Peaky Blinders: Mastermind

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a unique gangster puzzle-adventure game set in the early 1920s and focused on the criminal underworld of Birmingham. The game was created by the independent British development team FuturLab, known mainly for their well received shoot 'em ups Velocity and Velocity 2X. The game is based on the popular TV series Peaky Blinders, created by BBC television and Netflix, which debuted in 2013.

Plot

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is the prequel to the first season of the series and takes place in 1919. During the game we control members of the Shelby gangster family - Tommy, Arthur, Polly, John, Ada and Finn, who are well known from the small screen. The main plot of the game takes place around a cunning plan that aims to deprive Shelby family of all the influence and connections in the criminal world of Birmingham. The campaign begins with the mysterious murder of a Chinese opium trader. Steven Knight, co-creator and originator of the TV series, took part in the work on the script for Peaky Blinders: Mastermind.

Mechanics

Despite the theme and place of the action, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is not a gangster tactical game or a shooter. The game offers a unique gameplay and a series of missions, consisting of logical puzzles, which we solve by manipulating time. The three-dimensional world is presented in an isometric view.

We control six representatives of the Shelby family. Each has different skills, such as bullying, bribery, sneaking around or kicking doors. The action takes place in the mind of Tommy, the head of the Shelby family, who is planning to make another jump or lucrative action. During the mission players move a specific hero to a selected position and give him a command, e.g. to open a door. Then, using the clear timeline located at the bottom of the screen, they retract the time and take control of the next character who benefits from the passage open to them.

Scenarios in Peaky Blinders: Mastermind requires us to be able to plan individual heroes' actions and synchronize them, and to use special skills and the ability to predict how they will affect each other in different ways. It is also up to the players whether they bet on quiet and hidden problem solving or on forceful methods. While performing the tasks we have unlimited possibilities to experiment and correct possible mistakes.

Technical aspects

Three-dimensional graphic design in Peaky Blinders: Mastermind was prepared in a slightly comic style. The game is accompanied by cutscenes prepared in the form of two-dimensional illustrations. The soundtrack was prepared by an rock band Feverist, who also worked on the TV series.