Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 74 | 12 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 83% | 77 | 215 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 69 | 3 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | – | – | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 0 reviews sampled · 0 total reviews in window · weighted 0 up / 0 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (49)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“Blackwood Crossing is a simple but touching story about important things that games still rarely tell about. This little adventure is all about loss and its adoption. There's charming music and characters, but the most important thing in such stories is quality of writing. And here Blackwood Crossing, unfortunately, does not shine. Game talks with a complicated, and at the same time overly simple language. For any fan of deep and arty games it can still become a pleasant gift, but it can also leave a feeling of slight dissatisfaction.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Despite some problems with controls, Blackwood Crossing story provides a touching and a necessary lesson for our lives today.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“It's hard to dislike Blackwood Crossing. It makes a valiant attempt at telling a tender story in an unconventional way, and for that its developers absolutely deserve credit. Unfortunately, its attempts largely fall flat. There are some striking visual and auditory moments to be sure but they don't make up for the predictable narrative and spotty voice acting.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Blackwood Crossing is a really interesting and rather unique game that is seriously hampered by its lack of content, both in physical size and playing time. Still, the production quality for an indie studio is undeniable and mostly due to the emotive tale I do feel that the whole is greater than just the sum of its parts.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Blackwood Crossing has an amazing story with great characters and themes that explored some sorrowing aspects of life.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Provided you're not short on empathy, Blackwood Crossing has a good tale to tell. The various forms of loss and growing up are dealt with quite well, while the fanciful setting gives you the impetus to keep going even if you know exactly how the tale will end. It does need some work on the puzzle mechanics, as a fiddly detection system and slow walking can be frustrating once the solution is known. Overall, this is a good first effort from the development team, and it's worth a look if you're a genre fan.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“My first playthrough will always have a special place in my memories and this title is a highly successful one in my mind.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Blackwood Crossing does a great job with telling a story, but it’s lacking in lustre as a game. The surreal setting, the believable characters, and the plot are all highlights of Blackwood Crossing, and if that is what you’re looking for to wile away a couple of hours, then I recommend it. If you’re focus is purely more on the gameplay side of things, it may be worth waiting for updates to roll out to address issues like movement and fiddly interaction. PaperSeven’s first release shows a studio that has promise in storytelling, but it just needs to fine tune the gaming side a little bit more.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Blackwood Crossing is a playful, yet meaningful exploration of fear, love and grief.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Blackwood Crossing is an interesting indie title that isn't really groundbreaking, but at the same time, the developers have nothing to be ashamed for.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“A charming and emotionally honest interactive story, despite distracting flaws in terms of both the script and presentation.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“There's not much more I can say about Blackwood Crossing without spoiling its story and setting, so I'll just say that it's definitely a fun experience that you should play on PlayStation 4. Sure, it's $15.99 price point will probably rub some people the wrong way since you're looking at around 3 hours to complete the game, but the game's setting, narrative, graphics and sound more than make it a game worthy of your collection. Not to mention that the final sections leading to the game's ending are worth the price of admission.”
read full review ↗
3DNews
Hu3br
Push Square
Life is Xbox
Gamerheadquarters
Worth Playing
GameGrin
TheSixthAxis
GameSkinny
SomHráč.sk
Metro GameCentral
PS3Blog.net…and 37 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Blackwood Crossing Patch NotesMay 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Blackwood Crossing Patch NotesMay 5, 2017