Telling Lies

Playstation LifestyleChandler Wood

9/10

I had the benefit of going into Telling Lies almost completely blind. I’d never played Sam Barlow’s previous game, Her Story, and missed Telling Lies when it was released on PC and iOS last year. All I knew is that Telling Lies was an FMV game featuring real videos of live actors, but different from the typical “choose your own adventure” style choice-based affairs like Late Shift or The Complex. Let me say now that if you’re curious about the game, dive into it unknown. Telling Lies is a journey of investigation and discovery, and not having much of an initial foundation to know what you are ...

PC GamerAndy Kelly

87/100

Separate fact from fiction in this investigative thriller.

Nintendo World ReportJohn Rogers

8/10

Any search can act as a doorway to a juicy, hard-to-reach scene, or even lead to a whole new storyline. Any unusually placed word could be a clue leading to a game-altering revelation. It’s a compelling mechanic that leads to easy immersion. Anyone who’s used a simple video editor will feel at home scrubbing back and forth through digital videos, and jumping between clips. The Switch’s touch screen makes this even more intuitive than it would be using a mouse.

TheSixthAxisNick Petrasiti

8/10

For those who love to immerse themselves in a good yarn, Telling Lies is a game you should totally give a go. There's so much depth as you search for even the smallest clues in some excellently captured performances, digging ever deeper into this twisting interactive thriller.

GameSpewKim Snaith

8/10

I’d love for Sam Barlow to add some kind of “movie” mode to Telling Lies, allowing us to see conversations happen in real time, with videos playing out in chronological order. It’s unlikely that’ll ever happen, though. As it is, Telling Lies’ compelling narrative and phenomenal acting will be enough to spur you on. Searching and scrubbing through videos can be a chore, but it’s worth it, if just for that one tiny piece of information you’ve been waiting to find.

Jump Dash RollLuciano Howard

8/10

Telling Lies is a rich drama told in an inventive and fun way, enabling the player to learn what happened in a personal and unique way.

VideogamerJosh Wise

7/10

Telling Lies expands on the concept Sam Barlow created for Her Story, with an intriguing web of characters and mysteries, but some of the more wayward elements of its plot pull you away from the intimate drama.

Push SquareLiam Croft

7/10

As the video game industry begins to accommodate more and more unique experiences, what we define as interactive entertainment expands. This is largely thanks to the boom in independent development over the past two generations, which as a result, has given rise to select genres once assumed dead. Full-motion video is just one example, and Telling Lies feels like a premium take on that experience. The result is a captivating narrative held back by some clunky interaction.

GameSpotPhil Hornshaw

7/10

Sam Barlow again lets you search through video to uncover mysteries and secrets, but you'll have to make your own fun.

Xbox AchievementsDan Webb

65/100

Telling Lies is almost the perfect metaphor for real-life: inane bollocks for the most part, with some really interesting things happening every so often to stop you from falling asleep.

TechRaptorWilliam Worrall

6/10

Telling Lies has an interesting story but is let down by a lack of direction and a clunky UI design. Even interesting characters can't save the game, and a watered-down epilogue which is supposed to entice repeated playthroughs just leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

The VergeAndrew Webster

Unscored

Telling Lies is a new interactive thriller for Steam and the iPhone from Sam Barlow, director of the acclaimed true crime game Her Story.