After being considered a bit of a joke genre during the ‘90s, the FMV genre is excelling recently. And one of the best in the business – Paul Raschid of The Complex and Five Dates fame – is back with another curious FMV tale for players to enjoy. The Gallery is out today on Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Nintendo Switch.
The Gallery is set in two distinct yet similar time periods – 1981 and 2021 – and both within an art gallery. The art curators are both are being held hostage, with a bomb underneath their seat that will go off if they move. In these eras of socio-political unrest, can you avoid history repeating itself across the dual time periods?
The Gallery also features:
- Choice-based mechanics including 150 decision paths and 18 unique endings.
- Relationship-tracking mechanic which affects wider story in various ways.
- Success/fail tracking of sub-plots with supporting characters which affect wider story in various ways.
- Two game modes – ‘Timed Choices’ for a more immersive, pressured experience & ‘Paused Choices’ for group play / audience participation during live streams.
- Renowned acting talent, including Anna Popplewell (‘The Chronicles of Narnia’) and George Blagden (‘Vikings’ & ‘Versailles’) as the two leads.
The Gallery is out today on the Xbox Store priced at £11.99. Eager FMV fans will no doubt be already downloading but our review coming soon will have all the details for newcomers. Stay tuned
Game description
An art curator is held hostage by a portraitist who threatens to detonate a bomb unless their demands are met. ‘The Gallery’ contains two interactive narratives – set in 1981 (with a female protagonist) and 2021 (with a male protagonist). Both eras are significant periods of socio-political unrest in Britain and there are distinct similarities and differences across the two stories. The viewer must make decisions in a bid to better understand and escape their captor. However, it soon becomes apparent that not only the life of the protagonist hinges on these decisions, but also the lives of others. Additionally, Paul Raschid – the writer-director, is one of the world’s most prolific creatives in the live-action (FMV) video game genre. His previous feature-length titles ‘The Complex’ & ‘Five Dates’ were released in 2020.
