps of logic and UX that is now coming together. The overall story leaves something to be desired still, but the moment-to-moment case work is interesting enough.
i like the idea of using joseph mitchell and joe gould as key characters in this game but did no one think about how having three characters name joseph, joe, and joey would be a little confusing
My favourite in the series so far. The puzzles were engaging without requiring so much effort as to distract from the narrative. I was a bit saddened that this time the combination of notes—a main mechanic of past titles—was abandoned. On one hand, sure, it was very easy to brute force combine everything to see if anything stuck together, but on the other…it was a nice. The "hint" system (asking Joey what to do next) worked very well too, giving just enough information instead of spoiling things.
The story itself was interesting, tying up very nicely with the prequel even as it indicates a way forward that is neither a repetition of what has happened so far, nor provided of actual new information. I am particularly interested in how, at the bottom of it, the series keeps coming back to the idea of communication and the effects of its breakdown.
The story itself was interesting, tying up very nicely with the prequel even as it indicates a way forward that is neither a repetition of what has happened so far, nor provided of actual new information. I am particularly interested in how, at the bottom of it, the series keeps coming back to the idea of communication and the effects of its breakdown.
This review contains spoilers
So far, i feel like this was the weakest game from the series, mainly due to some writing problems.
Gameplays, puzzles, graphics, all of that maintains the same quality of the predecessors. But the story has some flaws. Once you discover all that story about the death scientist whose project was stolen by the rival company, it starts to feel like you're playing another game. It doesn't feel coherent at all. See, the cases of the actor and the painter are very well connected, one leads to the other, it's pretty well written until that part. Then, the case of the scientist isn't very well introduced. I feels like you just found it by chance, out of pure luck, and casually, it was related to the other two cases, but it's not introduced properly. Then all the ending with the link and the oven and that spacial cafe, it felt a bit forced honestly. That second half of the game suffers from many incoherences in my opinion.
The music isn't as good as it was on The Blackwell Unbound (Seriously, music in Unbound sounds like it was written by Angelo Badalamenti), and also the final track was just pure cringe. It was like Nickelback with female vocals.
I guess that if you played the two games before this one, and you liked them, you'll definitely end up playing this one at some point. And if you haven't you'll obviously should play them before playing this one, so it's not really about recommending it or not.
EDIT: After some thought, i realised that this game basically pulls a "Hitchcock's Vertigo" in it's story. The moment when you reach what seems to be a dead-end, and after that, you found the scientist case almost, which by pure chance was actually related to the other cases; Well, that's actually what happens in Vertigo during the second half, it's actually one of it's distinctive marks in terms of storytelling. That formula has actually been replicated in other hitchcockian films by other filmmakers, like "Body Double" and "Obsession", both films by Brian DePalma. Not sure why i didn't realise this earler, but somehow The Blackwell Convergences turned out to be a HItchcockian game.
Gameplays, puzzles, graphics, all of that maintains the same quality of the predecessors. But the story has some flaws. Once you discover all that story about the death scientist whose project was stolen by the rival company, it starts to feel like you're playing another game. It doesn't feel coherent at all. See, the cases of the actor and the painter are very well connected, one leads to the other, it's pretty well written until that part. Then, the case of the scientist isn't very well introduced. I feels like you just found it by chance, out of pure luck, and casually, it was related to the other two cases, but it's not introduced properly. Then all the ending with the link and the oven and that spacial cafe, it felt a bit forced honestly. That second half of the game suffers from many incoherences in my opinion.
The music isn't as good as it was on The Blackwell Unbound (Seriously, music in Unbound sounds like it was written by Angelo Badalamenti), and also the final track was just pure cringe. It was like Nickelback with female vocals.
I guess that if you played the two games before this one, and you liked them, you'll definitely end up playing this one at some point. And if you haven't you'll obviously should play them before playing this one, so it's not really about recommending it or not.
EDIT: After some thought, i realised that this game basically pulls a "Hitchcock's Vertigo" in it's story. The moment when you reach what seems to be a dead-end, and after that, you found the scientist case almost, which by pure chance was actually related to the other cases; Well, that's actually what happens in Vertigo during the second half, it's actually one of it's distinctive marks in terms of storytelling. That formula has actually been replicated in other hitchcockian films by other filmmakers, like "Body Double" and "Obsession", both films by Brian DePalma. Not sure why i didn't realise this earler, but somehow The Blackwell Convergences turned out to be a HItchcockian game.
All of the Blackwell games merge together in my head, so the rating for each individual game can be thought of as a series rating.
All of the Blackwell games are well-made PnC adventures with interesting stories and puzzles. The series manages to pull of a 5-game storyline fairly well and it's one of the first series of games I would recommend for anybody looking to get into PnC games.
All of the Blackwell games are well-made PnC adventures with interesting stories and puzzles. The series manages to pull of a 5-game storyline fairly well and it's one of the first series of games I would recommend for anybody looking to get into PnC games.
Sights & Sounds
- After a pair of games with some pretty mediocre pixel art, Blackwell Unbound finally manages to be easier on the eyes. The environment and character art see some notable improvements here
- The soundtrack is as good as ever. The walking basslines and wailing saxes bring those noir undertones to the foreground. Seriously, the saxophonist was on point the entire time
- The VA work is of the same amateurish quality as the previous two titles in this series. It sounds like a bunch of community theater people with those snowball mics from 2004
Story & Vibes
- The narrative makes a big step forward this time. The cases in the previous games sometimes felt a little disjointed or wandering despite their short runtimes. Here, though, the initial mysteries all blend together in a satisfying (if slightly telegraphed) climax
- The vibes become a little more tense this time around as some cracks begin to widen in Joey and Rosangela's partnership. They tend to be more curt and frustrated with each other in their dialogue, and by the end of the game, it becomes apparent that Joey isn't being totally upfront about his history
- As a result, there's a certain sense of unease that permeates this act of Blackwell
Playability & Replayability
- It's a point-and-click adventure game. You know the drill
- As such, there's not too many comments I can make on this front. I will say that the puzzle design is fairly bad in this game. The answer to several puzzles involves using the search engine on your computer. "Just Google it" is never a satisfying solution
- Probably not circling back to this one; I'd rather see where the story is headed in the next two games
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I'm invested because I'm interested to see where the story goes, but even after closing the book on the Blackwell series' third game, I'm beginning to wonder whether all the good elements are ever going to come together at once. A game with the personality of Legacy, the puzzles of Unbound, and the cohesiveness of Convergence would be really good, but as it stands, these have all been 6-7/10 games so far
- I played it on the Steam Deck; the trackpads make point and clicks really easy to play on the couch
Final Verdict
- 6/10. I'm continuing to keep my hopes up that I'll eventually really like a game in this series. I like the premise and the overarching story, but Convergence fails to impress as it moves the franchise forward
- After a pair of games with some pretty mediocre pixel art, Blackwell Unbound finally manages to be easier on the eyes. The environment and character art see some notable improvements here
- The soundtrack is as good as ever. The walking basslines and wailing saxes bring those noir undertones to the foreground. Seriously, the saxophonist was on point the entire time
- The VA work is of the same amateurish quality as the previous two titles in this series. It sounds like a bunch of community theater people with those snowball mics from 2004
Story & Vibes
- The narrative makes a big step forward this time. The cases in the previous games sometimes felt a little disjointed or wandering despite their short runtimes. Here, though, the initial mysteries all blend together in a satisfying (if slightly telegraphed) climax
- The vibes become a little more tense this time around as some cracks begin to widen in Joey and Rosangela's partnership. They tend to be more curt and frustrated with each other in their dialogue, and by the end of the game, it becomes apparent that Joey isn't being totally upfront about his history
- As a result, there's a certain sense of unease that permeates this act of Blackwell
Playability & Replayability
- It's a point-and-click adventure game. You know the drill
- As such, there's not too many comments I can make on this front. I will say that the puzzle design is fairly bad in this game. The answer to several puzzles involves using the search engine on your computer. "Just Google it" is never a satisfying solution
- Probably not circling back to this one; I'd rather see where the story is headed in the next two games
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I'm invested because I'm interested to see where the story goes, but even after closing the book on the Blackwell series' third game, I'm beginning to wonder whether all the good elements are ever going to come together at once. A game with the personality of Legacy, the puzzles of Unbound, and the cohesiveness of Convergence would be really good, but as it stands, these have all been 6-7/10 games so far
- I played it on the Steam Deck; the trackpads make point and clicks really easy to play on the couch
Final Verdict
- 6/10. I'm continuing to keep my hopes up that I'll eventually really like a game in this series. I like the premise and the overarching story, but Convergence fails to impress as it moves the franchise forward
Third instalment of the mystery solving sereis. You can see the lore expanding and how it ties the previous entries together in an effective way.
Played on Steam Deck
Played on Steam Deck
It's tricky for me to review these games individually, but this one was just as excellent as the rest...really where the series truly got going
Pretty good, although 2 and 4 are my favourites.
Convergence is a proper ending to the trilogy, tying up the lose ends nicely, which makes me wonder what the last two game in the series could be about. Puzzle solving is clearly not the focus of the game.
Completed with 100% of achievements unlocked. Each game in the Blackwell series of point-and-click adventures is fairly short - completion is typically possible in 2-3 hours - but this means that they lend themselves to being seen as individual chapters of a wider story. The games follow Rosangela Blackwell, a spirit medium (or in Blackwell Unbound, her aunt) and her spirit guide, Joey, as they investigate various supernatural mysteries. Each scenario presents an intriguing story that maintains interest throughout, and beyond that, there's an ongoing plot between the games that's especially fascinating to see play out. In contrast to many point-and-click adventures, the primary puzzle-solving tool comes from dialog rather than item manipulation, a mechanic that works very well and suits the detective/investigator role that Rosangela typically takes.
Beyond actually playing the games, it's interesting to see how the game mechanics develop from game to game, as well as gradual improvements in graphical style. These is highlighted further by the inclusion of a commentary mode, a feature now common to games from Wadjet Eye, which brings with it some interesting (and occasionally, amusing) insights to the design and development process - I'd definitely recommend a playthrough in this mode to anyone with an interest in game design.
Beyond actually playing the games, it's interesting to see how the game mechanics develop from game to game, as well as gradual improvements in graphical style. These is highlighted further by the inclusion of a commentary mode, a feature now common to games from Wadjet Eye, which brings with it some interesting (and occasionally, amusing) insights to the design and development process - I'd definitely recommend a playthrough in this mode to anyone with an interest in game design.
Really well put together story with interesting characters. The various stories intertwine nicely and the ending is very satisfying.
Without a doubt the easiest and shortest game in the series thus far. It was alright.
This is where the Blackwell series truly starts to come into its own, in my opinion. The gameplay systems are more solid from here on out in addition to the development of the casts and overall universe.
There's also the incredible rainy atmosphere throughout. I'm always here for that.
There's also the incredible rainy atmosphere throughout. I'm always here for that.