Developer: Aviary Studios
Publisher: Aviary Studios
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
The Gallery – Review
We have played through our fair share of FMV games over the years, and some were a lot better than others. We very much enjoyed the Sci-Fi setting of The Complex, while I Saw Black Clouds felt a bit more tedious to play through. These games come in a variety of different genres, but these titles often stand out thanks to quality acting or replay value. This time we are taking a look at The Gallery, which offers two different (yet similar) storylines in two different time periods.
As The Gallery is basically a movie in which you have to make choices along the way, there is very little we can say without spoiling the experience. The game offers you two stories to play through, one that plays out in 1981 and one in 2021. Both stories are very similar, as you’ll be playing as a somewhat down-in-the-dumps art gallery manager. In both stories, you’ll get an unexpected visitor who is interested in painting your portrait. While the situation seems harmless at first, you’ll soon find yourself in a dangerous hostage situation in which you’ll have to try to make it out alive.
While the cast of The Gallery is overall decent, it’s mainly Anna Popplewell and George Blagden who steal the show. Both cast members already have a fair bit of experience under their belts. You’ll see Anna and George playing opposite roles in the two different storylines, thus meaning they each play the hostage or the assailant once. As the scripts for both stories are very identical in many ways, it’s interesting to see how both cast members perform the same role, albeit in a different time period.
The game pretty much plays as you’d expect. You get to play through a live-action movie, that just branches towards different endings depending on what choices you make. At certain times you’ll be prompted to make a choice, which may or may not affect the relationship(s) you have with other characters. If you’re someone who has trouble making split-second decisions, you can opt to pause the moments when you have to make a choice. This ensures a more relaxing pace. Other than that, a game such as this doesn’t have that much in terms of actual gameplay. You make your choices, and you simply get to enjoy the crazy ride.
For those who want to play through the game multiple times, you’ll be able to skip through the scenes you’ve already seen. This makes it easier to unlock all the different endings. That being said, when you skip through a scene, you might already find yourself at a point where you have to immediately make a choice, without the game actually showing you what was asked before that. While this was only a minor issue, it was sometimes a bit harder to recall what was asked right before the choice. It would have perhaps been better to also hear what was asked right before the prompt.
Conclusion
The Gallery was quite fun to play through. We enjoyed the similarities between the two ‘different’ storylines, but we would have loved to have a few more original twists and turns that would also make each storyline a bit more unique. Nonetheless, what you’re getting here is a well-acted FMV game with a lot of replay value. Even though both stories proved to be very short, we were intrigued by the overall setting and plot, and we wouldn’t mind similar ideas coming from Aviary Studios in the future.
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