Not all is as it seems in Episode 2…
Episode 1 “Faith” left us on a disturbing cliffhanger, another Fable has been killed and their head placed at Bigby’s apartment, now while the reality of the situation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, it was clever of Telltale to leave us thinking it was for the months in-between the episodes. Depending on who you arrested at the end of Faith, you interrogate them by any means you wish…you want to be nice and let them have a cigar and a drink? Fair enough, but you can also burn them with the cigar and smash the bottle over their head if you so desire. Smoke and Mirrors gives you the opportunity to behave how you see fit for the “best” results and it works a charm.
The mystery of the murders deepens in this episode as more evidence comes to light, as well as introducing new characters like Georgie Porgie who is the owner of the Pudding n’ Pie strip club who you question over the two murders and as with the interrogation, you can choose to be friendly or smash up the club in a number of ways like breaking the vending machine, smashing the TV, DJ Station, the sign above the door and even kick a keg barrel in the wall. I personally went on the rampage just to annoy Georgie who is a seedy club owner and has it coming.
There’s also an incident involving Beauty and the Beast when you search a hotel room together, Beast seems to think that you are having an affair and a fight breaks out between Bigby and Beast with quicktime events aplenty. All in all, it’s a nice brawl and I doubt it’s the last we’ll see involving the two. The story itself is gathering momentum quickly and hurls another revelation cliffhanger at us before the episode is up, making the wait for Episode 3 all the more harder…
Visually, Smoke and Mirrors looks amazing with its cel-shaded style but it does suffer from framerate issues at times during cutscenes and transitions from choices made, but it doesn’t impact gameplay so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. The voice acting is brilliant and believable, while the soundtrack is eerie and mysterious.
The Verdict
Smoke and Mirrors is a bit on the short side at around over an hour, but it’s a truly memorable experience that answers questions and raises more than a few on top, it’s gripping from start to finish and I cannot wait for Episode 3 to see Bigby lose his cool once more…
