Jump to content

Telling Lies (an investigative FMV game from the maker of Her Story) - reviews posted


Recommended Posts

 

Quote

Telling Lies, an investigative FMV game from the maker of Her Story gives you a voyeuristic look into the lives of four people and the facades they may or may not be living. It's your job to figure out the truth.

 

PC Gamer article: Telling Lies wants to be the 'open world' of FMV games

Quote

As a spiritual successor to Her Story, Telling Lies is also an non-linear FMV game. Your character has stolen a hard drive from the NSA with about ten hours of footage on it, and you'll watch clips which will give you clues, you'll do keyword searches to uncover more footage, and you'll attempt to make sense of the story as you uncover more and more.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Telling Lies' and the new nonlinear narrative (Engadget)

Quote

The sheer scale of this game, the access to full conversations and a way to search new terms directly from video subtitles facilitates players following sparks of inquiry. You can follow any character you want -- like the immersive theater piece Sleep No More -- without FOMO, or feeling like you need to obsessively check off a to-do list. There's no single protagonist. "I wanted to really dig into that idea of a game where the exploration is within the video," he said. "I wanted the sense of the sprawl." Stoking curiosity, not completion, is the aim for Barlow. And he wants you to do it all through word searches.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Game Information

Game Title: Telling Lies

Platforms:

  • PC (Aug 22, 2019)

 

Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
    
Review Aggregator

 

OpenCritic - 85 average - 93% recommended

Critic Reviews


CGMagazine - 9 / 10

Quote

Telling Lies is a game defined by the individual's own terms and parameters, rewarding the wide spectrum of curiosity of anyone willing to put the time and thought into its mysteries.


USgamer - 4.5 / 5 stars

Quote

Telling Lies feels like it's about four times as big as Sam Barlow's previous game Her Story, and it shows. You feel it not just in the four characters you're sifting through footage of, but in the variety of its videos too: from FaceTime calls to hidden cameras capturing secretive meetings. In Her Story, it was famously easy to go down a rabbit hole of sorts on your own intuition; in Telling Lies, that tendency is mechanized in smart, intuitive ways. When it comes to good interactive mysteries, Telling Lies is among the best you can get.


Destructoid - 9 / 10

Quote

I can't stress enough how much Telling Lies might not be for you. Most of it is literally spent watching people talk to a screen, to the point where the puzzle angle, no matter how impressive it might be, might wear down its welcome in minutes. For everyone else, especially avid followers of character-driven art forms, these are performances you can really sink your teeth into while you try to make sense of it all.


GamesRadar+ - 4.5 / 5 stars

Quote

Telling Lies is a paragon for storytelling, for character arcs that surprise you and linger on long after the credits – and videos – have ended.


IGN - 9 / 10

Quote

Sharp writing, believable acting and a twisting plot make Telling Lies an essential detective game.


God is a Geek - 9 / 10

Quote

I won't tell any lies here, Telling Lies is another excellent piece of narrative game design from Sam Barlow and I sincerely hope there's more to come


Game Informer - 9 / 10

Quote

Excellent acting from actors like Angela Sarafyan (Westworld) and Logan Marshall-Green (The Invitation) brings depth and realism to the characters and their stories


Game Revolution - 4.5 / 5 stars

Quote

Telling Lies is like the best parts of an adventure game, a mystery novel, and an art nouveau movie all rolled up into one.


PC Gamer - 87 / 100

Quote

An atmospheric, brilliantly written and acted detective thriller that tells a compelling story in a unique way.


Screen Rant - 4 / 5 stars

Quote

The Telling Lies video game is engaging yet not without flaws.


GamesBeat - 80 / 100

Quote

And while I can appreciate this new art form, this story wasn't quite as dramatic as I had hoped for, or at least the sequence in which I saw the events wasn't as satisfying. It's not as long as I thought it might be. With the pluses and minuses here, I see this as an evolving new medium but not one that has yet reached its highest form.


GameSpot - 7 / 10

Quote

Telling Lies expands on the core ideas of Her Story with more expansive, nuance voyeurism, but it runs out of energy before the end.


VideoGamer - 7 / 10

Quote

Telling Lies expands on the concept Sam Barlow created with Her Story, with a web of intriguing characters and mysteries, but the more overblown aspects of its plot detract from the personal drama.


Eurogamer - Recommended

Quote

Telling Lies, by contrast, is but a second baby step into uncharted territory: a little wobbly, a little naive. But definitely courageous and exciting.


Polygon - Unscored

Quote

It's crucial to slow down, take a breath, and watch everything, even when I want to rush through to find another clue. On the other hand, Telling Lies provides subtle reminders of the dangerous reality of rifling through stolen, encrypted files, and the level of secrecy required by that act. That tension helps the game crackle with life and urgency.


Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Unscored

Quote

The question of whether Telling Lies is voyeuristic or not doesn’t necessarily have a bearing on the quality of the game — I do, in fact, think it’s good and enjoyed it. But the idea that it isn’t voyeuristic is some laugh.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought this on iPad (much cheaper than Steam) last night and played for about an hour. It's definitely more intimidating than Her Story at first, since you've got way more perspectives happening at once. One thing it took me way too long to realize is that when you find a new clip via a search term, it drops you in right at that term, but you can take that clip and rewind to the beginning of it. That will really help me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, TheLeon said:

I bought this on iPad (much cheaper than Steam) last night and played for about an hour. It's definitely more intimidating than Her Story at first, since you've got way more perspectives happening at once. One thing it took me way too long to realize is that when you find a new clip via a search term, it drops you in right at that term, but you can take that clip and rewind to the beginning of it. That will really help me. 

 

yah ive gone through once and the multiple perspectives give a lot to go through.  i was making a list of search terms to go through and next thing i know it had hit the 5am mark and had to end it.  i still had like half my list to get through :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think this game proves that I’m a lousy investigator. I don’t think I have anything really “solved” at this point, but I’m really drawing a blank on how to get to some of these story beats that I’m missing. I probably should have taken more notes and bookmarked more things along the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...