Tales of the Mirror breaks out on Windows, Mac and mobile devices

Written by Drew Onia — August 15, 2021 at 10:41

Modern pop culture is inundated by murder mysteries, but unsolved homicides have plagued every culture and era throughout history. China's Ming Dynasty is no exception, and that's precisely where and when players will be transported to in indie Shanghai studio Cotton Game’s newly released Tales of the Mirror. 

Players assume the role of Peh Jun, who one day meets Ren Sanniang and learns the tragic story of Ren's family. Determined to help, Peh sets out to investigate the brutal murder that took place in Ren's small village on the Yangtze River. However, with only a specified amount of time to solve what turns out to be "a series of mysteries," Peh will need to crack this case before it's too late. Fortunately, she possesses a magical mirror that reveals clues in the environment that would normally be invisible.

Inspired by ancient Chinese art and opera and "adapted from historical literature," Tales of the Mirror features a lovely hand-crafted aesthetic intended to resemble a "living painting." The game incorporates beautiful transitions of bleeding ink, running watercolours, and detailed character animations to bring the Yangtze delta and its inhabitants to life. Throughout this "landscape-mode visual novel," players will need to gather information from both dialogue and exploration, solving "many puzzles" with help from the magic mirror along the way. Player choice matters as well, as your decisions will have major consequences leading to one of multiple possible outcomes.

If you think you have what it takes to solve this very, very cold case, Tales of the Mirror is available now on Steam for Windows and Mac, the App Store for iOS, and Google Play for Android devices.