Arriving on 25th January, The Mind’s Eclipse by Mind’s Eclipse Interactive is a game that should be on any sci-fi fan’s radar if it already isn’t.
I’ve had time to sit down and play a couple of hours of it recently, and what I experienced was compelling.
The Mind’s Eclipse is a narrative driven, emotionally-charged point and click adventure game in which you assume the role of celebrity scientist Jonathan Campbell. Woken up by an AI called L in a hospital within the CORE facility on a planet far away from Earth, your inquisitiveness has to be momentarily put on one side due to a limited supply of oxygen.
What Jonathan does remember, however, is that his wife died from an illness. Does that have anything to do with his current predicament? Only by exploring and interfacing with terminals, data-pads and anything fitted with a data port that you can jack into will you find out. One thing is for certain though: The CORE facility was attacked for some reason or another.
What’s really striking about The Mind’s Eclipse is its visual style. Every screen is like a cell from a scrappy black-and-white comic book. It gives every scene an ominous feel, and adds to the sense of mystery. Handily, any object that you can inspect or interact with goes blurry when you place your mouse pointer over it, preventing many moments of frustration.
That being said, while The Mind’s Eclipse is a point and click adventure, the puzzles I’ve encountered so far on my adventure have been very light. Many times you’re seemingly expected to simply search every room in the vicinity, adding any items that may be of use to your inventory. They’re then automatically used when required to progress. With the game’s story being the main focus, however, the simplicity of the gameplay isn’t really an issue.
Unfortunately there’s no voice acting in The Mind’s Eclipse, but its dialogue is very well written; Jonathan and L both feel unique and believable, and so does their forced relationship. As you read text boxes and explore, you’re treated to a minimalist soundtrack that adds a great deal of ambience to the unfolding events. Through its combination of hand-drawn scenes and atmospheric music, The Mind’s Eclipse manages to not only be intriguing, but sometimes also rather haunting.
The Mind’s Eclipse releases on Steam on 25th January, and all signs point to it being one of the year’s indie gems. Check back closer to release for a full review.
