Marktplatz

Plattform: PC Veröffentlicht: 13.01.2020

4,49€

Preis Update 05.03.25

The year is 1973. The sound of a lone, ethereal saxophone drifts over the Roosevelt Island promenade, while a series of accidents plague a midtown construction site. The citizens of Manhattan take no notice of these events, let alone think they are connected.

Embittered medium Lauren Blackwell and her spirit guide Joey Mallone are the only ones who believe that there is anything strange going on, and they are the only ones who can stop an enigmatic killer from striking again...

Deutsch (5)
Englisch (16)

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78 Reviews

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468 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 07.10.20 12:34

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Der zweite Teil bzw. eher das Prequel zur 5-teiligen Kultreihe (zumindest für Point and Click-Fans) um Roseangela Blackwell, die das amerikanische Entwicklerstudio Wadget Eye mitsamt ihrem Schreiber Dave Gilbert bekannt machte. Aber trotz meiner Aussage im Review des Vorgängers „The Blackwell Legacy“, dass die Folgeteile mehr Qualität hätten, gefiel mehr das 2007 veröffentlichte (seit 2012 auf Steam) The Blackwell Unbound weniger, sodass ich es eigentlich nicht empfehlen kann – bzw. nur denen, die ein Gesamtbild der Reihe erhalten wollen.

Gewürgtes Saxophon – Geschichte und Art des Spiels
Dieses Mal geht’s in die Vergangenheit: Wir sind Lauren, Tante von Rose aus dem 1. Teil, im Jahre 1973 und natürlich Kettenraucher. Den Umgang mit dem Familiengeist Joey sind wir gewohnt, das Lösen von Fällen und „Befreien“ von anderen Geistern ist Alltag – Routine und Vertrautheit spiegelt die gewohnt gute Charakterzeichnung von Lauren und Joey wider. Hätte ich den ersten Teil nicht gespielt, hätte ich wohl arge Verständnisprobleme -> daher ersten Teil spielen! Ansonsten lösen wir zwei skurrile Fälle um eine Band und eine Mieterin, die am Ende zusammenhängen und eine reale Person und sein Mysterium einschließen (Joseph Mitchell…). Man merkt, dass dies die Stärke von Dave Gilbert ist, denn der Plot, die Gespräche und eben die Charaktere sind außerordentlich und spannend!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2250676433
Verrätseltes Telefonbuch – Rätsel
Aber was ist mit den Rätseln passiert? Gerade erinnere ich mich an genau eines, das nicht folgendem Muster folgte: Gespräch führen, Namen erfahren, im Telefonbuch nachschlagen, dort anrufen, besuchen. Das war mir zu einfallslos und öde. Eine tolle Idee ist sicherlich, dass man nun zwischen Joey und Lauren wechseln konnte, wenn dies auch nur wenige Male etwas brachte. Nervig war aber, dass man nur mit Lauren eine Szene wechseln konnte: Umständlich und langwierig, wenn auch Story technisch in sich schlüssig.

Pixelmacken – Technisches & Sonstiges
Die Grafik ist weiterhin gewöhnungsbedürftig pixelig und zweckmäßig: Stark subjektiv. Leider fehlten hier die vergrößerten Portraits bei Gesprächen. Viel besser war die musikalische Untermalung, die anscheinend in externe Hände gelegt wurde – und das merkt man stark: Variabel und atmosphärisch. Dagegen sacken die Sprachaufnahmen in der Qualität merkbar ab. Abstürze hatte ich dieses Mal keine.

Für 4,49 € hatte ich nicht ganz 3,5 Stunden zu spielen; dazu gibt’s 6 Sammelkarten und 10 Achievements, von denen aber nur eine einzige automatisch mit Abschluss des Spiels zu erhalten ist; der Rest triggert durch spezielle Aktionen: Rauchen, Fotografieren, Zuhören… Es gibt auch wieder Bonusmaterial inklusive eines Entwicklerkommentars, der aber wie im ersten Teil viel Uninteressantes und Belangloses beinhaltet; außerdem war Material des dritten Teils mit drinnen – Absicht?

Code Blackwell Unbound knüpft im Hinblick auf die Qualität der Story und der Charaktere an seinen Vorgänger an und hat wenige frisch Ideen. Sehr gestört haben mich aber die einfallslosen Rätselstrukturen und die umständliche Handhabung. Daher empfehle ich es wirklich nur denjenigen, die sich ein Gesamtbild der Reihe machen wollen: Denn interessant ist Unbound allemal!

Lust auf mehr Reviews mit einmal mehr und einmal weniger archäologischen Anmerkungen? Probier doch meine Kuratoren-Gruppe The Archaeologist plays… aus.

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327 Reviews

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96 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 09.08.14 20:07

Blackwell Unbound ist der zweite Teil einer 5-teiligen Serie. Allesamt sind die Spiele sehr gute Adventures, die sich grob gesagt mit Geistern und Mordfällen befassen. Die ganze Serie ist außerdem in einem Retro-Look gehalten.

329 Produkte im Account

22 Reviews

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246 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 28.06.14 15:27

Der zweite Teil von der Blackwell Serie diesmal spielen wir die Rosas Tante Lauren Blackwell die mit Joey 2 Geisterfälle aufklären muss. Wieder ein sehr schönes Adventure mit guter Story. Spielzeit: ca. 2 Stunden

1586 Produkte im Account

164 Reviews

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135 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 01.05.14 21:29

Verdammt gute Adventure Serie. Am besten alle 5 Teile besorgen! ;)

1179 Produkte im Account

103 Reviews

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517 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 13.01.12 21:45

Ein sehr gutes Indie Adventure im Stil der alten Schule. Hab die ganze Reihe (4 Teile) an einem Wochenende durchgespielt und seit langen nicht mehr soviel Spaß mit einem Adventure gehabt. Die Spieldauer aller 4 Episoden lagen bei mir bei ca 13 std. (Was bei mir ca 25% längere Spieldauer als bei einer typischen Telltale Episode ist, wobei man sagen muss, dass das Rätseldesign bei Blackwell wesentlich besser und logischer ist)

Unbound ist Episode 2 von 4

2601 Produkte im Account

166 Reviews

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294 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 16.02.22 04:31

The sequel to Blackwell Legacy. This time around you play as Rosa's aunt 30 years prior to the original game. Gameplay wise everything is relatively the same but you can now also play as Joey to get his perspective on things, the tag team mechanic really makes it feel like you're actually partners.

Take a glimpse into Lauren Blackwell's past.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2754952298

1839 Produkte im Account

353 Reviews

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335 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 26.01.22 22:34

Although they've been around for quite some time, I've only managed to play all of the Blackwell games last year, back to back, in two days while on vacation.

They are fantastic. Far from perfect, but still fantastic. The main issue I have with the games is that most of the puzzles tend to be overly simplistic, or so old that I can just auto-pilot trough them. Stuff like the penny-screwdriver or the newspaper under the door to get the key. There's also the need to sometimes combine clues, so the character can reach conclusions I already did, in order to progress, which could get annoying if you forget to do it.

But that's besides the point. The main focus of the game is it's story, and especially it's characters. The dynamic between Rosangela Blackwell, a journalist that recently discovered she is a medium and can see spirits, and Joey Malone, a man who's been dead since the 30's, is just amazing. They really come of as believable characters, and seeing their interaction over the course of 3 games, and then seeing Joey and Rosa's aunt in Blackwell Unbound, as they help lost spirits find peace and move on, is the reason I keep wanting to play these games.

They have more to them than just the characters. The story is well done, having elements that are somewhat based in reality from a subtle to a very direct way. The graphics, though they could have been better in Deception when it comes to the characters, are great. And the music is just amazing. I'm not sure if it's included in the pack on Steam, but look for Epileptic Fish in SoundCloud.

If you haven't played these games yet, and you're a fan of adventures, or just stories with good characters, I encourage you to give them a try. Also check out the two cartoons with Rosa an Joey that are on the web, they're short, but very funny. Hopefully I will play the fifth game soon or just the next game now, because I really want to know what happens next.

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6 Reviews

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438 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 31.12.21 00:28

blackwell unbound is a bit like the black sheep of the blackwell games but it's got a big heart and beautiful music - highly recommend

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11 Reviews

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198 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 04.12.21 00:33

Without spoilers: entire Blackwell series is a masterclass in detective games. If you like ghost stories, detective stories or urban fantasy, you will love this entire series. And it's not just story - it's told in a very interactive manner (as opposed to hours-long static cutscenes) and has great puzzles that aren't too hard (and not mindlessly easy), and all make perfect logical sense. No moon logic here!

This entire series is honestly one of the better adventure games in existence. Even if you never play point and click adventure games - make an exception and you won't regret it.

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50 Reviews

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152 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 20.11.21 15:48

the real story of the blackwell games kicks off here and sets in motion events that would reverberate for years to come. the smoky jazz and rain slick 1970's new york streets are one thing, but the vocal performances have also been improved considerably. lauren's bitterness and exhaustion is palpable from the first screen, and the interplay between her and joey is fantastic, yet different from the one between him and rosa. again, puzzles were mostly straightforward but i still needed a guide towards the end, which isn't a knock on the game by any means.

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423 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 24.10.21 08:57

This second installment, 'Unbound', serves as a prequel to the original game set in the 70s and is just as good. The gameplay mechanics have been touched up a bit with some modern quality-of-life improvements but the core of the game stays the same. If you liked Legacy you'll probably wanna play this too.

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40 Reviews

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799 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 01.08.21 13:25

The 2nd game in the series in the story order, we go into the past and see what it was like to play as another blackwell member. The story is a murder mystery with a paranormal and follows the wadjet eye model of games. The art is well done in the pixel style, with a good classic jazz soundtrack, some of the trophies for the game are simple but a pain to get, it had me chain smoking for 30 min real time to get one trophy.

I say buy the game along with others in the series, as the story continues with the other Blackwaell games. It shouldn't take you to long to finish, and the puzzles are logical and easy to figure out without being silly.

a good buy for any point and clicker.

1524 Produkte im Account

184 Reviews

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239 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 02.03.21 06:10

[Reviewed by my wife] Going into Unbound we have the satisfaction of finding the exact same specific gameplay as the first Blackwell. But this was not the story I expected. This second installment is a flashback in time. We are the aunt of Rosa, and I thought we would discover the real reason behind why she went crazy in the first Blackwell. But no, this is the beginning of a whole new mystery. Maybe because of the disillusioned tone of the aunt, this was my least favorite Blackwell. Also the ending felt incomplete and unsatisfactory and I had to check if there was no alternative that I might have missed.

Join Hem & Watch live on Twitch, Discord, and Reviews

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3 Reviews

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279 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 14.02.21 07:40

A really good and short p&c. If you've liked Blackwell Legacy you will enjoy this one. Lauren is so funny and snarky! We now know where did Rosa got bit of her personality from.

I've only played those two games, but I already enjoy this series a lot. Now into the next blackwell game!

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289 Reviews

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182 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 29.07.20 11:33

The second game of Blackwell series, a sequel, or actually a prequel I didn't expect. You play as Lauren, Rosa's aunt who was dealing with Joey's jokes and comments while she smokes a cigarette after another. The story sat in 1973 where Lauren has to save two spirits who don't know they are actually dead, but the problem isn't that alone, she started to wonder what or who actually killed them. I enjoyed this mystery point&Click game so much.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2181276523

The gameplay is the same as the previous one, you still can find extra clues by combining two clues together but the new option you have is playing as Joey when Lauren doesn't feel like doing anything! Its a fun and sad game at the same time, I liked her personality so much.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2181276966

Soundtracks are very nice as well as the voice-overs. The puzzles are quite difficult, at times I didn't know what to do next. There is a fast traveling map that will take you to the other areas, you need to check all of your surroundings and talk to people to get more information.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2181276816

I like pixel art, I wished they added an avatar picture of the characters while they are speaking like the previous game. The animation is not bad knowing when the game was originally released.

Pros:
+Good story.
+Nice soundtracks.
+Well-done voice over.
+Pixel art.
+Fast travel map.
+Manual + Automatic save files.
+Steam achievements.

Cons:
-No hinting system.

You need to play the game at least twice to get all the achievements - Lauren smoking-related. I'm going to try to load my last save and try to get it if this will work. Other than that, the game is really good for a classic one of this genre. Highly recommended.

Other Reviews:
The Blackwell Legacy Review
Blackwell Convergence Review
Blackwell Deception Review
Blackwell Epiphany Review

Zitat:

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667 Produkte im Account

59 Reviews

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340 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 19.07.20 14:55

Well, this is clearly NOT one of the best adventures ever made. The qouted reviews on the shoppage are about the game Unavowed - which is in deed one of the best. But not this one. Liked the first in the Blackwell series, but this one was completely unsolvable without a guide and to me the story felt lame and flat, couldn't touch me. The end was also lame and boring, as the whole game was. At least the music was much better than in Blackwell Legacy.

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21 Reviews

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190 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.05.20 00:24

Through the whole game I thought they just changed the voice actor. I had no idea this went back in time from the first game until I read the reviews. Tbh I didn't enjoy this as much. Felt shorter. 2 hours to finish (whilst listening to the great music) and an extra hour of just fast clicking to get the achievements. I think because it is a prequel, it doesn't feel as good as the first, almost like a filler. Or maybe it's because the game didn't have an introduction, apart from a phone call from a past character my context of what was happening, where I was and who I was just wasn't there, I know about the ghosts and what to do from the first game so I just went with it.
The voice acting was a little ehhh, but the music was amazing, I would buy the soundtrack of that. The stories were pretty good.
I would say you could miss this game in the series, still worth a try.

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21 Reviews

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93 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 05.10.19 16:22

Bought the whole series and playing in order. Second game: still thumb up. The game is still pretty short and has low replay value (achievements aside), but the good points of the first game still stand. The story was more interesting and complex compared to the first game and I really enjoyed it, even though I did feel that some things were not explained very well. The characters are all interesting and the voice acting is great. The progression of the story feels quite natural, except maybe for a couple of points where you really need to do things in a certain order. There's no fighting except one very simple scene. Improvements from the first game: two cases to solve instead of one (plus a conclusion), and the possibility of switching between the two main characters to do some specific things (pretty interesting). There are also some references and links to the first game, but overall it can be played as a stand alone. Would recommend.

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124 Reviews

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176 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.11.18 20:08

An unusual sequel, Blackwell Unbound reverses time to explore a different protagonist, Lauren Blackwell, whose burgeoning powers as a medium lead her into contact with Joey Malone. It's a prequel rather than a sequel and holds a somewhat strange place in the series, as usually these sort of historical expansions to the narrative occur later in a series life. Yet the game still works...

Lauren Blackwell is straight-talking, modern, and blunt. She's direct and forceful and immensely stubborn. In a way she's a relief from Rosa's staid awkardness and yet it means the puzzles feel less essential to the gameplay since Lauren is far more adept at talking to get the information she needs. Where Rosa writes notes and does little bits of research to assist her investigation, Lauren simply obtains it directly from the source. This means there is less variation in the puzzles, yet the dialogue is far more entertaining. The banter back and forth between Lauren and Joey is quite entertaining, since Lauren doesn't put up with any of his nonsense. It also makes the teamwork between the two feel more natural and the mutual affection between them is palpable from the outset.

This is an element where The Blackwell Series does excel. The character studies are excellent, whether it's dialogue, the animations of the sprites and just the general way the characters interact and build relationships, the writing really captures the characters well.
The narrative is a little more formulaic though. Each ghost has a section to resolve, and will supply you with more clues to further the overall investigation, and the climax is a typical life or death scenario. It does move at a quick pace (it has to since the playtime isn't particularly long) but it also didn't allow for enough development of the overall story, hence the cliche's arriving to make up for the lack of depth and still wrap up the story.

But where the game does lack narratively it does manage to make up with atmosphere. The talent of the background artists, working in such outdated pixel art, yet still managing to create so many details does astound me. From capturing real world locations, to creating mood with the colours and overlayed with the jazzy-blues soundtrack, this definitely feels like literary New York. Now, I'm not particularly enamoured with the particular art style, and it looks quite bad in high res displays, yet it still manages to accomplish what it needs to, despite being somewhat lacking in aesthetics.

The puzzles are well integrated into the environments and range from your typical object interactions, to dialogue puzzles and at numerous points you will find yourself needing to exhaust all dialogue options in order to proceed with another character elsewhere. This does occasionally become frustrating if you miss one line, and can't work out why you can't proceed, so at times I found myself repeating dialogous just to make sure I had received all the info I needed. Luckily the voice-acting is really good, and the cast really do get the nuance of the speakers tones just right. So although my pedantic playstyle slowed the game down a bit, it wasn't too burdensome, and I could pick out the carefully intoned words.

Blackwell Unbound isn't necessary to play to enjoy Rosa's story but it is well worth playing for a deeper look at Joey's history with the family. As a sequel it's slightly disappointing since it limited its mechanics, and didn't allow further development of the main character of the series, yet it still managed to capture the feel and tone of the original Blackwell Legacy. It's well worth playing in or out of order if you enjoy the series. It's definitely not the high point of the series though, so I'd only really recommend this to those who are playing all the Blackwell games, but it will offer you some enjoyable ghostly puzzling if you do choose to play it.

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289 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 18.11.18 19:58

This is the 2nd title in Wadjet Eye's Blackwell series. Initially, some scenes of Unbound were included in the follow-up episode (titled Convergence) as flashbacks, however, Dave Gilbert decided to expand upon these scenes and release a separate episode instead.

This is the reason Unbound acts as a prequel story since we now control none other than Rosa's aunt, Lauren. Don't let the '70s be a deterring factor - we still have to look up names when doing an investigation; it will not be Lauren's computer what we use for this purpose but the phone book instead. Also, this story is more in medias res as the game does not explain how Lauren met with Joey - they already know each other.

Gameplay looks familiar to those having played the first episode. Our job is to look at everything and during dialogues to exhaust all options we have. We combine clues to get more clues and these can then be used in conversations. You can re-use a sentence several times to get more information on that particular individual. We can also switch between Lauren and Joey as sometimes this is the only way to make a progress.

I felt that this episode was a bit shorter than its predecessor. Still, it's an interesting adventure and, as usual, a commentary mode is available where not only Dave Gilbert but the rest of the staff are available to comment. They have discussions on why a particular artwork was chosen or, for instance, Dave explains how he met the voice actor in question.

I did not want to play Unbound as I wanted to move forward right away with Rosa's adventures by launching Convergence instead. Eventually, I changed my mind and followed the right order. I recommend that you do the same even if Unbound is the first episode here considering the game's timeline. Play it before Convergence as completing the 3rd episode will be more interesting this way.

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169 Std. insgesamt

Verfasst: 22.03.15 22:57

Perhaps The Blackwell Unbound’s biggest contribution to the series, is giving it a far larger scope and nuance than what was only hinted at in the first game.Long before Rosa Blackwell ever met Joey Mallone (or had even been born for that matter), Unbound follows her aunt, Lauren, Joey’s previous “hostage” and an experienced medium at the point we find her. Unbound isn’t so much about her adventures with Joey though, as it is a foreshadowing of what we already know happens to her.

In many ways she’s the spitting image of her niece, though certainly more confident and assertive than the depressed Rosa we met in Legacy, yet tied by the common thread of having largely given up on the world. Lauren has devoted herself to helping lingering ghosts move on to the afterlife, but otherwise is unsure for what purpose she’s living for. Or at least that’s what she tells herself, but when caught up in an investigation she becomes a wholly different person.

Lauren is persistent and dedicated to doing whatever is necessary to finish a case, no matter if it means pressing people for information they’d rather forget, or putting her life on the line to catch a killer. Maybe it’s because she feels she has no other purpose that she’s able to so readily move forward, unafraid of how dangerous it could become. By abandoning her worry she’s able to fully embody her role as a medium, as if she too was a ghost and nothing could harm her. She’s a refreshingly capable heroine in a landscape of unstable sex objects, who manages to be tough without losing her humanity. There’s the feeling she’s still scared underneath her fearless exterior, and allows herself to become vulnerable at times to avoid a complete breakdown, but she’s always in control of any situation she puts herself in whether interrogating a witness or firing back when Joey gets brash.

It’s in the final moments of Unbound though that are the most affecting. We’ve already been told what eventually happens to Lauren in Legacy, but it’s seeing it and hearing Joey’s ignorant condolences that made me almost angry at what his presence has done and continues to do to the Blackwells. It casts Lauren and Rosa’s relationship with him in a different light and made me question his every word, now unsure if I could trust him the way I was, wondering if he had a more nefarious purpose for being there all along. Much of Unbound feels inessential, like another episode in a show you enjoy but could afford to miss, but its implications on the larger whole of the Blackwell saga is perhaps the most significant bit of exposition in the series thus far. Suddenly things have become a hell of a lot more complicated.

You can read more of my writing on Kritiqal.

Blackwell Unbound

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