Blackwell Unbound

Blackwell Unbound is the second entry in Wadjet Eye Games' Blackwell mystery adventure series. Set in 1973 Manhattan, the game shifts protagonist from Rosa Blackwell to her aunt Lauren — embittered, chain-smoking, and reluctantly bonded to the same wisecracking ghost guide, Joey Mallone.

A lone ethereal saxophone drifts over Roosevelt Island. A construction site downtown is plagued by a series of strange accidents. The citizens of Manhattan don't notice, or don't connect them. Lauren and Joey are the only ones who suspect there's a single hand behind both incidents — and that an enigmatic killer is preparing to strike again.

Gameplay is classic point-and-click adventure with the lean Wadjet Eye approach: short scenes, character-driven dialogue, item puzzles, and the medium-and-ghost dynamic that ties the whole series together. Lauren and Joey can be swapped between to solve puzzles, with Joey passing through walls and Lauren handling the physical world.

The production fits Dave Gilbert's signature aesthetic — period detail, jazz score (literally so, in this entry), and the noir-soaked New York that the series treats as its setting and protagonist alike. Plays as a standalone, though the larger Blackwell arc rewards completionists who follow the series in order.