Blackwell Epiphany

Blackwell Epiphany is the final game in the Blackwell series. Despite being a relatively modern release, large aspects of the graphical style looks more retro to me. I don't know anything about how to make pixel art, but this definitely doesn't seem the way to do it. Many objects look blurred and aliased; even straight lines look aliased. There might be more detail in the environments (i.e. more objects and visual effects such as falling snow in the outdoor areas) and better lighting than the older games like Blackwell Unbound, but Unbound looks much sharper. I didn't really like the art style in the previous game, but at least it looked clear.

I found the tutorial level frustrating. I'd imagine new players would get stuck here when previous game mechanics like using the phone to look-up information wasn't explained. Since I have played the previous games, I understood to try the search feature. There were also easily missed elements and the area seems far larger than what you see throughout the game.

You find a clue to “check the stairs for a key”, but when you click to move to the stairs, it takes you to a new scene so you have already gone up some stairs. I suppose the building did contain some more stairs in this new scene; you are in a dilapidated building so the stairs are destroyed. You find some graffiti which, if you have the director's commentary on, you are told is important for a puzzle. I was convinced I had fully checked outside because I thoroughly searched before going through the door, but it turns out I missed a small section in the right-hand side.

I think the problem here is that all the points of interest are located on the right side of the screen, while everything on the left is just the background. It's so weird that they framed the scene like that. It makes it much easier to miss when you expect the far sides to be only background, and not a key point of interest.
The game does get better from here though, and I suppose the majority of players are long-time fans.

Joey and Rosa no longer follow each other, although the mechanic isn't often used after the tutorial level. Sure, you do wander off through a locked door with Joey, but you have always done that, with Rosa waiting by the door. When separated, you can call the other character to your location, so it’s not a fiddly mechanic at all.

Now Rosa and Joey are working in conjunction with police officer Sam Durkin in an unofficial capacity, while other police officers are sceptical of your abilities and are highly suspicious of your motives.

In the last review I remarked that the “series’ stories seem to introduce new ideas for an interesting conclusion. I do wonder if the plot was written all at once, or if Dave Gilbert is just making this up as he goes along.” I still don’t know if Gilbert did make this up as he went along, but he has made this more ambitious, increased the stakes, and tied more plot threads together. It took me 8.3 hours to complete, so it’s the longest in the series.

A new idea, introduced at the end of the tutorial section, is that some ghosts are being killed. Rosa and Joey meet a man who has been searching for Rosa to help him, but he is shot, then shortly after his ghost appears, he is ripped apart by an unknown force. The game centres around this idea, with Rosa trying to locate members of a group in order to protect them from this fate.

There's a few flashback scenes, and you get to see the moment Joey found out he was dead. That particular scene was short, and possibly gives a plot hole because Joey doesn't recognise certain characters that he meets in previous games.

In the first game Nishanti seemed quite mysterious, like she knew about the paranormal. But then in these last 2 games, Nishanti has basically been forgotten about. I was convinced she would have some involvement in the conclusion.

I liked the fact that it did explain how Rosa's family had previously got dementia. I liked how Rosa's story concluded, but Joey's ending seemed a bit left-field. It just introduces a new mechanic for a happy ending but yet it was really bittersweet and you could have the same effect going for a more expected conclusion.
Being the longest in the series, containing more mystery and higher stakes, I think it was a good way to end the series.