Like a lot of games that throw players into a mixed reality, or in this particular case a multiverse journey, it starts off calm and slowly gets worse with each bit of progress made. Mirror Forge by MystiveDev and DreadXP is one of the last horror games of 2022 and it comes with an experience put together from a blend of inspirations. Featuring puzzles and dark lore to uncover, plus plenty of threats, all the pieces for a good horror game are there. The question is, did they pull off a good horror experience?

Story

Thomas Jackson is a recovering alcoholic with a traumatic past. This troubled life has left him with plenty of demons and on one particularly strange evening, he learns that he is the only one able to help his estranged partner Jill who has been taken by an otherworldly force. In order to get her back, he must follow the instructed guidance of this force, head into a multiverse of reality, and piece together the truth behind the Mirror Forge.

This strange, sinister device is what has altered reality and is the root cause of the pain and inner turmoil that has physically manifested through the multiverse. Even so, if he doesn’t face the dangers ahead, Jill is sure to be lost to whatever horrible fate this reality would offer her. There’s only one thing to do and that is to keep pressing on, no matter how strange and dangerous this journey gets!

I thought they did a good job fleshing out the details of the lore through the mixed style of notes to find and memories to unlock. However, they aren’t always your memories but rather another person who has left a significant mark on the different areas you will pass through. It takes your strange device to activate the memory, but once you do the dialogue of what that person said is played out in the same tone and veracity that it was said in real-time. These two styles of lore building are a good way to get backstory notes without boring the player, not to mention the cutscenes that play out.

Gameplay

This is a defenseless horror game. Don’t go in expecting to fight off creatures and survive the combats. Instead, you will be mostly solving puzzles, looking around your environment, and using your strange triangle-shaped device to somewhat defend yourself. It isn’t foolproof and you will find painkillers to help with your health, but it’s best to take as little damage as possible - of course.

The puzzles in this game are definitely pretty interesting. Sometimes you are doing activities and actions just so you can get to a specific location in order to do what needs to be done to open the door to proceed. Other times, you will be solving puzzles or even being told what to do to solve the puzzle just as you would expect; to make progress in the game. The first big puzzle was one where they told you how to make an acid to get rid of a large chunk of the pain and turmoil manifestation that is blocking a door but not long after that and you will be pretty much blocked until you figure out what you need to do.

Remember to read your notes as sometimes these can be very helpful in just informing you on what your task is at that moment. It wouldn’t be said directly, but more so hinted in a pretty blunt manner.

As for what makes this game a blend of inspirations, that would be the horror style. There are times you will be met with a jump scare and times that you will be chased where your life depends on not getting caught. Then there are the environmental moments where you can either be in a dungy, heavily dilapidated building or underground, and other times where you are in a nice cozy location, like your old apartment. They like to have body parts sticking out of the wall or ceiling, along with the eyeball hallway and things of the sort.

All the different actual horror aspects did seem to be well spaced out and they didn’t go for the same type of scare repeatedly, so that was definitely a good aspect. However, some moments did end up feeling cheesy due to it almost feeling forced at times.

Audio and Visual

Music in this game is definitely made to be background filler so you aren’t left in complete silence, although there were times that they did purposely leave you in silence. But the voice acting and sound effects for the game are all very well done. The quality in this aspect of the game was great for an indie game.

I did like the aesthetics this game gave off, but there were times that the visuals were a bit glitchy or just simply off. Your immersion is best held if you don’t focus on the finer details of a lot of things they shine a spotlight on, but the effect of what they are going for is always there. Plus, the detail in the environment alone is pretty amazing in this game.

Replayability

I didn’t see much of a reason to play the game more than once. It didn’t seem like there were other endings I could have unlocked, so with this being everything the game has to offer, then the story can be experienced in one playthrough.

What It Could Have Done Better

Blending horror styles is fine, but I do find that I prefer games that find a specialization and stick to that. The phrase “a jack of all trades, but master of none” comes to mind when developers try to blend styles and I always just feel that they would have much better moments and scares if they focused on delivering something they mastered in. Instead, I would suggest having one style of scares with the occasional appearance of a different style - like a jump scare two-thirds of the way into a campaign with no jump scares is going to be much more effective if laid out well.

I thought the game was pretty easy to get lost in. While I get trying to leave the player to figure everything out themselves is part of the goal with these games, there is usually some form of standard guidance system that players can use to orientate themselves when lost. Some sections had these guiding items, but there wasn’t one that was the go-to focus for when the player is at their wit’s end.

Verdict

Mirror Forge is a blend of scares and snores. While I don’t see everything this game offers to be effective against their players, they do have a bit of something for everyone. The lore is pretty well done and fleshed out in an entertaining way to follow and the puzzles were both challenging and frustrating. All-in-all, this is a horror game that is worth picking up considering its low price and fairly decent experience. I can see a lot of people enjoying this unique journey, but likely for varying segments in the game.

Mirror Forge is available now on PC via Steam.