The Mirror Lied

Since the game's download link is mirrored to a defunct website, in order to play the game, you'll have to download it through the Freebird Games website here.

Mapping:

The mapping in this game is phenomenal. Everything has a place and serves a purpose. Almost everything can be observed for flavor text and everything is close together so you don't have to walk very far to reach your destination. In terms of design, there's very little that I feel this game could've done more right.

The small details that begin disappearing add a haunting feel to the game as you wander the house in search of your purpose. Why the house suddenly bursts into flames when all three switches have been thrown remains to be seen in a logical sense, but I'm sure it all has to do with the game's underlying meaning.

Music:

There's only one theme in the entirety of "The Mirror Lied" and it was composed by the game developer himself. It sounds great and the inclusion of the music box was very welcome as otherwise I would've likely been bored by the lack of atmospheric sounds. This lack, however, I feel was intentional as everything you do has its own sound and perhaps the inside of the house was meant to feel empty.

Gameplay:

This feels like a Sierra point-and-click game put in RPG Maker. I never played that many of them but it seems to be imitating the theme and progression of games like Lighthouse: The Dark Being. The first thing you're likely to do is use the water in the tub to fill your bucket and use it to water the plant in the hallway. This is something you'll be doing consistently. The phone occasionally rings and at at least one point you'll have to answer it in order to progress (when the clock hits 3:26). This is the only reason I don't feel comfortable giving the game a solid 5, because if you miss your call because you're busy watering the plant, you have to sit and wait until it rings again.

Meaning:

You're told that "birdie" is flying over Africa and Europe, with the calls becoming more and more urgent the closer it gets to its destination. You're also told that "birdie" has lied to you and must be stopped by any means at your disposal. There are certain times written down which correlate to messages left on a computer detailing the flight path of "birdie", while there are letters in the basement written in "a foreign language". When the game reaches its conclusion and the rest of the girl's belongings begin to disappear, it's implied that the player is "birdie".

Now I'm no history buff, but considering the importance of Africa and Europe and the messages set to different times and the foreign documents, I've come to the conclusion that "birdie" is meant to represent Hitler and his German Nazi war machine, while the girl represents Japan's presence in World War II. Hitler saw great promise in allying with Japan against the United States so that they wouldn't be able to assist Europe in pushing him back in the West, while they both also resented the ways of communism which challenged them by the Russians and the Chinese.

It's up to debate if Hitler had plans to also attack the Japanese after the war to claim total victory, but it's very possible as he would've seen the Japanese as inferior to his Aryan "master race". This may be what the game developer was trying to get at with how "birdie" lied to you, as the allying between the nations was a facade in the pursuit of power. While the game ends with the girl shooting "birdie" (obviously a fictitious event where an assassination attempt on Hitler had actually succeeded), the fact that the player is told they're in some way related to "birdie" would tell me that the player would be serving Germany's interests. That the house suddenly bursts into flames likely reflects the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The fact that the piano is openly stated to be a Steinway (German brand) I feel was important in piecing these things together.

Closing Statements:

Whether or not this theory is correct has no bearing on what I felt of "The Mirror Lied" itself, which is a well put together game that doesn't outstay its welcome and gives the player plenty to question and all the pieces they need to put it together, with the only missing requirement to solve the biggest riddle being the player's own understanding of history.