Posted by When “Blink” debuted in 2007, it made Doctor Who fans scurry behind furniture and forever scared of angel statues – yet also made it one of most recommended episodes to hook in new Who fans. Since then, the Weeping Angels have reappeared in later Doctor Who seasons, adding new abilities to their creepy skillsets. Now, the Weeping Angels pull you into a new “Doctor Who” mobile game.
Doctor Who Mobile Game
A new mobile game by digital entertainment studio Maze Theory, in partnership with BBC Studios, builds onto the Weeping Angels story in Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins. Now available in the U.S. on iOS and Android devices for $3.99 and on Steam for $5.99, the story returns to Wester Drumlins, where Sally Sparrow and Lawrence Nightingale –and Whovians – first encountered the Weeping Angels in “Blink.”
The game begins as you find a phone, which has been left behind on the streets of London. Petronella Osgood contacts you through the phone as you try to uncover its secrets through corrupted files: what happened to the phone’s previous owner, what does it have to do with Wester Drumlins and why is an image of an angel statue appearing randomly on the screen!?
I haven’t played an immersive Doctor Who game before, but this was a fantastic introduction for me. As a big Doctor Who fan myself, I have suggested “Blink” as a beginner episode to friends (and now fellow fans). This was also my first experience with a paid mobile game; I typically play longer free-to-download ones, which may explain some of my criticism towards it – more on that later.
As a kid, I played the Nancy Drew mystery games from Her Interactive. I loved the puzzles and solving the mystery – but I was frequently scared out of my mind. The Lonely Assassins brought me right back to that! You have to dive through the information on the phone, combing through emails, chats, and even websites to find out what happened. You’re also able to choose how to interact with Osgood as she messages you: are you an eager companion or a little hesitant? But as the Weeping Angels being involved, it’s bound to get a little creepy. I quickly realized this was not a game to play right before bed. Just in case.
What to expect
The design and mechanics of the game really added to the story. The layout was very much like a phone’s home screen with app icons, and the game even forces you to play with a vertical orientation to make it clear this is a mobile phone. My Android phone is a few years out of date and running low on storage, so I was afraid the game would be sluggish. And while there were a few moments where the game froze, I think it was down to my own phone’s issues than the game. (Next time my phone has any future glitches or issues, I’ll just blame it on the Angels.)
There’s a mixture of audio and video components – you’ll occasionally get calls like the one that introduces you to Osgood, or the videos recorded by the phone’s previous owner before they disappeared. When you load the game, the screen recommends using headphones, which does help to immerse you in the story. The audio design and production of the game is in top form, from the error tones you get as you try to get past corrupted data, to the sudden calls from the Weeping Angel. As things got creepier, I had to unplug my headphones more than once to get a little more removed from the gameplay. (I haven’t grown out of my fear from the Nancy Drew games after all!)
I presume some of this was produced during the pandemic and lockdown, as there are some video calls that look to be shot with actual mobile devices (with a mixture of quality) so I wonder how much some of that was produced remotely. However, it adds to the game since individuals rarely use professional cameras for their calls and selfie videos anyway.
Engaging Story
It was a very engaging story, and it didn’t take me long to be quickly invested in the characters involved – especially when you don’t often “see” them, and most of what you learn about them is through past events. I really loved playing it and getting the story, but I was a little disappointed that I finished it in about a day. Again, this is the first time I’ve played a paid-game before; I usually play free-to-download ones that drag on for years and are sustained by ads and/or microtransactions (which I never pay for because I’m cheap). So it was refreshing to play without seeing ads or having the pressure of paying for extra little items while still playing a very high-quality game. But I don’t know if paying a small fee upfront is also indicative of having overall shorter gameplay. When you do finish the game (no spoilers!), you’re given a summary of what tasks you accomplished and didn’t; there were a couple of things I missed on my first play. And while the ending was satisfying, there were a couple of things left open that I wonder if there’s a chance at different endings because I didn’t complete certain tasks. For me, it’s worth going back and replaying it to see if I can get full completion, and maybe try a few different responses to Osgood to see how your dynamic with her can change. As far as other re-playability goes, I don’t know if this is something that you’d continue to revisit after finishing it once or twice – I probably wouldn’t, at least.
Overall, I thought this was a really fun game for any Whovian, even though it was a little on the short side for me. To me, one of the things I liked about “Blink” was that it took a wider view: it didn’t focus on the Doctor or the companions, but on regular people who briefly got a peek at the mad world the Doctor lives in. As the player, you get that bit of exposure in being of the world of Doctor Who – of UNIT and aliens and monsters – and you have that chance of influencing that story. I would be excited to see where else that may go.
Watch a trailer:
Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins, is now available in the US on iOS, Android (both $3.99), and Steam ($5.99). It will also be released on Nintendo Switch at a later date. The game is produced by Maze Theory and BBC Studios and developed by Kaigan Games.
Also check out:
The Best Quotes from “Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks”
The Most Inspirational Quotes From The 13th Doctor And Friends!
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