Insidia vs Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
Insidia
Insidia is a free-to-play, turn-based, tactical game that has you taking 4 different fighters into battle to destroy the opponents 3 towers that represent their life bar. Currently in development by Bad Seed, Insidia is in open beta for the moment and is considered an Early Access title on Steam, so it isn’t quite perfect just yet, but the developers have the full intentions on getting the maximum amount of potential out of this one. The game does have some nice ideas and is definitely a unique twist for the turn-based tactics genre (having simultaenous turns and all, much like Atlas Reactor), it just needs some serious refinement, that’s all. There needs to be more characters, their animations need to be a little more polished, and the attacks need to have some decent impact behind their sounds, but the overall experience in the game is a positive one and does make for a fun couple of games here and there.Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a game that puts you into the shoes of the Shelby crime family as they try to exert their influence and strengthen their grip on their turf. The game is split into several story-driven “missions” featuring time manipulation elements where the goal is to sync up the actions of every member in the group to accomplish the mission objectives. These missions will also allow you to play several members of the Shelby family from Tommy himself to the youngest, Finn.The gameplay here lets you play around with time, making sure that you sync up the actions and movement of the characters you control in each mission just so they could complete the mission as flawlessly and within the shortest time possible. Basically, instead of Tommy, YOU will be acting as the mastermind for the Shelbys in this game!
To make this possible, the game has a timeline bar at the bottom of the game where you control whether time moves forwards or back, much like the forward and rewind button on a tape recorder. While time is moving forward, you can get your characters to do a variety of actions, depending on their specialty. For instance, Tommy has the power of persuasion, allowing you to take temporary control of a persuaded NPC to open doors, pick up certain items, or pull otherwise inaccessible levers for the Shelbys.
Each mission comes with its own episodic mini-stories that you can enjoy. These stories aren’t linked to the TV series, naturally, since the series is already in its 5th season, and this game is set in its first.
In a nutshell, Peaky Blinders: Mastermind is a fan-service game that really made its mark. The gameplay is incredibly fun and strategic, and for those perfectionists, a challenging game to get a perfect run on. Plus, as fans of the TV series, it’s a real treat to be able to enjoy some new storylines, albeit short and being set in the first season of the show, that you have some measure of control over… you know, due to being the mastermind and all.