Several seasons of the popular gangster series have already appeared and a game has now also been launched. In Peaky Blinders: Mastermind it is of course about the Shelby family from Birmingham and their criminal activities.
To get straight to the point, we all know that the Peaky Blindersseries is packed with action. A fight or shooting is a regular occurrence and that is also one of the parts for which the infamous family is known. For the fans who expect the game to be as action packed as the series will come home from a rude awakening. Peaky Blinders: Mastermind on the other hand, is a very quiet and slow game that does contain some violence, but not as drastic as we are used to. The game focuses on the brain of the Peaky Blinders, namely that of Thomas Shelby. As leader of the clan, it is his job to find out everything down to the last detail and to delegate it to his subjects, but he will also be responsible for a lot himself.
There are several missions available that cover the different characters. In each mission there are some objectives to be achieved and through puzzle elements it is up to you to achieve them by controlling the available characters. They all have their own specific traits, with Thomas Shelby, aka Tommy, being a master of intimidating others. He can appear convincing and by bribing people he often goes a long way towards his goal.
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In Peaky Blinders: Mastermind you can get started with each character and their own timeline is also created for everyone. You as a player have the influence to manipulate this timeline. This means that you can fast forward and backward, but that creates opportunities to carry out a follow-up action. For example, Ada is an expert in distracting men. When you let her start a conversation with one of the rivals, you can then rewind the time and switch to Tommy. Then you can control it to let it walk past the enemy unseen. This is a nice addition to the game and takes puzzling to another level. You should not only take into account who you perform certain actions, but also in which order and which route you are going to take.
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With each mission there are conversations in which, for example, Tommy speaks to his clan and tells what is intended. Unfortunately these are only drawn images and a conversation that can only be read. It might have been more fun if the text had been spoken by the actors who also play in the series. This would have been a better link with the series and would have been more satisfying for the fans. The actors have a specific accent and unfortunately you don’t get that experience when you have to read the text yourself.
In the first missions everything is still quite simple and it can even be called a bit boring and monotonous. Fortunately, this becomes a lot more difficult and challenging as the game progresses. You have to take several components into account to make everything a success. If you have followed the series, you can increasingly imagine how a real Peaky Blinder works. This, on the other hand, makes it a game that is not for everyone.
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