The Black Mirror (video game)
A point-and-click horror adventure set in a cursed ancestral manor.
The Black Mirror is a third-person point-and-click horror adventure game developed by the Czech company Future Games and released in 2003. Originally titled Posel Smrti, the game features 150 locations and five hours of spoken dialogue. It became a commercial success, selling 500,000 units worldwide by 2008, and was particularly successful in Germany under publisher DTP Entertainment.
Quick Facts
- Title
- The Black Mirror
- Developer
- Future Games
- Publisher
- CZE · Future Games · NA · The Adventure Company · UK · GMX Media
- Released
- CZE · 15 March 2003 · NA · 15 October 2003 · UK · 28 May 2004
- Genre
- Adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Windows
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The story takes place in August 1981 at Black Mirror, the ancestral manor of the Gordon family in Suffolk, England. Protagonist Samuel Gordon returns after 12 years upon hearing of his grandfather William Gordon's death, which is considered a suicide except by Samuel. Investigating, Samuel discovers his grandfather had been uncovering a family curse: in the 1200s, the elder brother Mordred opened a dark portal called the Black Mirror; his brother Marcus killed him and contained the portal, but Mordred cursed the line until five souls were sacrificed. Samuel seeks five sacred keys to close the portal permanently. As deaths occur around him, marked by a blood-red sigil, Samuel eventually obtains the keys but learns he is the killer, committing the murders in his sleep. He seals the portal in the catacombs and then jumps from the mansion onto the same spiked fence that killed his grandfather. The game is divided into six chapters: Return of the Future, Back to the Light, Hidden Legacy, Forgotten Bound, Confession of the Truth, and Look Through the Mirror.
Reader's Guide
Development began in early 2000 with a team of five people, and the game was released in March 2003 after slight delays from an initial late 2002 target. The Black Mirror was a commercial hit, especially in Germany, where it became the top-selling adventure of 2004 and surpassed DTP Entertainment's sales forecasts. It sold over 100,000 units in Germany alone and reached 500,000 globally by 2008. Critical reception was mixed: GameSpot praised its length, locations, challenge, and atmosphere but criticized voice acting and writing. However, 4Players named it the best adventure game of 2004, and Adventure Gamers later ranked it the 83rd-best adventure game ever. The game spawned two sequels—Black Mirror II: Reigning Evil (2009) and Black Mirror III: Final Fear (2011)—both developed by Cranberry Production. A reboot simply titled Black Mirror was released in November 2017 by KING Art Games and THQ Nordic, set in 1926 with a new cast and not a point-and-click game; it was less successful. A prequel, Messenger of the Death: Blood Bond, set in 1828 Edinburgh and featuring Joshua Gordon, was announced in 2025.
Did You Know?
- The game's original Czech title is Posel Smrti.
- The protagonist Samuel Gordon is revealed to be the killer, committing murders in his sleep due to the family curse.
- A prequel titled Messenger of the Death: Blood Bond was announced in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Black Mirror (video game)?
The Black Mirror is a 2003 third-person point-and-click horror adventure created by the Czech studio Future Games. It was originally released under the Czech title Posel Smrti before appearing internationally.
What kind of gameplay does The Black Mirror (video game) offer?
You explore a cursed ancestral manor across 150 distinct locations using a third-person point-and-click interface. The experience is anchored by roughly five hours of fully voiced dialogue, giving it a cinematic, story-driven feel.
Who developed and published The Black Mirror (video game)?
Future Games, a Czech development team, built the title, while DTP Entertainment took on publishing duties in Germany. The German market became the game's strongest commercial territory under that publisher.
How well did The Black Mirror (video game) sell?
By 2008 the game had shipped 500,000 copies worldwide, a solid figure for a mid-2000s point-and-click adventure. Its biggest sales came from Germany, where DTP Entertainment handled distribution.
Why is The Black Mirror (video game) notable among 2000s adventure titles?
Its gothic, cursed-mansion setting combined with a fully voiced script and 150 explorable areas gave it a darker, more immersive tone than many of its contemporaries. It also demonstrated that point-and-click horror could still attract a large audience in the early 2000s.
More in Adventure Games of the 2000s, Part 2 1-22
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced