Welcome to The Gallery
An amateur painter. An empty gallery. A chair rigged to explode. This is what awaits you in The Gallery, an interactive narrative by Aviary Studios. The title features a captivating story and offers multiple endings depending on your choices.
You are a curator at a struggling art gallery. With some luck and a bit of bribery, you’ve convinced a famous artist to debut a painting in your little gallery. You’ve just locked up for the night and everything is set for the exhibit tomorrow when you meet a stranger with an easel and chair. The stranger asks you to sit in the chair to pose for a painting. But you soon learn the chair you are sitting on is rigged with a pressure-activated device that will blow you up if you dare stand.
Two Time Periods, One Story
The game features two versions of the narrative to play through. One takes place in 1981, featuring a female protagonist, while the other takes place in 2021 and features a male protagonist. Both take place in Brittan during times of socio-political unrest and feature some of the same characters. No matter which version you choose, you have a sibling named Jamie. While playing the 1981 version, you’re dealing with your older brother Jamie’s drug addiction, while in the 2021 version, you have a sister Jamie and a young nephew. In both, your goal is the same; learn to understand your kidnapper Dorian and survive through the night.
The Gallery: Choices Matter
Since The Gallery is an interactive movie, gameplay is quite simple. Enjoy the show until it’s time to make a decision concerning dialogue or what action to take. Players can choose whether to use timed decisions or paused decisions. With timed decisions enabled, players have only a few seconds to make their choice adding to the game’s intensity and realism. If you don’t choose within the time limit, the game decides for you. Selecting paused choices, however, pauses the game until the player makes a decision, which is great for all the overthinkers out there. Ultimately the ability to choose between the two modes means players can tailor the experience to their play style, which is undoubtedly a plus.
Not only do your choices impact the game’s ending, but they also determine which scenes you’ll unlock next. The Gallery boasts 150 decision paths and 18 different endings, earning the title a high replay value. Your decisions also affect your relationships with various side characters, such as the famed artist Nikki and your sibling Jamie. And unfortunately, making the wrong decision can cost some side characters their lives.
Top-Notch Acting
The Gallery is a truly immersive interactive film, in part due to the talent of the actors. It features Anna Popplewell, famous for playing Susan in The Chronicles of Narnia and Lola in the tv series Reign. George Blagden, who played Athelsan in the hit series Vikings, also offers up an excellent performance in the game. Both play the two leads—the antagonist Dorian and Curator Morgan—reversing their roles depending on the version played.
An absolute pleasure to play, The Gallery offers an intense story where every choice matters. With an engaging plot, intriguing, flawed characters, and a suspenseful soundtrack, the game offers a thrilling interactive cinematic experience. While the game does cost $11.99, it’s well worth the price for such a masterpiece. So, what are you waiting for? Download The Gallery and paint your own version of the story.
