The Blackwell Convergence is the fourth game in the Blackwell Legacy series. After the prequel Blackwell Unbound with Lauren Blackwell, this title continues the story of her niece Rosangela Blackwell, following the events in The Blackwell Legacy. Just like the previous games, it is a classic point-and-click adventure title focused on puzzle solving, with fully voiced characters.
The game stars New York-based freelance writer Rosangela accompanied by her spirit guide Joey Mallone. He is a ghost who cannot be seen by other persons and through a family tradition he works together with Rosa to resolve cases where ghosts of dead or murdered people wander the earth until they are aware or at ease with the situation. When they get to terms, Rosa takes them to a portal where they can move on to rest in peace.
The game starts with a case at a building where construction contractors hired to do the renovation all leave the job without warning. The duo suspects the involvement of a ghost and investigates the situation. That case soon spins out of control when Rosa is confronted with events that delve deeper in the storyline explored in the previous titles. The game features many returning characters and a basic knowledge of the previous titles helps understand the story, but is not required.
Just like Blackwell Unbound, players can switch between Rosa and Joey at any time. Joey has a few advantages as he can move through walls to eavesdrop and can access more dangerous locations. To solve the puzzles, cooperation between the two is often needed. Rose can pick up objects and store them in an inventory, but most of the problems can be resolved through conversations. Important topics are stored in a notebook and can be used to confront other characters. This also often opens up new locations to visit. The player is urged to follow the story as certain clues need to be remembered or jotted down, especially when using Rosa’s computer to look up information on the internet or when checking e-mails. It is not possible to die, but certain actions are time-based even though no quick reflexes are needed.
Next to the main game, players can also enable the developer’s commentary to hear designer David L. Gilbert talk about design choices along with trivia related to the game. Compared to the previous games, the graphical style is more detailed, which is especially evident in some old locations that have been redesigned. Another new feature is the inclusion of rain to set the atmosphere and it also has an influence on certain events in the game. The characters are controlled through the mouse with two buttons for actions; left is used to act in the environment and right is used to examine. Hotspots in the environment appear with a description when the cursor is hovered over them.
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