While to some extent the draw of illuminating the unknown is an underpinning for all stories – be it externally to the reader, or internally within the framework of the tale itself – no genre draws on it as explicitly, nor dangles the prospect of discovery so tantalisingly before the audience, as crime fiction. It co-opts the simplest narrative question of ‘What happens next?’ into the complex mysteries of how, why and when a foul deed was committed, conventionally in service to pointing the audience towards the grand unveiling of whodunnit. In works of traditional media, we tend to accept such fiction as ‘good’ when its twists are both well orchestrated and impactful, the plot’s arc elaborately crafted to deploy its surprises at key moments, or to spike expectations set up by clever framing. Her Story (written, developed and directed by Aisle developer and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories scribe Sam Barlow) hits many of the beats of and touchstones for a good crime story, but it is far from traditional, abdicating a generous measure of authorial control by allowing you to dictate in which order you experience this tale’s twists and inversions.
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