Killing Stream
Killing Stream is a feature-length, interactive thriller with horror elements, in which fate of the main character depends entirely on the viewer. It tells the story from a first person perspective to intensify the immersion and put audience in the main character’s shoes.
Try to survive… Killing Stream.
Read More: Best FMV Quick-Time Events Games.
I Saw Black Clouds
I Saw Silver Linings
It doesn’t show its hand until it will have tested the patience of many, but I think in the pantheon of modern FMV titles it’s sufficiently interesting to recommend (with some caveats).
Consider me an avid indie FMV game dabbler . Over time I’ve realised that the real beauty of such interactive films, much like VR games, isn’t that they continuously break new ground towards some singularity future entertainment form. It’s that indie creator spirit that flows through their design and writing and all the quirks and eccentricities that come with that. I’m British, so I always love the underdog.
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Horror Games.
As a big fan of FMV games, I give this a 6 out of 10. So a mild recommendation mostly for other fans of the genre. There are just too many elements here that could be improved on to rate it any higher, some of which have been mentioned in other reviews.
There are some tracked playthrough stats like tact and honesty that are poorly explained in relation to the game, to the point I don’t think they have any impact other than reflecting choices you’ve made. There’s no situation where you aren’t tactful enough to continue down a certain path or anything like that. But at the same time there are the stats of denial and acceptance that determine your ending. So some of the stats matter and some don’t and that’s never really made clear.
– Real player with 8.1 hrs in game
Late Shift
There are a few really good FMV games around but in general there is a drought of this genre so people who love this kind of game just have to take what they are given. Late Shift is good but the lack of a skip function really drags the playtime out and I found myself 100%-ing this game with a grimace on my face towards the end. Don’t get me wrong, the story was good but it wasn’t good enough to keep me engaged and to play through it in fully 9 times. See the full review here
– Real player with 12.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best FMV Movie Games.
This looks great, and is surprisingly interesting as a movie. As others have said, it’s probably the most successfully implemented FMV game ever made, which isn’t really that high of a mountain to climb. In fact, it’s probably more successful as a movie than as a game. There’s not much “play” in it, and what there is is fatally undermined by the design.
The theme of the game, spelled out by the protagonist in the opening narration, is that choices define who you are. And more specifically they define who you are internally - your reason for making a certain decision is, in many ways, more important than what the decision actually was.
– Real player with 9.6 hrs in game
She Sees Red - Interactive Movie
I liked Late Shift and I bought this game as it’s similar to that game, I finished my first play within 45 minutes and got a good ending don’t know if it’s best, this game has various choices to select like Late Shift but it’s shorter than Late Shift, when I started my play the game mentioned to play it twice to reveal more of the story.
As for the story it’s so fast players will be confused when they start the game as it progress they will get to know what is happening and what was this all about. There are around 15 achievements and I only managed to get 5 on my first time playing the game.
– Real player with 8.7 hrs in game
“She Sees Red” is a short, well-produced interactive movie that can take radically different turns depending on your choices.
The story is standard thriller material with murders in a nightclub, drugs, two detectives on an investigation, and some allusions to organized crime. The narrative is interesting and mysterious, particularly because you play both the detective and the killer. While you take moment-to-moment decisions like “fight or flee”, the motives of these characters remain unknown at first. But as you replay the game and discover more endings, secrets about each main character are revealed, until you understand the full picture.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
Bloodshore
Just finished the first run, and got a well-deserved bromance ending. The production value of this FMV game is a lot higher than previous Wales Interactive games. We have certainly came a long way from their earlier works like Late Shift.
This game is exactly what I wanted from a battle royale movie - bloody, campy, morally grey characters, and full of plot twists. They must have a bigger budget this time because the camera work feel really professional, and the scenes are beautifully shot.
My first run took about 90 minutes to complete, and the final ending screen shows I saw about 60 scenes out of 250, so I am guessing there’s probably another two or three routes I can play through.
– Real player with 12.8 hrs in game
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The game of survival in some lost island-wooded area begins, and you are still its living protagonist. If we look for the closest comparisons, then not even the film “The Running Man” comes to mind, but the film “The Hunt” (2020), the mood of these two projects is quite similar. Although «Bloodshore» is less subtle in handling irony, preferring to use black humor in a more straightforward manner, overall it conveys very faithfully the analysis of social problems centered on a small piece of territory. FMV genre allows you to fully immerse the player in the atmosphere of survival, giving him the opportunity to fully choose his own path. And in terms of choosing a path, the game takes a big step forward compared to some of the latest projects of the publisher, here you actually feel the ramification of many plot routes, and the endings feel very different. Yes, it seemed to me that some of the script opportunities were not fully used (this concerns the breaking storylines of Otts and Gavin; the much larger use of a potential collision with “death row prisoners”; the greater influence of “cowardly” behavior on various events). The characters very vividly recreate the atmosphere of the B-movie, where deliberate grotesqueness is intertwined with swanky fun. The main character is generally very charming, playing for him is very exciting; the actor coped with his task cool. The plot twists are varied, several times I caught myself thinking that I am really surprised at some moments. As for the special effects and gunshots… Let’s just say, write off their nondescriptness to the fact that in this the game is trying to be similar to B-movies. I was glad that this time there is no need to wait for any patches to skip previously viewed scenes, the TAB key helps to significantly speed up replay.
– Real player with 5.7 hrs in game
Dark Nights with Poe and Munro
Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a FMV comedy-thriller game, where the player intervene in radio hosts' adventures in six episode. The game is playing in the same universe like The Shapeshifting Detective from the same developer.
I bought the game at the first place, because I really liked The Shapeshifting Detective.
Sound and music is most likely the brightest part of the game. Especially the main menu theme, but all of the songs are really good. Other sound and voices are really good in the game, has good quality in my opinion. In the last episodes, one of the actress voice was low, but that’s all really.
– Real player with 9.8 hrs in game
The Infectious, Shapeshifting Madness of D’Avekki Studios!
(The infectious madness I’m currently enduring is that of COVID symptomatology, so please forgive anything that doesn’t quite make sense!)
I think I love it.
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker had a huge impact on me. A fact poor D’Avekki Studios will have already been well exposed to if they caught any glimpse of my Shapeshifting Detective review. Where it really separated itself from all other FMV games then and since is that it was effectively one-on-one campfire storytelling. Patients were constricted to lounging on a central sofa as they beguiled you with outlandish stories against a superbly crafted atmosphere. Your imagination was put to work, but with the FMV visuals lending it all more credibility. Nothing else is quite like it and thus quite matches it (the closest perhaps being Her Story). I’ve been eargerly awaiting anything D’Avekki ever since.
– Real player with 9.7 hrs in game
The Complex
The Complex is by developer’s Wales Interactive, Good Gate Media, Little Jade Productions and filmed in the UK. Also featuring guest acting performance by Twitch streamer and former Xbox UK presenter, Leah Viathan.
This is a story rich adventure FMV game where choices matter. Most playthroughs for each game are roughly about an hour long with one much shorter. Be forewarned: U do have to make quick, tough decisions/judgement calls that matter and alter the progression of the game depending on your choices. The Pause Choices (timer) can be turned off in the Streaming Options. This was mainly for Streamers with audience participation during live streams. I left my timers on.
– Real player with 13.1 hrs in game
SUMMARY
London is under siege. A major bio-weapon attack casts a heavy shadow. Two experts in the Nanocell Technology find themselves trapped into a laboratory where assassins have just infiltrated and with time and air running out. Their only option is to take some hard decisions. But soon, those decisions will come back to haunt them. An interactive sci-fi thriller movie where you must ponder each and every decisions. A nice piece to kill some time, it is worth buying if on sale (half the price-tag would be decent).
– Real player with 7.7 hrs in game
Kingdom: The Far Reaches
very decent despite the fact that is is an old game. A very rich storyline too. It’s a shame that the manual is not included. Also there does not seem to be the sequal, Kingdom Shadoan. Hopefully, it could be released here
– Real player with 3.8 hrs in game
Death Come True
Coming from the same creator of Danganronpa, Death Come True is a marvelous FMV with a very interesting and genius gameplay. You play as a person who woke up in a hotel room with no memories of what brought him to this place. He’ll meet people who’ll tell him what is his identity, or what they thought he is. I’m not going to give away much about the story because it’ll be more fun for you to discover it yourself.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2297203710
It has multiple endings, and the most interesting part that if you die, the game will restart but the main character will still have a memory of whatever event happened and the people he met. This will give you a chance to take different choices and decisions.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
I recommend this game, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t leave me disappointed. Death Come True comes to us from the developer of the Danganronpa series and is a FMV mystery title. As the story plays out, the game will occasionally prompt you to make a choice where you then witness the outcome of your decision; like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. However, that’s where my primary criticism of the game comes in. Despite the illusion of choice, DCT is actually very linear. Usually you are left with deciding between one of two paths, but making the “incorrect” decision often leads to a quick Game Over and the option to continue the game at the last branch in the story line, so you can make the other choice and advance. It doesn’t always play out like this, but in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I’ll ease up on getting more specific. Also, this game is a lot shorter than I was expecting. In 3.4 hours, I earned all the achievements and witnessed all the branching outcomes. Granted, there is a fast-forward option that I used to bypass scenes that had already played out in a previous playthrough, but I still wanted a little more meat on this bone. So, why do I recommend it? Because it’s not a bad game. The story is interesting, albeit not as mind-blowing as I was hoping. Just know that you’re getting a bite-sized, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch-esque experience and not much else. With experience in the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series' prior to playing this game, it’s conceivable my expectations were too high. Nevertheless, I look forward to the seeing what Too Kyo Games comes up with next. But as it concerns DCT, I recommend waiting for a sale.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Night Book
Even though I’m average when it comes to keeping up with new games and playing them, I’ve really liked the FMVs/interactive games that Good Gate Media and Wales Interactive have been releasing recently, and Night Book is no exception! Even without knowing that it was filmed remotely in lockdown, it’s an enjoyable game with interesting characters: the beginning feels like a slow burner, but it sets up the story brilliantly and you quickly become fully immersed in the lore. I love the decision points in the game - they really feel like they make an impact and I can’t wait to play it again to go through the other story route now that I’ve completed the first run-through as it feels completely different. I was also really pleased with how the game dealt with the occult elements because I was never frightened out of my skin but I totally bought the creepiness of the story and Loralyn’s urgency, it’s really well done! I really felt for the characters and got very engrossed in the decisions given as Loralyn, and I was never bored while playing. Plus the fact that Night Book was filmed entirely remotely during lockdown is an amazing feat and makes the game even more impressive. Night Book is definitely value for money entertainment-wise even for people who aren’t hardcore gamers/horror fans, and I’d definitely recommend it!
– Real player with 13.8 hrs in game
FMV has some hit or miss titles out there. I’ve gotta say, I really like this one. It’s pretty short and definitely made to play multiple times, but this one is a fun complete in one sitting type of FMV. To give you a clue where my FMV tastes are, here’s a map of my fmvs.
Loved: Five Dates, Late Shift, I Saw Black Clouds, Shapeshifting Detective, Eric.
Disliked: The Complex, The Bunker - I know those are unpopular opinions, but just giving you a rough idea of where I’m at.
Pros:
- Acting really makes or breaks an FMV. The most polished writing and cinematography is useless if everyone acts like they’re putting on a high school play. Loralyn is great, really sells the horror and shock portions well. Pretty much all of the supporting characters nailed it. I’d say there’s some minor hiccups here and there, but that seems to stem from everyone being filmed separately.
– Real player with 4.3 hrs in game