Mr. Magic's Emporium is a renowned magic shop located in the heart of the city. Established over two decades ago, this emporium is a paradise for magic enthusiasts, professionals, and beginners alike. The moment you enter Mr. Magic's Emporium, you are transported into a world of wonder and amazement, where tricks and illusions come to life. The shop is packed with a wide variety of magical apparatus, including decks of cards, coins, scarves, and other props that will leave you spellbound.
The shop is packed with a wide variety of magical apparatus, including decks of cards, coins, scarves, and other props that will leave you spellbound. The store caters to all levels of magic enthusiasts, from those who are just starting out to the seasoned performers. The experienced staff members are always on hand to offer their expertise and advice, helping customers navigate through the extensive collection and select the perfect tricks for their needs.
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation (Xbox Series) Review
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation is a clunky but complex and compelling Taiwanese narrative-horror game brought down by an overreliance on trial-and-error gameplay. The opening can feel slow and disjointed, but the story pieces fall into place and it evolves into an entertaining tale about defeating literal and personal ghosts. The problem is just as the cast begins to grow on you and the stakes get higher, the frequency of frustrating ghost encounters ramps up too.
Premise
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation’s strongest elements are the relatable but troubled cast, the unexpectedly complex plot, and a creepy setting that twists a familiar safe space into a walking nightmare.
It helps that while it might look and feel distinctly “last-gen”, it features detailed character models for both the cast and ghosts; important interior locations pack in a ton of environmental storytelling; the ambient audio is incredibly unsettling; and there’s decent voice acting coupled with expressive animations (I’d recommend the original Chinese voice overs with subtitles). The variable framerate leaves a lot to be desired, but the quality of the presentation benefits the storytelling as this is a game you’ll get the most out of if you immerse yourself in its world, soak up the thick atmosphere, and hunt down every collectible to try to understand what’s really going on.
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation follows a group of six Taiwanese undergrads, each with wildly different personalities, backgrounds, and interests – all on course for a really bad night.
What brings them together – and back to a seemingly deserted campus during a winter break – is their plan for a live-streamed initiation ceremony that’ll see them test many urban legends around their campus. They’re hoping to draw attention to their social clubs and plan to focus on a cursed bridge; a bridge said to be haunted by the ghost of a female student assaulted and killed 5 years prior.
The cast is made up of common archetypes but they’re still likeable, or at least relatable, and most have more history than the game initially lets on. There’s the extroverted girl harbouring crippling insecurities and grief; excitable but naive first-years who discover their courage when facing adversity; the mature group leader quick to issue orders but driven by self-interest; and the popular bachelor that has broken several hearts and seems to know more about the situation than they’re letting on.
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation takes a while to get going. The opening – which hints at one character’s troubled past and gives you a taste of the frustration to come – transitions into a midnight live-stream that descends into chaos when the vengeful ghost appears and scatters the group. During this disjointed opening, you play from the perspective of several characters over an overlapping time period.
Although they all believe in the possibility of hauntings, few of them encounter ghosts at first, so these opening hours are spent establishing their personalities and relationships with plenty of exploration, dialogue, and puzzles. The tone and content matter is serious – albeit with some goofy moments and literal toilet humour – but lengthy dialogue sequences, reading phone messages, and examining dozens of optional collectibles make for an interesting but seemingly unfocused start.
Push on through – the game is only 4-5 hours long, ghost chases permitting – and it escalates in complexity. The students finally gain more agency, get to explore more of the campus, uncover the truth of the original incident, and discover a plan to exorcise the ghost for good. The stakes are ramped up, relationships are frayed, not everyone survives, and the lightly foreshadowed ending was an unexpected twist. I was honestly hooked by the midpoint and continually on edge, which only made the impact of poor gameplay choices frustrate me more.
Gameplay
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation doesn’t have particularly novel or even polished gameplay, but it could get away with it given the short length and frequent story beats that hold your interest.
The stiff movement and first-person animations work fine for exploration and puzzle sections, which focus on walk-and-talk exposition, reading documents, and solving puzzles. About half your time is spent exploring the eerie campus – possibly encountering a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jump scares – while searching for mandatory items, optional notes, and reading phone messages. There are no objective markers or map, so you need to follow instructions, check signs, and become familiar with the layout. It serves to immerse you in the world and ramps up the tension when the environment is twisted into new, unfamiliar layouts.
Occasionally, you’ll find yourself locked in puzzle rooms, hunting for keys and codes before using them in the right order. With no guidance outside of environmental clues and notes, I initially got stuck on the very first whiteboard puzzle before realising I hadn’t properly examined a seemingly random item for a note taped on the back. It’s classic survival-horror fare and I quickly settled into the groove.
Of course, this is a horror game with ghosts, so half your time – assuming you don’t immediately despair and turn to YouTube videos from the PC release – is spent trying to avoid ghosts through a mixture of run-and-hide sequences, scripted chases with only one or two correct paths, and timed object hunts.
These sequences are not challenging once you know what to do; the problem is The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation relies on the trial-and-error approach and death-screen hints to guide you.There is an attempt to provide visual cues during some sequences but they’re easy to miss in the gloom or visual effects obscuring the screen.
Other issues include utterly useless crouch-walking; checkpoints limited to the beginning of encounters; the need to trigger some sort of paranormal event or ghost spawn before backtracking to find the right path, and finicky interaction prompts for hiding or closing doors – all problematic as most chases offer little room for error.
You run until you take a wrong turn, get stuck, and die; reload and try a different path or hiding spot until you get stuck again and die; then keep repeating that pattern until you hit whatever area transition or cutscene saves you from a growing sense of frustration rather than fear and panic.
It’s a terrible design that becomes more intrusive just as the story gets better and is capable of completely breaking the narrative flow and immersion. Given there are several achievements for dying to each ghost type, I’d wager a few unavoidable deaths were clearly part of the plan, but the mechanics are implemented far worse than many other run-and-hide horror games and it’s simply not fun.
Conclusions
It’s a damn shame the ghost chases are so annoying as The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation could have been one of those cult indie hits. Seemingly random events start making sense by the end, and the smart foreshadowing makes it perfect for a replay if you enjoy piecing together every clue and interpreting environmental storytelling. I just hope this re-release will push the developers to go back and tweak some of the ghost encounters because, as it stands, you’ve got to tolerate far too much frustration to move the compelling narrative forward.
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation was reviewed on Xbox Series S|X using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC, PS4/5, and Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay-wise, it’s a slow burn for the first hour or so. But around the two hour mark things start to accelerate. A significant portion of the game is a bit of a walking simulator, with sprinklings of find item x or speak to whomever. But there are also puzzles and stealth elements that really reminded me of Home Sweet Home, a great Thai horror game.
The staff are themselves passionate about magic and are always eager to share their knowledge and experiences with customers. In addition to the vast range of magical props, Mr. Magic's Emporium also offers a selection of instructional books, DVDs, and online resources that provide step-by-step instructions on how to perform various tricks. These resources are invaluable for those who are eager to learn and improve their magical skills. But Mr. Magic's Emporium doesn't stop at selling magical props and instructional materials. The shop also hosts regular workshops and events where magic enthusiasts can learn from experienced magicians and showcase their own talents. These events provide a platform for magic lovers to connect, learn, and inspire each other, fostering a sense of community within the magical arts. Moreover, Mr. Magic's Emporium prides itself on its customer service. The staff goes above and beyond to ensure that every customer leaves the shop satisfied and inspired. They provide personalized recommendations, answer questions patiently, and offer guidance to help customers achieve their magical aspirations. Over the years, Mr. Magic's Emporium has become more than just a magic shop. It has become a hub for the vibrant magic community, a place where dreams are realized and shared. Whether you're a budding magician or a seasoned performer, visiting Mr. Magic's Emporium is an experience that is guaranteed to leave you in awe and excitement..
Reviews for "Journey into the Extraordinary at Mr. Magic's Emporium"
- Sarah - 2 out of 5 stars - I was really disappointed with "Mr. Magjc Emorium". The plot was confusing and all over the place, and it felt like they were trying too hard to be quirky and magical. The characters were underdeveloped and I didn't feel any connection to them. Overall, I found the movie to be boring and lacking substance.
- John - 1 out of 5 stars - I absolutely hated "Mr. Magjc Emorium". It was such a waste of time and money. The storyline was weak and predictable, and the acting was terrible. I couldn't wait for the movie to end. I would not recommend this film to anyone.
- Emily - 2 out of 5 stars - I didn't enjoy "Mr. Magjc Emorium" at all. The special effects were cheesy and poorly done, and the dialogue was cringe-worthy. The movie felt disjointed and I had a hard time following the plot. Overall, I found it to be a disappointing and forgettable film.
- Mark - 3 out of 5 stars - While "Mr. Magjc Emorium" had some interesting moments, I felt that it fell short of my expectations. The storyline was intriguing, but the execution was lacking. The pacing was slow and I found myself losing interest. The film had potential, but it ultimately failed to deliver.