IMMORTALITY

Sam Barlow's FMV mystery hands over three unreleased films starring an actress, Marissa Marcel, who vanished, and asks the player to work out what happened by scrubbing through footage and match-cutting from any object or face to another scene that shares it. That editing-desk mechanic is the whole game and unlike anything else: investigation as film archaeology, with a darker secret buried in the frames for those who look closely. Its reception among critics was among the strongest of its year, with wide awards recognition. The honest note is that it is deliberately obtuse and non-linear, and players who want direction rather than discovery can bounce off it hard. It suits patient viewers who like piecing a story from fragments, and anyone curious how far interactive mystery can stray from conventional games.