Broken Mind is an action survival horror published and developed by independent studio 2BAD Games. You play mainly has Agent Frank Morgan, a detective with a mysterious dark past. You are investigating of the disappearance of a young girl called Laura who was abducted during a live internet broadcast.
Broken Mind is a narrative driven game. The first few chapters are explaining the basis of the game as you chase down and try to find Laura. Her location is in a middle of a forest and also a suspicious medical building. You get to play as Laura as well to find out how she was abducted which adds to the story.
You will also have the story of Frank’s past. It’s surrounded by mystery and intrigue, keeping you invested in what is happening.
The game is played in a first person perspective. You have the ability to shoot or melee attack in order to save bullets. You can also cut down things blocking your pathways. The thing about the whole combat is that it’s so simple and I personally preferred to get up, close and personal with my melee attacks. You also have the chance to run but you have a heart/stamina monitor so can’t run all the time.
There are also puzzle elements to try getting through to the next area and moving the story on. For example, remembering a sequence of numbers or finding items to get more information. It nice way to break things up in the game but also keep things flowing and areas separate.
The graphics are a cool art style, the game have hand-drawn 2D models for most of the game. You know, the visual style reminds me classic Flash animations from back in my school days (2000ish), and the quality of the drawings are so brilliant – I wish I good at drawing that well. I was very impressed with how it all turned out and plays. The intentionally juddery animation fits pretty much spot on with the presentation and what it is trying to showcase and achieve. I am so pleased that we have voice acting on pretty much everything and no reading is needed. The cutscenes are surprisingly cinematic for the art style and to be honest I think they did a great job with the voice acting.
Now personally I am not a fan of survival horror games, mainly because I am a scaredy-cat. But a part of me must also like them as I have played a fair few in my time. I mean, I was jumped scared in the 1st chapter and I was already on edge playing, and that’s what you want.. Slowly creeping into the next area and then after a while you relax and BOOM another scare!
However the story gripped me and peaked my curiosity so much so that I had to keep playing. I did get stuck at one point for a while but managed to solve it in the end to have that sense of satisfaction. It’s not a long game but it is still a really fun title. Every chapter feels something different and I love that variety.
Conclusion
Broken Mind is not a long game but it is fun and refreshing to play. I enjoyed my journey, and even though I am a big wimp when comes to survival horror I still really enjoy my playthrough of it.
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This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
