Mirror Forge

Horror is one of the most popular game genres yet one that has been in decline for a while. It's not often that we see a new game in the genre being released. While that may be true for bigger titles developed by mainstream game companies, it is one of the most common genres developed by indie game devs. They do have more freedom and much less pressure usually after all, and there are a lot of advantages in launching a horror game as a small developer compared to a bigger one. Today we're going to talk about Mirror Forge, a title that explores the tides of psychological horror and survival in a pretty familiar way. So, let's talk about it!

About the game

Mirror Forge is a psychological survival horror game with alternate dimensions shrouded in darkness and beings more terrifying and vague than your worst nightmares.

Mirror Forge follows the troubled life of Thomas Jackson, who made a grave mistake by driving drunk. An unavoidable accident shattered Thomas' life, putting his girlfriend Jill into a coma and killing their unborn child. Although Jill recovered, the ordeal destroyed their relationship. Depressed, and with a huge sense of guilt, he falls into alcoholism and even tries to put an end to his life when he was at his worst. Things started to improve after Thomas sought professional help, but then he lost his job during the pandemic.

The trauma of Thomas' past comes back to haunt him, and Thomas seeks comfort from his ex-girlfriend in an attempt to rekindle what has since been lost. But reporter Jill is nowhere to be found. His only clue: is pictures from his last report. Lost children, a place called Devil's Womb Canyon, and a mysterious blue explosion. Little does Thomas know, his nightmare has just begun…

Travel through the alternate dimensions shrouded in darkness, overrun by terrifying supernatural creatures. With the mirrors between these dimensions. But remember that these mirrors are not to travel to Wonderland as Alice does in Through The Looking Glass. These take you into a reality in complete decay, a gloomy world with a horrible atmosphere. Thomas is helpless, so players must use their wits to solve puzzles, escape from creatures, and piece together the source of Jill's disappearance.

A pretty familiar look

If you're a fan of horror games, then this game should immediately look familiar to you. After all, it is inspired by Silent Hill. This rusty look of the damaged, alternate reality of the world that's been in ruins for quite a long time. Now, we all know that there has not been a single good Silent Hill game in over a decade, and that sucks for all horror fans, but it is what it is.

The art style is very similar indeed, and it's almost like they took all the best elements of the whole series and put them together in one big bundle. The game is not afraid to be dark and scary, and it never tries to hide the fact that it is a horror game by going in the action route or something like that.

Review: 7/10

For starters, the visuals are pretty nice. We were impressed with the quality of the shadows and lighting. As you might have guessed atmosphere is incredibly important for such a game like this. And that's a solid start, especially for an indie game, but we also have to consider the story. That's alright, but it could be deeper and more complex, as they do in the Silent Hill series.

Pros:

• Decent graphics (especially for an indie game)
• Atmosphere is great

Cons:

• Some of the animations look a bit awkward
• The story could be better