PLATFORM: ANDROID, iOS, PC, PS4, SWITCH, XBOX ONE (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Acting as a follow-up to fan favourite Who episode “Blink” and preceded by the Into The Unknown collection of short stories, The Lonely Assassins is a point and click “found phone” game that plays out entirely on the phone screen. Starting off with the player trying to unlock the phone, a call comes through from Petronella Osgood (with voice acting provided by Ingrid Oliver, reprising her role from the TV show) who introduces herself as an investigator with a special interest in all things peculiar. She asks you to help find the phone’s owner, Lawrence Nightingale (from “Blink”), by having a right old nosey through his chat logs and emails where you’ll uncover the mystery of his missing wife and some very strange goings-on at Wester Drumlins, known to be home to the Weeping Angels…
Rudely rummaging through Larry’s private information, you’ll swipe through his photo gallery, read his texts and emails and check his browser history while Osgood points you in the right direction. When you find the information she’s looking for, she’ll have a quick think and then ask you to look for something else after quite conveniently managing to unlock a bunch of previously-corrupted messages for you to sift through. There are a few nice glitchy, trippy, psychedelic visual effects along the way, as well as some fantastically creepy audio and a handful of (kid-friendly) jump scares, but the “action” is strictly confined to the phone screen and never really gets any more involved than clicking through messages and remembering a few details. This, along with a brief two-hour running time and almost complete absence of a Doctor, makes The Lonely Assassins feel rather underwhelming.
Having said that, as a follow-up to / extension of the story of one of modern Who‘s most iconic baddies (and a couple of established – if minor, in the grand scheme of things – characters), The Lonely Assassins certainly excels with its attention to detail, brimming with references to both the TV show and printed media. The simplistic gameplay makes the game accessible to pretty much anybody, but those who have immersed themselves in Who lore will absolutely get more out of this than anyone else.
