Dark Nights with Poe and Munro

I wanted to like this game. I've played Contradiction, Who Pressed Mute on Uncle Marcus, and several other would-be similar titles in the past, so I had high hopes going in. I was expecting a fun FMV experience. That is not what I got. I'll corroborate what others have said first: I've seen numerous reviews stating that many choices either don't matter at all or have little impact, and I agree. The game will play itself and select specific options for you if you don't make a decision yourself. This often doesn't mean a new third option where you don't make a choice, but just turns into the game auto-choosing one option or the other. Why even have a time limit on those choices if this is the case? The actors do their best with the script they have. I do not blame them specifically for this particular criticism, as I don't know how many creative decisions they themselves made for their roles. That said, most of the characters are completely unlikable. I don't know if this was intentional, but it makes the game tedious very quickly. This is the most true of the titular characters. It's okay and sometimes even more compelling to follow/be in the head of someone who isn't a good person or doesn't always have the best intentions. However, it quickly becomes exhausting when they either lack compelling motivation to behave that way or have no redeeming qualities. For Poe and Munro, it's both. This is a game about two insufferable people making terrible decisions. That might sound fun. I didn't think so. Was there anything I liked? Getting to hear Justin McElroy voice a villain (props for having that range, Juice). [spoiler]Poe and Munro are affair partners, which doesn't paint them in a favorable light from the first episode onward. Their relationship and banter aren't charming. Poe is cheating on his wife with Munro, and Munro is aware of and therefore complicit in this. Poe tells Munro his wife knows he's having an affair, but that she doesn't know with whom. How could she not know? The two flirt almost constantly on and off the air. Munro is his only coworker. Is Poe lying? If this ever comes to a head or concludes in any meaningful way, I'm not sure. More than that, I don't care. The characters weren't sympathetic or compelling enough for me to continue beyond halfway through episode four.[/spoiler] Munro is presumptuous and willfully ignorant. Poe is self-important and leering. As a result, their banter comes across not as witty and playful, but as two people who already shouldn't be together, having no chemistry and being constantly at odds with each other. Their relationship is confusing at best, and at worst, disturbing, given some of the possible actions and the surrounding context. There are many ways this could have been done differently; one approach I frequently see. In narratives where the main characters are deeply flawed people, there are often foils: Comparatively normal side characters who will comment on how abnormal the main characters' behavior is, how unlikable they are, and call into question the efficacy of their ill-conceived plots and actions. That makes for a better story. It's more compelling because it doesn't make the audience feel like they're supposed to be rooting for these unlikable people (unless under exceptional circumstances). It doesn't make the audience feel like they're going crazy. Side characters, or even one individual who pointed out Poe and Munro's absurdity, would have done wonders. As far as I played, that doesn't happen. If it does, it takes too long. As far as I could tell, the side characters either didn't have enough screen time to make much of an impact or were insufferable, too. Poe and Munro are terrible both together and separately. A perfect example is a scene in the third episode where [spoiler]Munro presumes a stranger she just met wants her to strip and is immediately seduced and on board. When the stranger tries to clarify that she wants Munro to strip sheets off of a bed, Munro still presumes she wants her to strip on the bed, and lounges there before even further clarification. I'm not sure how else the scene can unfold, as I felt incredibly awkward as it was. Afterward, Poe asks how things went, and Munro describes the woman as "dominant; I liked her." Again, I'm not sure if the scene was meant to be funny, sexy, or charming, but it came off as exhausting. Poe pretends that the handwritten death threats in episode one aren't a serious issue, and it's even more exhausting. Make it make sense: These are pieces of paper slipped under an interior door at the studio that cannot lock. The studio has been receiving them for at least two weeks. He doesn't think Munro should be informed about them because he assumes they're from his wife, who he says knows he's having an affair, but not with whom. HUH?? Motivations swap whenever it's convenient to the narrative, but consistent character arcs are largely nonexistent. In episode one, Munro wants to call the police after a creepy caller threatens her and Poe, and Poe reveals the studio has (as stated) been getting death threats via handwritten notes slipped under the door to their recording studio. Poe doesn't want her to call. In episode three, a teenager goes missing, and shortly after, the same creepy caller, whom we thought had died in episode one, calls in again to inform Poe and Munro that they must act quickly. Straight after, yet another creepy caller informs them she has the teenager trapped somewhere and will probably kill him. Poe wants to call the police. Munro wants to play detective and figure it out as a duo. While I wouldn't put it past these two to try something this ill-conceived, it's weird to see their motivations swap with no real reason given besides 'the police are incompetent'. While I agree, especially since there are at least two ways the duo can get away with potential murder in episode one, why the sudden change?[/spoiler] The episodes I played were just long enough to be frustrating, but not long enough to answer any questions that could have led somewhere interesting. My most significant criticism by far: This game needs a content warning. When you have actors portray what appears to be the lead-up to [spoiler]violent SA[/spoiler], this game needs a content warning. It's not the only reason, but it's the biggest one for me. Additionally, there are graphic narrative descriptions of [spoiler]death and gore, as well as other very heavy topics.[/spoiler] I am well aware this game has horror elements, and I went in expecting horror. However, especially due to the format in which it's presented and the fact that horror is the chosen genre, it falls to the developers to provide these warnings. I am not suggesting games should not tackle heavy topics or content. Some of my favorite games handle these topics incredibly well. This makes the way they're included here even worse. TLDR: When cheesy acting takes a hard turn into serious situations and topics the writing isn't equipped to handle well, it's not only narrative whiplash, it puts many people off the game in its entirety. Your choices as a player are mostly irrelevant. The characters are unlikable and frustrating. The story is so hard to follow that it's often nonsensical, and the episodes are only loosely correlated. I was overly generous and tried to give the game a chance even after I wanted to quit. Although I didn't run into anything as egregious as episode two, it wasn't worth it. Some people say Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is so bad it's good. I disagree. I expected better from this studio. I wish I'd refunded it when I still had the chance.

The first two episodes were fine in a “bad but entertaining” way (actors were good, I mean the story/dialogue), but unfortunately any momentum that was building ground to a halt on episode 3/4 (the Past Lives one), and then from there it was pointless and slow and, worst of all, boring.

I'm sorry but the acting was so bad I had to quit the game out of second-hand embarrassment.

Pubblicato nel 2020, "Poe and Munro" è la terza fatica dei coniugi Linda e Tim Cowles, fondatori del D'Avekki Studios e grandi appassionati di FMV, misteri ed esoterismo. Esso rappresenta una sorta di terzo capitolo di un ciclo iniziato con "The infectious madness of Dr Dekker" del 2017 e proseguito con "The shapeshifting detective" del 2018, e condivide con i predecessori l'utilizzo del full motion video, l'ambientazione nella fantomatica località di August e l'alone di mistero che aleggia durante il racconto dei sei episodi che compongono il gioco. I protagonisti, Ellis Munro e John "Poe" Pope, hanno fatto il loro esordio in "The Shapeshifting Detective" nella parte di due conduttori radiofonici guadagnandosi poi il ruolo primario nel suo "spin-off", "Dark nights" appunto; tra una trasmissione radiofonica e l'altra i due personaggi si ritroveranno protagonisti di sei "racconti del mistero" della durata di circa mezz'ora, e sarà compito del giocatore effettuare le scelte che influiranno sulla trama e sul finale di ciascun episodio. Rispetto a "Dr Dekker" e "The Shapeshifting Detective" la componente ludica (intesa come "enigmi da risolvere") è totalmente assente, cosa che potrebbe far storcere il naso a chi non avesse già dimestichezza con i film interattivi; in questo ci vedo una pecca nel gioco, venendo a mancare un vero e proprio "scopo" se non quello di vedere il finale di ciascun episodio (ed eventualmente collezionare i vari achievement previsti). Come in tutti i film interattivi, le scelte condizionano lo sviluppo della storia e il finale; quindi per la visione di tutti i finali (e la conquista di tutti gli achievement) sono richieste più run. Come già detto, ciascun episodio dura circa mezz'ora, ma una volta completato sarà possibile rigiocarlo skippando le scene già viste (cosa che porta la durata di una seconda run a una manciata di minuti per episodio). Pro e contro: i PRO sono tutti quelli già noti a chi conosce i predecessori, ossia la recitazione degli attori (sempre ottima) e l'alone di misterio che indubbiamente incuriosisce una volta entrati nel vivo delle storie. Non mancano gli agganci e le citazioni dei giochi precedenti (un intero capitolo è "ambientato" sullo stesso divano di pelle dove sedevano i pazienti del Dr Dekker), oltre che alcune facce note e apprezzate come quella della bellisssssima Aislin De'Ath, "attrice feticcio" dei coniugi Cowles. Per quanto riguarda i CONTRO, citerei l'assenza di veri e propri enigmi e la limitata interazione richiesta al giocatore. Oltre a questo si nota anche la mancanza di un registro chiaro nelle storie, che restano sempre in bilico tra il thriller, la commedia e il grottesco, senza però affondare mai realmente in nessuno di essi; troppo poco inquietante per dare qualche brivido allo spettatore/giocatore (a differenza di Dekker, che su quel fronte è per me magistrale), non abbastanza ironico per suscitare vero divertimento. Insomma un "mix di generi" che può piacere oppure no (se qualcuno cerca avventure che abbiano un'atmosfera lynchiana... io mi sento di suggerire un po' tutta la produzione D'Avekki). In sintesi, su una scala da 0 a 10 "Dark nights with Poe and Munro" si piazza per me sul 6.5, e lo consiglierei prettamente a chi ha giocato i due predecessori, mentre per gli altri potrebbe risultare abbastanza superfluo (anche se la breve durata, circa 3-4 ore, lo rende comunque un buon passatempo per gli appassionati di FMV).

Oi, lemme tell ya 'bout this Dark Nights with Poe and Munro game, right? Absolute rubbish, innit! It's one of them FMV games about two radio DJs in some weird little town, but bloody 'ell, what a disappointment! The stories are proper disjointed - six little episodes that ain't connected and just end without resolvin' nuffin'! Each one's only like 20-30 minutes long, so you're done with the whole thing in about two and a half hours, which is a right ripoff for what you're payin'! The worst part is them choices you gotta make - they don't tell ya what you're even pickin'! It's just some random pictures on the screen, and you're s'posed to click one without knowin' what'll 'appen! Like, do I pick Poe or Munro? No bleedin' clue what either of 'em's gonna do! The actin's just about alright - seen worse on them dodgy SyFy shows - but the chemistry between the main characters ain't enough to save this mess. Agree wiff most people who played it say it's confusin', borin', and the dialogue's cringey as anythin'. Even if you get it on sale, save your dosh and watch a proper movie instead!

If you've played The Shapeshifting Detective, then you're definitely going to enjoy this game! Love Poe and Munro's chemistry!!! Hoping for a sequel or another game related to their story :)

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Absolutely splendid, "Dark Nights with Poe and Munro" is an FMV game that blends unsettling and comical moments throughout its chapters. It effectively creates the right elements for full immersion, keeping players engaged and their eyes glued to the screen. The game features multiple endings for each chapter based on the choices players make throughout the experience. It is genuinely a masterpiece within the FMV genre.

I want a Poe and Monroe 2! If you like FMV you will like it!

This was one of the better FMV games on Steam. I really loved the Twilight Zone style episodes. My only issue is that the choices are few and far between. If it wasn't so entertaining, I would be more frustrated with the lack of interactivity.