Dark Nights With Poe and Munro – Impressions
Over the last few years the lines between different forms of entertainment have continued to become quite blurry. The MCU had connected film and television series, plays have become the sequel for books, and video games have let you put yourself in the shoes of some of your favorite characters. As all forms of entertainment continue to grow it seemed as though interactive television was only a matter of time. Think of things like choose your own adventure novels, but through your cable provider or Netflix. Though Black Mirror attempted this with some success not that long ago, D’Avekki Studios Limited may have figured out the answer of how to make this even more accessible. Promote it as a video game.
Their newest game Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is more interactive television than it is video game. Each episode plays out at about the length of an episode of a show and the entire thing is performed by actors. Throughout the episode your only real task and form of gameplay is to choose between different objects in order to pick what happens next. All that’s left after that is to sit back and see how the story unfolds. Interactive television may not be television at all, it’s now a video game.
Darks Nights with Poe and Munro follows the title characters as they perform their radio show to a live audience. In each episode the lines between reality and radio become blurred as a series of horrific and unfortunate events befall Poe and Munro. The chemistry between Klemens Koehring and Leah Cunard, who play Poe and Munro, is electric and really carries the game. They’ll deal with jealous fans, lack of funding, and even the supernatural throughout the course of the episodes and it’s their chemistry and relationship that will have you coming back for more. Unlike most shows that put the viewer in a voyeuristic role, here you’ll be able to join in and help guide the characters along. The sexual chemistry between the two is so strong that you’ll be waiting to find out about the will-they-won’t-they throughout the episodes.
The game is broken down into six episodes that really don’t connect to each other. They may reference prior events, but there isn’t necessarily a big story being told here in lieu of six smaller stories rolled into one package. This makes the game feel more like a show but may have caused it some disservice overall. Instead of six half hour episodes, a full three-hour experience that told a more complete story may have made for a more compelling experience.
It’s good to see studios take chances and continue to blur the lines between mediums. With strong performances by the cast, anyone looking for an interactive television show will have a lot of fun watching the episodes play out. The replay ability factor is high as well since you can choose different paths for the characters to travel down. If you’re looking for a more traditional video game though, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro may not be for you.
