Blackwood Crossing
Release Date: February 17, 2017
Adventure, FPP, indie games, exploration games, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Steam
An adventure game developed by PaperSeven. The plot was written by Oliver Reid-Smith (the creator of the script for the well-received The Room), and it focuses on the relations of orphaned siblings: Scarlett and her younger brother, Finn. When the girl enters adolescence, their relations worsen. While traveling on a train, the protagonists meet a mysterious creature that lets them look at their past from a different perspective.
Blackwood Crossing is an adventure game for PC, PS4 and XONE. It was developed by PaperSeven, a British studio founded by former employees of the defunct Black Rock (Pure and Split/Second, among other titles). The plot was written by Oliver Reid-Smith, the author of the script for the mobile hit entitled The Room.
Plot
The plot focuses on the relations between orphaned siblings: a teenager named Scarlett and her younger brother, Finn. The girl enters adolescence and slowly leaves the world of childhood behind, which makes the bond between the two grow weaker. Most of the story takes place during a train travel, when the siblings meet a bizarre magic creature that makes them look at their past from a different perspective.
Mechanics
Blackwood Crossing for PC, PS4 and XONE is a first-person narrative adventure game. While playing, we mostly explore the world, have conversations, and make decisions that significantly alter the further course of the plot. Thanks to this, the campaign can be completed multiple times, each time offering a slightly different story.
The production focuses mostly on telling an interesting story, while the remaining elements are of lesser import. Every now and then, we have to solve a logic puzzle, although the ones that are in the game are relatively easy since they are but occasional diversions.
Technical aspects
Blackwood Crossing for PC, PS4 and XONE offers fully three-dimensional graphics powered by the Unity engine. The developers did not go for visual realism and choose to have slightly cartoonish characters instead.
Last updated on October 22, 2016
Videos and Screens
[1:33] Blackwood Crossing launch trailer
[1:59] Blackwood Crossing gamescom 2016 - trailer
DualShockers: 7.5 / 10 by Ryan Meitzler
Despite some of the technical shortcomings of the title, Blackwood Crossing ultimately is a tale that becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Though it's a brief experience that will only last a few hours, Blackwood Crossing is another title that showcases the power of storytelling in gaming as a medium, while still offering a story that you're going to remember long after finishing it. Much like the fairy tales and fantastical worlds it borrows from and references, Scarlett and Finn's tale is filled with visuals, color, and life that goes beyond our sense of reality, but Blackwood Crossing‘s emotion and connection to the player lies in something deeper.
NEOsite: 8 / 10 by Krzysiek Kalwasiński
Blackwood Crossing is beautiful, but short tale, which will melt your heart. If it was longer and more polished, we could talk about perfection.
Xbox Achievements: 75 / 100 by Richard Walker
Blackwood Crossing might be short but sweet, yet it's clearly an experience that's been made as a labour of love, and as such, it has a magical, almost ethereal quality that's impossible to forget.
Blackwood Crossing Summary
Platforms:
PC Windows April 5, 2017
PlayStation 4 April 4, 2017
Xbox One February 17, 2017
Developer: PaperSeven
Publisher: Vision Games Publishing
Blackwood Crossing System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i3-550 2.5 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce 460 or better, 5 GB HDD, Windows 7/8.1/10
Blackwood Crossing is an ambitious adventure game from former Disney Black Rock devs
Former Disney Black Rock devs, now indie studio PaperSeven, have announced Blackwood Crossing, a story-driven 3D adventure game. The project is slated for release on PC, XONE, and PS4 this year.
video games
June 2, 2016