Developed by PaperSeven
Published by Vision Games
Released for Xbox One (4/5/2017)
Also on PC/PS4
Blackwood Crossing is the first release on the Xbox One from Brighton, UK-based developer PaperSeven. The game is a walking-simulator with gameplay that consists of exploring, walking and interacting with various objects and items. Like most games of this type, the gameplay borrows a bit from old PC point & click adventure titles but with much simpler puzzles to avoid the player getting stuck. Let's take a look at how this one fares in this genre that is quite well represented on the Xbox One.
In Blackwood Crossing you'll take control of a young girl named Scarlett and the plot will explore her relationship with her little brother Finn. You'll start out aboard a moving train, chasing around your mischievous brother and engaging in a game of Simon Says. You'll have the impression you're in the real world for a minute or two, but it won't be long until you find out not all is what it seems. You'll spend the next hour or so exploring, while learning about your relationship with your brother along the way. The relationship between Finn and Scarlett is handled well and you'll never doubt that these two were siblings. There are supporting characters that are represented as static people wearing masks and only have a few lines of dialogue, so they are nowhere near as memorable as the primary two characters.
Games in the "walking simulator" genre tend to be on the short side and Blackwood Crossing is no exception. Being that the story is a big part of the attraction here, I'll spare you any spoilers but I will say the game will likely get you to feel something for the two central characters by the time it's over, which is impressive considering how short the whole experience is. The game will only take you about an hour or so to complete. The story is a bit confusing at times but by the time the game wrapped up I felt fulfilled enough.
Gameplay in Blackwood Crossing consists mostly of simply walking around and interacting with stuff, but there are a few light puzzles to solve. Certain segments have masked people frozen in place, tasking you to piece together conversations by selecting the people in the correct order. Later on the game, Scarlett will be able to manipulate objects using magic. None of these are difficult, so you likely won't get stuck anywhere along the way.
The controls are simple, utilizing the sticks to move and control the camera like your standard first-person game. Inventory is easy to use, with the Y button used to pull up or put items away and the shoulder buttons used to cycle through. Lining up to objects can be a bit tedious at times, with the game sometimes requiring you to be at a particular spot to get the option to interact with stuff. There was one point in the game when I could only speak to Finn when standing on his right side at a certain spot. It's not a game-breaker since the game never requires to do anything quickly, but it is a bit annoying at times.
The sound design is solid overall, with appropriate sounds where needed and well-delivered voice samples. My only minor gripe is that they seemed to forget to insert a sound effect while climbing a ladder, but other than that there's not much to complain about. The music comes in at appropriate times and coveys the mood while staying in the background. Graphically, the game looks nice with characters rendered in a cartoon-like fashion and the environments you'll explored are detailed.
Blackwood Crossing is a good effort from PaperSeven, but there are a few things worth griping about. Scarlett's movement is quite slow and there is no way to sprint or dash, which comes across as an effort to pad the game out at some points. As already mentioned, interacting with objects is a bit annoying and the story is a bit confusing at times. Blackwood Crossing, while on the short side, delivers some solid visuals and a nice story about a brother and sister. If you like these walking simulator types of games or just want some easy gamerscore, this one's worth a shot. Due to the short length of the game I'd recommend waiting for it to go on sale first (the initial price is a bit high) or check it out if it ever pops up on Game Pass.
Final Verdict: Blackwood Crossing is a short walking-sim game with some issues, but the characters, graphics and story make it an experience worth having if you're a fan of the genre.
Related Links:
Buy Blackwood Crossing - Microsoft Store
PaperSeven - Official Site
Vision Games - Official Site
Blackwood Crossing - GameFAQs
Blackwood Crossing - True Achievements
Blackwood Crossing Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
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