Blackwell Epiphany

The game is certainly longer (6-8h compared to 2-5h) and better than the previous installments, but it still has some problems. Even with several games to their name, the devs insist on using AGS, a third-party development tool and engine, which apparently only lets you launch the game at the world's lowest resolution, resulting in some inconvenience when ALT-TAB-ing out of the game. If you're still using a CRT monitor, a resolution this low might also massively distort the picture, e.g. with the edges of the screen seemingly "collapsing" inwards. On a more subjective note, I thought the puzzles and writing towards the end of the game suffered from lack of clearly established rules regarding the supernatural elements. As a result, some of the events and solutions felt arbitrary, with a hint of deus ex machina. Overall, I appreciate how many plot points from earlier games in the series were wrapped up and explained in Epiphany. With all those complaints it may sound like I didn't like the game, but I did. While I disagree with the 5-star ratings, I'd still highly recommend you try the game (along with the rest of the series).

The final entry in the Blackwell series is considered by most to be its very best entry. While it is great, my favorite is Deception, the most hated entry. I know: I'm weird. Anyway, even though this is the conclusion, it still manages to keep things fresh by throwing in some interesting new theories about the spirit world. The story has some twists and turns, but the writers are smart enough to exercise moderation, rather than fall into today's all-too-common pitfall of throwing in dozens of mindless twists for cheap shock value to "keep things interesting". This game remembers that good writing thrives on its own merit; some things will go exactly as you've expected, and some will catch you by surprise, but it all winds down to a very emotional conclusion that ties up more plot threads than you'd likely expect. It's certainly a lot darker than its predecessors, and that gives the characters a completely different tone, and they make the shift very well. If you've enjoyed the others, then you'll probably enjoy this one, as well.

It is the perfect culmination of the series. The first games in the series were nice and lovingly made but still imperfect. The 4th part already looked very professional, but still had some rough edges. This 5th and last part is almost perfect. For me, it is one of the best mystery point-and-click adventures ever, on a par with titles like Gabriel Knight - Sins of the Fathers or Broken Sword. It represents a major milestone in the ecellent portfolio of Wadjet Eye Games. + The story is exciting and thrilling, + The protagonists are likeable and portrayed with a certain depth, + The world set in New York is well, detailed and lovingly depicted, + The puzzles are well balanced, not too difficult but not too easy either. The game also largely manages without silly, annoying, isolated logic and patience games/puzzles, as they are unfortunately used as gap-fillers in many adventure games today. + The background graphics, dialogue faces and character sprites are excellently and atmospherically drawn. This once again shows the top quality in this respect that Ben Chandler contributes to numerous Wadjet Eye games. + The sprites are very well animated, + The voice acting is very well realised and fits perfectly into the game, + The music is atmospheric and not intrusive. There are a few small quibbles that I must point out: - There are hardly any cutscenes that do not take place within the normal game perspective/engine. - There are few spatial perspective changes in the game. Everything takes place in rooms with the same perspective and distance to the sprites. Sometimes larger rooms and distances, different perspectives would have done well. - It would have been nice if there had been a proper city map for orientation. The game is almost perfect from my point of view. I can recommend it to everyone who likes exciting mytery-thrillers and point-and-click-adventures. For a better understanding of the Blackwell series, I recommend playing the previous parts beforehand.

I thought that the previous games in the series were just ok, but I am glad that I played them all, because The Blackwell Epiphany is a strong culmination of the whole series. In fact, it made me retroactively appreciate the older games more. While the storytelling and voice acting and retro graphics are amazing, the puzzles are still disappointing. There is still too much ghost exhaling and searching things on (g)oogle. If a dummy like me can do it, then it's not really detective work. Overall, I would say that it is worth going through all the games in the series before starting this one, as you will get much more out of the whole experience. The couple of first games are tedious, but they are also quite short, so it's not too hard to breeze through them. And remember, there is no shame in using a walkthrough. Because the pay-off is real good in the end.

Well described that these are more interactive stories than true puzzle games, there are a few talk-to-everyone moments but the engrossing stories are both self-contained in each game with a wonderful overarching plot culinating in a beautifully (and unexpected!) moving finale in the 5th episode Blackwell Epiphany. The voice acting and music and attention-to-detail touches e.g. callbacks in later episodes make this a work of art.