REVIEW: - Peaky Blinders: Mastermind on Xbox One

Review by Jon Donnis
I was kindly sent a review copy of Peaky Blinders: Mastermind on Xbox one by Curve Digital and Renaissance PR.

As someone from Birmingham, I have been looking forward to the Peaky Blinders game for a while. Based on the popular TV show of the same name.

You could best describe Peaky Blinders Mastermind as a "puzzle-adventure game", and it is set in a timeline of just before the start of the first season.

You play as members of the Shelby family, and each level you have to solve various puzzles, sounds pretty easy right, here is where it gets more complicated, you need to control different people at the same time, to do different tasks, you do this by rewinding time, so you might control one character for a minute or two, perform various tasks, but then you swap to another character, rewind time, so that while your actions with the first character play out, you might be doing something else with another character, which eventually helps you succeed in the level, I know it sounds a bit complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it all makes sense.

Sometimes you may need one character to distract a guard while you walk past, or to open a passage, get you a key, and as you progress through the levels, things get harder, as you need to complete various tasks with different characters all within the same timeline. You get a score based upon the speed of completing the level. Now the first time you attempt a level you may take a while to figure things out, but the great thing here is, once completed, you can try the level again, and now you know what to do, you can try to get as fast a time as possible. Repeating the level a few times, might seem tedious, but it is actually an interesting and challenging part of the game.

The graphics are great, and there is an original soundtrack for the game which I enjoyed a lot too.

The Good
Great graphics and soundtrack, a challenging game, with plenty of replay potential.

The Bad
At first I found the controls a bit tricky, and when you have only a short amount of time to rewind to achieve something, it can be a bit frustrating at first, of course with practice comes perfection.

Summary
A thoroughly enjoyable game, you do not need to be a fan of the TV show to enjoy this, it is a fun, challenging puzzle adventure game, and I give it a strong 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis




Peaky Blinders: Mastermind will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam for PC on 20th August 2020 for $24.99/€24.99/£19.99. You can pre-order the game on Xbox One and Steam for PC

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind comes to PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC 20th of August 2020

Curve Digital have today announced that the very first game based on the award-winning Peaky Blinders TV series - Peaky Blinders: Mastermind - will launch across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on 20th August.

Peaky Blinders: Mastermind - which can be pre-ordered on Xbox One and Steam for PC from today - is a puzzle-adventure game based on the multi-award-winning TV show, developed by celebrated independent studio FuturLab, in collaboration with the creative and production teams behind Peaky Blinders, the independent production company Caryn Mandabach Productions.

Taking place immediately before the events of the show’s very first season, players will join the Shelby family's criminal organisation as they discover a sinister plot to put Tommy out of business.

Players must plan and enact strategies by taking direct control of key members of the Shelby family simultaneously over the same timeline, moving characters into position at exactly the right moment in order to navigate challenging scenarios.

According to James Marsden, Game Director at FuturLab, the game is a creative interpretation of the world the TV show has created.

“It's been an honour to be trusted with the Peaky Blinders license,” says Marsden. “our team has created a game that reflects the heart of what makes the show compelling: Tommy Shelby's ability to manipulate friends, family and foes in the pursuit of his master plan.”

In Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, players will be able to freely set and rewind each character's path in order to tune all of their actions for perfect coordination, tactically utilising characters and stealth to solve increasingly complex puzzles. It’s a bold take on the series that suitably impressed the show’s distributor Endemol Shine.

Anil Mistry, Director of Gaming & ECommerce, ESG said 
"We are thrilled to be partnering with Curve and FuturLab in making the first official Peaky Blinders game. Futurlab has faithfully re-created the Peaky Blinders’ universe and having Cillian provide the voiceover adds a real sense of authenticity to this game. Hopefully, fans of the show and gamers alike will be excited to get their thinking caps on and enjoy this compelling puzzle adventure like no other."

In Peaky Blinders: Mastermind players will: -

*Witness the rise of Tommy Shelby as the true leader of the Peaky Blinders in early 20th century Birmingham
*Utilise Tommy’s prowess for planning to set up complex scenarios
*Control Tommy, Arthur, Polly and more on the ground as they pull off mission after mission

Caryn Mandabach Productions’ Jamie Glazebrook, executive producer of all five series of Peaky Blinders, who was involved in reviewing the creative for the game, said 
“The trailer dropped in my inbox, and I watched it five times in a row. It blew me away. And it’s Peaky Blinders through and through. I can’t wait for players to experience this incredible game“.

FuturLab has collaborated with Feverist, the U.K. art-rock band who were involved in the soundtrack to Peaky Blinders Season 1, to create an original bespoke soundtrack for the game. The single Reveller, from the game’s upcoming soundtrack album, will be revealed tomorrow as will the track The Secret, which features in the reveal trailer.


Peaky Blinders: Mastermind will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam for PC on 20th August 2020 for $24.99/€24.99/£19.99. You can pre-order the game on Xbox One and Steam for PC