Blackwell 2: Unbound Review

A prequel to Blackwell: Legacy rather than a sequel, Blackwell 2: Unbound takes us back to 1973 and a time when Rosa Blackwell's aunt, Lauren, was still alive and kicking. Therefore, this time around, you take control of Lauren as she attempts to solve the mysteries surrounding a ghostly saxophonist and an accident plagued construction site. It's a likeable adventure but not quite as refined as the first episode.

This time around you can control Joey the ghost directly, as well as Lauren. Indeed, a few puzzles including the very first involves switching between the two. It's a concept that isn't always satisfyingly utilized but it does provide a bit more variety to the puzzles within. Since the game is heavily dialogue focused it's wise to see how people react differently to the two characters.

The adventure focuses on the two separate cases of the saxophonist and the construction site, before tying them together at the end. You often need to use a phone book to find addresses for places, something that might not seem immediately obvious to younger players, but it's a decent hark back to the 70s way of learning things.

There are some issues though. Namely that certain useful clues just don't show up in your trusty notebook, something that can prove annoying. As well as that, Blackwell 2: Unbound looks much simpler graphically and it doesn't work as well as in the earlier episode. While there was a charm to the first episode's old fashioned style, Blackwell 2: Unbound feels a touch crude instead, which is unfortunate.

Still, Blackwell 2: Unbound remains likeable, just not as strong an installment as the original episode. The story is quite likeable with the saxophonist's suffering being quite touchingly sad, but it doesn't all quite gel together as well as the first.