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Reviewing Broken Mind || Chatsu Shorts
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In this episode of Chatsu Shorts, Satsu dives into the world of the indie detective game Broken Mind! Will he be able to find the kidnapped streamer Laura Campbell? Will he remain un-jump scared? And what will happen if time runs out?! Without any further ado, let's find out!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this game to review.
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Transcript
Personal Connection to Deadly Premonition
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Chatsunami.
00:00:16
Speaker
For those of you who have been listening to the show for a while, you'll know that one of my favourite video games out there is the rather infamously received Deadly Premonition.
Discovering Indie Games During Lockdown
00:00:25
Speaker
Despite its janky graphics and not so polished gameplay, the game itself became special to me as my friend and fellow co-host Adam and I played it in its entirety. What started as a hope to play something bad turned into an experience that to this day we still discuss.
00:00:42
Speaker
So the mystery detective genre of gaming is something I'm familiar with. After the lockdowns of the 2020s hit, I found myself exploring more indie titles and to this day I still looked at on Earth another potential hidden gem. So when I was talking to fellow Podpack member Dan from the podcast casting views, he introduced me to something that looked right up my alley, known as Broken Mind.
Transparency About Receiving Free Game
00:01:07
Speaker
After reaching out to the sole developer of the game, Tony Delucia, I received a free steam key. For transparency sake, I just want to
Overview of Broken Mind
00:01:16
Speaker
make that clear. The game itself has you placed in the boots of grizzled detective Frank Morgan, who's troubled by
00:01:22
Speaker
past leads him to investigate the disappearance of 15 year old streamer Laura Campbell. With time running out, the race is on to not only find her, but in turn find out why she was targeted. But what makes this game stand out? Who is behind the mask? And will I make it through the game without jumping out my skin? Welcome to another episode of Chat 2 Shorts.
00:01:43
Speaker
Let's start with the positives of this game. As I said, the game itself was developed solely by one Tony de Lucia of the publisher Two Bad Games. What's insanely impressive is the fact that the game was the work of primarily one person, and throughout the game, you can tell that this was a labour of love. Once you complete the game, you get more about behind the scenes, from its inception of initially having a
00:02:07
Speaker
pixel art style, to De La Chia having to create over 1000 drawings and textures, as well as 130 3D models for the game. Other personal touches are also included, such as De La Chia's cat being memorialised as a character in one segment, and even his wife's photography can be seen hanging on the walls.
Gameplay and Mechanics Analysis
00:02:28
Speaker
What I also found very intriguing was the fact that the arguably most prolific part of the game, that being Laura's Kidnapping, was initially a 30 minute demo that would have been the whole game. Coupled with a few title changes along the way, you can certainly tell that a lot of thought went into the development of this game. As stated before, you venture through the game as Detective Frank Morgan, whose dark backstory colours the way he approaches the case.
00:02:55
Speaker
The gameplay itself can be split into three core areas, with the first two focusing on a more combat oriented role as Morgan, while the third as akin to your typical don't get caught by the bad guys as Laura, which can often be tense.
00:03:10
Speaker
This has demonstrated well through the absolute highlight of the game, where you take control of her during her livestream. The puzzles throughout were also well structured, as it forces players to backtrack to find clues. What was even more satisfying however was finding clues before the puzzle, making me feel more like a Sherlock figure than I care to admit.
00:03:30
Speaker
On the flip side, while I appreciated the variety of gameplay, the combat could sometimes be a bit of a mixed bag, which forced you to get up close and personal with your adversaries. While I enjoyed the story for the most part, I feel as if there were
00:03:45
Speaker
couple of moments that could have either been cut or trimmed down, especially the finale, which almost fell out of place given what happens.
Critique and Recommendations
00:03:55
Speaker
That being said, while the game does tread over old cliché tropes, it's still an interesting premise that'll have you asking, why is this happening?
00:04:04
Speaker
Unfortunately there are a few negatives I feel like I should address. For me personally, I feel like some of the voice acting lines could have had a once over as they feel a little bit over the top in some parts, but they're not the worst I've heard in a game. Some of the game can also get a little repetitive, and with a lack of background music, it doesn't help when you're left with only the sound of your feet squelching in the dirt.
00:04:28
Speaker
One thing I would also recommend is playing the game in easy mode at a minimum. While the narrative mode does state that all the fights are taken out by the mandatory ones, this is really noticeable when you're running through what feels like liminal spaces with a ton of ammo and nothing to fight. This is further punctuated by boss battles where one bullet kills what little enemies there are. Regardless, it is still a nice thought to have this mode included. But overall, would I recommend Broken Mind?
00:04:58
Speaker
Absolutely. It's a short survival horror game that, while treading on cliches here and there, is clearly a labour of love. You can tell the developer's passion for making the game shines through, and honestly, I think they did amazing work on this. For the price point as well, definitely go check it out. You won't be disappointed. As always, thank you all so much for listening to this episode. For more episodes and content, please check us out on our website, chatsonami.com, as well as all good podcast apps.
00:05:26
Speaker
Until next time, stay safe, stay awesome and most importantly, stay hydrated!