The Blackwell Legacy (iOS) Review

The story in Legacy manages to capture the player's attention right away with a sense of foreboding which continues right until the episode's conclusion. Rosa Blackwell, the protagonist of the game and series, is an aspiring but ultimately failing writer who has just attended the funeral of her aunt - the most interesting fact of which is that she had been in a mysterious coma for 20 years.

Rosa's ordinary life unravels more when she discovers shortly after that her grandmother was also inflicted with a similar illness and that both women mentioned a figure known as 'Joey.' It is not long after this that players are introduced to said character of Joey Mallone, the witty and arrogant ghost who has been tied to the Blackwell women for generations, who informs Rosa that she is a medium and it is up to her to find ghosts that need freeing from the mortal plane- thus beginning the player's journey as ghost detective.

What stands out most immediately in Legacy is the wonderful sense of atmosphere to the city of New York that this story is based in, which comes largely from the art style of the graphics and the fantastic soundtrack which has a series of memorable tunes for each location. From the first look over the skyline it does a fantastic job of creating a bleak washed out place that is filled with the haunting ghosts of the city's sins.

'Sins' is apt as Legacy's plot centres around the unexplained suicide of college girls and an unknown figure simply entitled the 'Deacon' who is possibly responsible. This main antagonist is very well designed, and the developers have done a great job at avoiding a clichéd monster and instead present what turns out to be a very human and sympathetic story by the end. Indeed, despite the gruesome deeds, players may come to empathise with him.

Rosa herself as a character is a bit harder to empathise with and is voiced a little on the bland side, with a tendency to express shock in a monotone manner, and has a regular knack for complaining just a tad too much. Unfortunately, she is the main disappointment in the game.

Her complaining is hard to understand when she works alongside the loveable ghost Joey, who has a sardonic wisecrack for every situation he finds himself in, and is brilliantly designed and voiced as this New York jazz-age ghost with his shirt and (magical) tie combo.