Sights & Sounds
- As we hit the fourth game of the series, it's been interesting to see how Dave Gilbert/Wadjet Eye have toyed with the visual style of the Blackwell series. With each entry, the pixel art character models and environments have gotten just a little more detailed and refined, bringing more and more personality to this digital rendition of NYC
- As a minor note, I'm not a huge fan in the pivot to drawn character portraits over pixel art. Joey admittedly benefits from it, but Rosa's portrait looks a bit amateurish and less like her depiction in the previous games
- The soundtrack is a definite downgrade. The noir-y jazz has been shitcanned in favor of generic-sounding synth and drums. I've always loved the music in this series, so the tracks here were a big disappointment
Story & Vibes
- Audiovisual gripes aside, the writing has taken a huge leap forward in this game. I'm not totally sure of what happened in the two years separating Convergence and Deception, but Mr. Gilbert definitely developed some ideas and decided to really ramp up a few plotlines
- I won't delve too deeply into spoilers as that would be a massive disservice to the game, but a few hints dropped about something larger and more sinister going on behind the scenes in Unbound and Convergence definitely come to the fore in Deception
- In some ways, those two previous entries I mentioned felt like the series was shuffling its feet. I guess I know now that they served as important setup for this game (and presumably the final game in the series as well). I don't know if that revelation necessarily makes those two titles retroactively better, but it at least justifies their existence in the Blackwell pantheon
- Given that the series deals heavily with things like ghosts and the afterlife, I'm surprised that this is the first time that the series has actually felt creepy. The final plot sequence is actually pretty exciting
- If there's any blemish on Deception's writing, it has to involve the setup for the game's final dialogue puzzle. To motivate that puzzle, Rosa undergoes a change that completely contradicts the depiction of her personality up to this point in the series. The annoying part is that it could have seemed plausible. Had the game done a better job a) emphasizing the severity of Rosa and Joey's conflict, b) making Rosa seem more vulnerable, or c) making the villain seem more dangerous, then it could have made sense. Instead, it just felt a little upsetting. Rosa is such a badass throughout the whole series; why is she suddenly so weak? And why does the reason for her temporary personality change occur offscreen?
- In any case, that's the only part that ruined the vibes. Like the previous titles, Deception is high on mystery and intrigue, but it also adds a layer of excitement that was sorely missing in the two immediately predicting games
Playability & Replayability
- It is a point-and-click. Name's on the tin. You know what's inside
- I may replay this game in the future if I decide to revisit the series down the road. I wouldn't replay the whole series, but this game would definitely be part of it
Overall Impressions & Performance
- It's nice to see the Blackwell universe finally start to kick off, even if I had to play 60% of the franchise to get to this point. These aren't very long games, so it's easier to stomach the time investment for this payoff. One thing's certain: I'm really excited to see the what's in store for the series' conclusion in Epiphany
Final Verdict
- 8/10. The soundtrack is a disappointment and there is one glaring story flaw, but Deception is definitely the highlight of the series to this point. If you've enjoyed the prior games in the series to this point, there's no reason to stop; Deception is when things go from "merely interesting" to "actually great"
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My Perpetual Steam Game Giveaway is, as its name implies, still going on! Just added some new stuff too. Go get you a game; all you have to do is review it. Kinda what this site is all about.
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With a rating over 7/10 and under 1000 reviews on Steam, this title earned a spot on my Hidden Gems list.
- As we hit the fourth game of the series, it's been interesting to see how Dave Gilbert/Wadjet Eye have toyed with the visual style of the Blackwell series. With each entry, the pixel art character models and environments have gotten just a little more detailed and refined, bringing more and more personality to this digital rendition of NYC
- As a minor note, I'm not a huge fan in the pivot to drawn character portraits over pixel art. Joey admittedly benefits from it, but Rosa's portrait looks a bit amateurish and less like her depiction in the previous games
- The soundtrack is a definite downgrade. The noir-y jazz has been shitcanned in favor of generic-sounding synth and drums. I've always loved the music in this series, so the tracks here were a big disappointment
Story & Vibes
- Audiovisual gripes aside, the writing has taken a huge leap forward in this game. I'm not totally sure of what happened in the two years separating Convergence and Deception, but Mr. Gilbert definitely developed some ideas and decided to really ramp up a few plotlines
- I won't delve too deeply into spoilers as that would be a massive disservice to the game, but a few hints dropped about something larger and more sinister going on behind the scenes in Unbound and Convergence definitely come to the fore in Deception
- In some ways, those two previous entries I mentioned felt like the series was shuffling its feet. I guess I know now that they served as important setup for this game (and presumably the final game in the series as well). I don't know if that revelation necessarily makes those two titles retroactively better, but it at least justifies their existence in the Blackwell pantheon
- Given that the series deals heavily with things like ghosts and the afterlife, I'm surprised that this is the first time that the series has actually felt creepy. The final plot sequence is actually pretty exciting
- If there's any blemish on Deception's writing, it has to involve the setup for the game's final dialogue puzzle. To motivate that puzzle, Rosa undergoes a change that completely contradicts the depiction of her personality up to this point in the series. The annoying part is that it could have seemed plausible. Had the game done a better job a) emphasizing the severity of Rosa and Joey's conflict, b) making Rosa seem more vulnerable, or c) making the villain seem more dangerous, then it could have made sense. Instead, it just felt a little upsetting. Rosa is such a badass throughout the whole series; why is she suddenly so weak? And why does the reason for her temporary personality change occur offscreen?
- In any case, that's the only part that ruined the vibes. Like the previous titles, Deception is high on mystery and intrigue, but it also adds a layer of excitement that was sorely missing in the two immediately predicting games
Playability & Replayability
- It is a point-and-click. Name's on the tin. You know what's inside
- I may replay this game in the future if I decide to revisit the series down the road. I wouldn't replay the whole series, but this game would definitely be part of it
Overall Impressions & Performance
- It's nice to see the Blackwell universe finally start to kick off, even if I had to play 60% of the franchise to get to this point. These aren't very long games, so it's easier to stomach the time investment for this payoff. One thing's certain: I'm really excited to see the what's in store for the series' conclusion in Epiphany
Final Verdict
- 8/10. The soundtrack is a disappointment and there is one glaring story flaw, but Deception is definitely the highlight of the series to this point. If you've enjoyed the prior games in the series to this point, there's no reason to stop; Deception is when things go from "merely interesting" to "actually great"
----------
My Perpetual Steam Game Giveaway is, as its name implies, still going on! Just added some new stuff too. Go get you a game; all you have to do is review it. Kinda what this site is all about.
----------
With a rating over 7/10 and under 1000 reviews on Steam, this title earned a spot on my Hidden Gems list.
I can't tell which game in the series I like more, this one or "Epiphany"...it's really close, at any rate
👾 The Blackwell Deception (🇺🇸 2011)
Another solid graphic adventure on the Blackwell series. It doesn’t build much on the lore of the previous entries though. Enjoyable.
🎮 Played on Steam Deck
Rating: 👻👻👻🗽▫️
Another solid graphic adventure on the Blackwell series. It doesn’t build much on the lore of the previous entries though. Enjoyable.
🎮 Played on Steam Deck
Rating: 👻👻👻🗽▫️
Well, this is the first game in the series that takes a bit of a step back.
The art just isn't quite as good as Convergence. The portraits lost their animation while talking, which, given how much talking there is in the game, makes everything feel more static. The character sprites also seem to have gone in an odd direction, maybe more cartoony? Whatever the case, I'm not the biggest fan of Rosa's new sprite in particular, which is unfortunate since you're looking at it for 90% of the game.
The individual cases and their side stories overall didn't feel quite as compelling as previous entries to me. The writing was still good, I think it was mainly that "college student" and "office temp" aren't quite as inherently interesting as "formerly homeless artist" or "jazz musician" for me. I think it was more of an atmosphere thing than a writing thing.
Some of the puzzles were a bit more intricate than necessary (e.g., getting the key from the nursing home), and from time to time the solution was a bit obscure. That said, I only resorted to looking things up in one instance, and I'd actually already solved the puzzle, I just didn't know how to reset it to do the correct solution.
Of course, those are relatively minor issues. Deception had double the runtime of previous entries (~6 hours), which gave it more room to breathe and feel like a complete experience in its own right. The main characters and overall plot was great. Joey, in particular, really had some good, emotional beats this time around. The introduction of the big bad may be a little cheesy by some standards, but I loved it.
All in all, it was still a great experience, and I may not have even had those minor quibbles if I didn't like the previous games in the series so much.
The art just isn't quite as good as Convergence. The portraits lost their animation while talking, which, given how much talking there is in the game, makes everything feel more static. The character sprites also seem to have gone in an odd direction, maybe more cartoony? Whatever the case, I'm not the biggest fan of Rosa's new sprite in particular, which is unfortunate since you're looking at it for 90% of the game.
The individual cases and their side stories overall didn't feel quite as compelling as previous entries to me. The writing was still good, I think it was mainly that "college student" and "office temp" aren't quite as inherently interesting as "formerly homeless artist" or "jazz musician" for me. I think it was more of an atmosphere thing than a writing thing.
Some of the puzzles were a bit more intricate than necessary (e.g., getting the key from the nursing home), and from time to time the solution was a bit obscure. That said, I only resorted to looking things up in one instance, and I'd actually already solved the puzzle, I just didn't know how to reset it to do the correct solution.
Of course, those are relatively minor issues. Deception had double the runtime of previous entries (~6 hours), which gave it more room to breathe and feel like a complete experience in its own right. The main characters and overall plot was great. Joey, in particular, really had some good, emotional beats this time around. The introduction of the big bad may be a little cheesy by some standards, but I loved it.
All in all, it was still a great experience, and I may not have even had those minor quibbles if I didn't like the previous games in the series so much.
This game was alright, kinda dragged on. I got soft locked and had to restart from my last save. of the 4 games i have played this one was my second fav. It started off really slow and I almost dropped it, but after getting into it.. there were good moments.
A nice pont and clicker. The longset in the Blackwell series so far. Took me about 5 hours to beat the game. Then I played it again with tha commentary, which is interesting. Wish more games had commentaries. Do recommend. Will probably play again.
One hell of a ending with this game. It opens the way up for a sequel that is currently in the making. You find that many of the stories are all linked in one way or another and learn more about the spiritual world. Another great game from Wadjet Eye Games.
Edit: There's not much I can really add to this review without creating spoilers, but like the previous ones you solve the issues that are keeping the dead bound to this realm, but also, learn of how things are linked between this game and the previous ones!
Edit: There's not much I can really add to this review without creating spoilers, but like the previous ones you solve the issues that are keeping the dead bound to this realm, but also, learn of how things are linked between this game and the previous ones!
Dosud nejlepší epizoda, která již není jen "sympatická a s příslibem", ale konečně je ten příslib i naplněn v podobě kvalitní adventury. Děj konečně působí celistvě a jako skutečně vyšetřování "na vlastní pěst", hádanky jsou logické (až na jednu podpásovku) a využívající netradičních mechanik (kombinování poznámek je zpět!), je třeba se více než kdy dříve uchýlit ke spolupráci obou hlavních protagonistů a i styl podání příběhu již není tak "prvoplánově" laciný, kdy si postavy spíše potřebné řekli, než aby se to skutečně událo. Vše je tedy změna k lepšímu a tak jediným krokem zpět je podivná animace postav. Všichni chodí jak na chůdách a nikdo neohýbá kolena, což působí značně znepokojivě. Každopádně spokojenost a nejlepší možná pozvánka na závěrečnou část pentalogie.
Aw, yeah, that's the stuff. I remember finishing The Blackwell Deception and realising how much I'd grown to care about the characters and the series, and, as with its two predecessors, this one introduced new mechanics to keep things fresh.