
The core story is creative, well told and evolved, and there are a number of surprises both narrative and a few moments which genuinely made me jump. It is difficult to describe without spoilers, but this is not an indie Until Dawn and it is not going anywhere near where you think it is. You’d be forgiven for thinking you were walking in familiar territory here: teenagers with annoying verbal tics and interminable squabbles, party on an isolated island, a new step-brother to mess up your life. It’s a degree of subtlety most games with opinion-management challenges don’t achieve. All of which changes how the characters perceive you. You can take sides, try to be the peacemaker, or keep quiet and go throw rocks in the water. Of course, that can also be a deliberate decision, as perhaps inevitably for teenagers but certainly for a game, these people bicker.

If the moment in the conversation passes, so does your opportunity to speak. As your friends banter around you, a number of dialogue options appear. The initial ferry-ride over and walk through the town introduce the control scheme, the characters, and some of the quite interesting game mechanics supporting the game. The game begins with Alex and friends heading back to Edwards Island, site of a former military installation beloved, apparently, of local teenagers up to hijinks. Other areas, not quite so obviously marked, also warrant tuning the radio to listen to the ‘anomalies’ being broadcast on strange frequencies, which serve both as collectible and explanation of the island’s more hidden history.Ī red dial is often an indication there’s more to be learned from your radio in a specific location.įinding out just what the heck has being going on is the core of the game’s story and progress. The game’s protagonist, Alex, starts the game with a portable radio and tuning this can gain access to broadcasts explaining the island setting’s history, or to gain access to new areas. While some action areas are indicated by a small circle when you get close enough, the appropriate action being executed by a press of the spacebar (on PC), there are other areas where there is a non-HUD visual cue that more can be done. It’s also worth paying attention to the detail. This is the majority style you’ll see in the game, and it works very well.

Then again, I always did find them rather creepy.

It reminded me of the old illustrations in the Moomintroll books.

The gameworld looks part watercolour, and partly like it’s been created out of craft paper, without an absolute approach to perspective or scale. The game is distinctive from its very beginning, with an interesting and deliberate graphical style. Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC (Reviewed on PC)Īlso, ovinefree and poultryfree.
