First Dev Diary for Psychological Thriller ‘Twin Mirror’
Back in August, Dontnod Entertainment and Bandai Namco announced their collaboration on the upcoming psychological thriller Twin Mirror. Coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One early next year, the game will be episodic, with the first episode entitled Lost on Arrival. Dontnod have just released the first dev diary for the game, A Place for Thriller. In their video, they discuss the game’s setting, taking a look at how the small town of Basswood, West Virginia is the perfect environment for a psychological thriller.
In Twin Mirror, you play as investigative reporter Samuel Hicks, returning to his hometown to bury a friend. But when Sam wakes up in his motel room with a blood-soaked shirt and no memory of the previous night, he must investigate for himself what actually happened.
Throughout the game, Sam uses an ability known as his “mind palace”, a memory technique that’s become fairly well-known in recent times through pop culture. Shown in the Gamescom 2018 teaser trailer, Sam makes use of his mind palace to recreate event from his past and piece together likely scenarios in order to get to the truth.
During his investigations, Sam must contend with The Double. Sarcastic and snappishly dressed, The Double is a personification of Sam’s inner voice and offers his own insights and guidance along the way. Players will learn more about Sam and his situation as they progress through the game and navigate between the two different sides of Sam.
In the video, the devs talk about setting their story in the Rust Belt, in a small industrial town, and how this makes a great setting for a thriller. Art director Pierre Etienne-Travers explains that this has a greater effect on the characters that make up the story:
“The people who are living in it, dealing with the economic changes, etc, but who are still very attached to their culture and origins.”
Lead writer Matthew Ritter also touches on the complicated relationship Sam has with his former hometown, and the pervasive message throughout the story:
“While you can’t go home again, it’s almost impossible to leave home. It follows you everywhere.”