If you liked Black Mirror 2, then you're in for a treat, as the 3rd and final game of the original trilogy is a direct sequel to it as well as the conclusion to the misadventures of Darren Michaels, the son of Samuel Gordon. This time around, the story kicks in shortly after the end of Black Mirror 2, with Darren running back to the Black Mirror castle, only to end up arrested, under suspicion of having torched the castle down as well as a potential murder suspect of a killing of a local librarian.
The game proper begins with Darren's meeting with a psychiatrist while he is still imprisoned during the investigations. There, he is trying to piece together what has happened to him. Besides being a suspect of crimes, he also has other problems. Mainly with the spirit of his dead ancestor Mordred, who has found his way into his brains, wanting to take over.
After getting out on bail, Darren needs to find a way of proving his innocence as well as proving to his only surviving relative, that he is innocent of all wrongdoing. As of now, Victoria is suspicious of him, thinking it was Darren, not his twin sister Angelina, who set the castle on fire, killing the old servant Bates as well as other people in the castle. After the events of the previous game, only two Gordons remain, Darren and Victoria. And Darren also needs access to what remains of the castle in order to get rid of Mordred who dwells in his brains.
Most of the game revolves around Darren, or Adrian Gordon as he's now known, trying to find a way of proving his innocence. This means tackling the seedier side of the sleepy little town of Willow Creek. He's also constantly plagued by violent visions when the spirit of Mordred is trying to push his way to be the one in control. Darren also has to handle the local inspector, who is anything but keen to prove his innocence, as he sees the case open and shut and as his ticket out from Willow Creek.
The first part of the story is more or less about getting Darren/Adrian off the hook. This goes on for so long, that when it finally comes time to get rid of Mordred, the resolution feels rushed and anti-climatic. As such, the story feels better thought out around solving the crime and the final chapter, where you get to play as two characters, Darren and a Vatican agent Valentina, with whom you had only minor interaction before, feels more like an afterthought. Prior to this, she was introduced as Victoria's stay at the home nurse but is then revealed to be so much more.
Darren manages to prove his innocence to his great grandmother just before she dies. She quickly writes up papers, proofing his right to inherit the castle and the family fortune, or what's left of it. This finally gives Darren the way of accessing the catacombs under the castle with his last-minute companion.
At the catacombs, the duo proceeds to solve a couple of puzzles, including a small maze haunted by evil spirits. They finally find the Black Mirror and manage to complete an exorcism to get rid of the unwanted spirit. After the end credits, there's a teaser for a potential sequel, but here's a question: does anyone want a 3rd game starring Darren Michaels?
Surprisingly enough, despite how unlikeable Darren is, the 2nd game of the horror series remains the best entry of the saga. It improved design quite a bit from the 1st game and offers a far more interesting story to follow than the 3rd. While BM2 is more convoluted, it manages to come out more coherent in the end, whereas this one just kinda fizzles after Darren manages to prove his innocence. It doesn't really help that the last chapter feels more rushed out because there was so much time used in other storylines.
As with the 2nd game, you can again skip some of the puzzles. Especially the final part of the game is littered with minigames, so the ability to skip puzzles might come in handy. Other than that, Black Mirror 3 is a pretty standard point and click adventure with a lot of inventory puzzles. This actually turns into a bit of an issue towards the end, as Darren does gather quite an arsenal into his pockets, so at times, you do have to keep an eye on what you actually have gathered. The inventory system is poorly designed with the number of items in mind you end up carrying.
Just like the previous entries, the art and the soundtrack are fantastic. Willow Creek and its surroundings are atmospheric and the mood is constantly brooding and dark. This is despite the writing, which doesn't quite manage to stay up the par the visuals provide. This is a very common theme in the series as a whole. It has never managed to match its visual flair writing, which, frankly, doesn't seem to know when to start or stop properly.
And that's pretty much it. Black Mirror is a horror series, that never quite seems to fully achieve what it wanted to do. At places it is interesting, but the story doesn't quite manage to find its balance. Here, instead of dwelling deeply into the realm of horror, it comes out almost like a supernatural crime thriller. That by itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in contrast to what you do most of the game, the end shenanigans in the surprisingly vast underground temple under the castle just feel like a mismatch.
If you do want to play the Black Mirror games, you can get them from GOG and Steam. 2nd and this need to be played in order, as they are more heavily linked. As the 1st is really the worst, what comes to gameplay and the story, you can easily either leave it or play it last. It's basically just some background info for BM2 and 3 that is nice to know, but not necessarily important.
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