Peaky Blinders: Mastermind Review
I know that Peaky Blinders is a television show, but since I don’t watch TV very often it has yet to be something I’ve taken time to do. Since I am not a fan of the show, I feel that I have an unbiased viewpoint on the gameplay itself. Obviously if you’re an avid watcher you might have even stronger feelings for the game and its characters.
As Peaky Blinders: Mastermind begins, you are subject to a conversation between the characters of Peaky Blinders, a supplier of alcohol to bars and so on. In the first level, the cheeky Peaky Blinders decide that they want to steal some champagne from their competitors. I had no idea how to play the game even after reading the tutorial. After a bit of fumbling around, getting caught by the very first thing that could catch you, and rewinding the game a few times, I was able to complete the first level with a gold status on my first try. Is that fair because I just rewound the game to the beginning to try again each time I failed? Probably not, but they made the rules and I’m just following them.
I really enjoyed playing through this. I had to meander through the town to get to a bar where apparently I supply them with their liquor. I derived from the conversation that people are a bit on edge about disappointing me with knowledge that they get their champagne from a different supplier, which I thought was a bit odd because I clearly don’t supply champagne or I wouldn’t be in the market of stealing some. Whatever, I followed the directions from the bar owner to help me get to the building where the champagne is being stored.
Here’s the cool part, I talk to a guy and then control him. I sit there and have him hold the door open for as long as I can control him, I then switch to the main character and rewind time to about the same moment that I could reach the door he was going to hold open and walk right through. I run into one of my partners in crime and she says she will distract the men while I walk by. We do this, then I have to grab three bottles of champagne and put them in the truck. Yeah, three bottles of champagne for a huge party, I can only assume these bottles represent mass quantities of champagne. So a little silly, but I got it done in less than 4 minutes and I had to finish in 5 to get a gold champion rating. So it wasn’t too difficult to pull off, but it was fun.
From there the levels just get harder and I have to say that I enjoyed the puzzles and the rewind feature, being the mastermind of heists and revenge. Again, I’m not a fan of the show so I can’t speak to that giddy feeling you get having the ability to manipulate characters from your favorite TV show, but it worked for me.
The game is 3/4 overhead view and the controls were as good as I would expect them to be. The ability to rewind time was simple to understand once I started playing. There isn’t video of the actual actors or anything, but rather drawings it’s drawings with subtitles you read as they speak. I didn’t know who was who, but I didn’t care because I am a big fan of puzzle games and that was enough to keep me entertained. I couldn’t tell you if the music was from the show, but I really loved the opening song that played as I started and the rest of it was good as well, so I can’t complain about that either.
I think I can say that if you like a good puzzle game, and especially if you are a Peaky Blinders fanatic, this should give you some escape from reality for a good amount of time. If you don’t like puzzle type games, then feel free to walk on by.
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind Review
- Graphics - 7/107/10
- Sound - 8/108/10
- Gameplay - 7/107/10
- Lasting Appeal - 7/107/10
Final Thoughts: GOOD
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a good puzzle game with some cool time travel elements. If you’re a fan of the show, you can easily give it a half point extra for that since you’ll understand the characters and who they represent. For a non-fan, this game is still a solid puzzle experience and a good amount of fun.