For all you flat-cap wearing gamers
The first
Peaky Binders video game has just been released.
And while you might think that the show would lend itself to a big sprawling crime game like
Grand Theft Auto, only with the Midlands instead of Los Santos,
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind goes down a different route.
Instead, it is a puzzle-adventure game, where you take control of Tommy Shelby and his gang from an overhead or isometric perspective.
https://youtu.be/PQLvM8IwBkA
The game's storyline is actually a prequel to the events of the first series of the show, following "the Shelby family's criminal organisation as they unearth a sinister plot to put Tommy out of business."
Each member of the gang has a different set of powers - so Tommy Shelby focuses on intimidating people, Arthur Shelby is the brawler, Finn Shelby does the stealth bits, Polly can pick locks, Ada can distract people so others can sneak past them, you get the deal. It is a good way to approach adapting a show with a big cast of core characters.
If you ever played the
Commandos real-time strategy games, you'll know what the vibe is here, using each character's power at the right time, in tandem with each other, to get various obstacles and complete objectives.
The game does not feature voice acting from Cillian Murphy or any of the cast, but it has got a nice art style with reasonable recreations of the cast. The storyline is advanced through text scenes, and considering how bad some licensed video games can look when they do not have access to the actors, or even not allowed to use their likeness, this it is a pretty good take for a mid-budget tie-in title.
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind from Curve Digital is out now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
