Black Mirror II: Reigning Evil

Posel smrti 2, known abroad as Black Mirror II, is a loose sequel to the successful horror adventure, but unlike the first installment it was not created by the Czech studio Future Games, but rather by the German team Cranberry Productions, which bought the rights to the brand and the license for a sequel from the German publisher dtp. The story takes place twelve years later, and its main character is Darren Michaels, son of Samuel Gordon from the first game, who in a small American town grapples with his own dark secrets, a family curse, and mysterious deaths in the area, which ultimately lead him back to the legacy of the Gordon family.

In terms of gameplay, the game sticks to the established adventure formula - exploring locations, collecting and combining items in the inventory, solving puzzles, and conversations with characters that gradually guide the player toward uncovering the truth about the Gordon family curse and its impact on later generations. Technically, it was a more modern production than the previous installment, with more current graphics matching the standards of the end of the decade and smoother character animations, but according to some players and reviews the horror atmosphere did not reach the intensity and cohesion of the 2003 original. The music and sound effects try to follow up on the dark tone of the first game and the atmosphere of an isolated manor, yet according to many the game lacks its gothic tightness and sense of constant threat.

The reception of Posel smrti 2 was more mixed than that of the first installment - the game was seen as a solid but less exceptional attempt to keep the brand alive after the change of development team and country of origin. For fans of the series, it remains an interesting addition to the Black Mirror story, even though it failed to recreate the extraordinary impression left years earlier by the 2003 Posel smrti, and in players' memory it thus remains rather in the shadow of the original.

Why play it: Fans of the series will enjoy it as an interesting addition to the Black Mirror story, even though in atmosphere and overall impression it doesn't reach the quality of the 2003 original.