STRANGELAND

DEVELOPER Wormwood Studios PRICE $TBA AVAILABILITY Released WEBSITE http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/games/strangeland/

Iloved Primordia. It’s old enough now that I almost didn’t recognise it in Strangeland’s orange, glowy, (sort of) monochromatic palette. And it is suddenly purple, occasionally, in this case, too. Same studio and artist, same lonely feeling, same intense attention to detail. Did I want to play it? Absolutely. My only hesitation was that, being pre-release, I couldn’t call Waffles’ mum for a hint and might get stuck, on deadline. As it happens, Strangeland also has an inbuilt hint system. It’s less cute, more dire, all while providing a confronting lesson about the need to be kind to oneself.

You’re a guy. There’s a fun park, of sorts, called Strangeland. You’ll die a lot. In some contexts, you’ll kill yourself. This is linked to the idea that death can be sudden, in the classic point and click adventure genre, but your death also sometimes occurs in the context of hopelessness, so you may want to make the decision to play (or not) with this in mind. I found the game to be extremely sad, to the point that I remained sad for a few days afterwards. I don’t want to spoil content, but this is likely a sadness many will be able to relate to.

The story told is also very beautiful. I’m glad I finished it. You’ll meet a host of unlikely characters, from a very old, very blind man, to an angry, space starfish. Some are beautiful, like the golden cicada, others are bizarre, like the mouthy teratoma and her slippery eyeball. Always, they’re worth talking to. The human characters are (almost) all men, including the three women explicitly dressed as men, and I entirely understand why. As a woman, I almost felt as if I were intruding on a private experience that was relatable, but nonetheless male.

The protagonist’s (usually) weary demeanour contextualises events, even if you can’t understand why for a really long time. Everything is a metaphor, although some seem deliberately careless, obscure, or irreverent. I haven’t included screenshots of the second half of the game because I’d like you to discover it for yourself. Structurally, both in terms of mechanics and story, things change in a way that is somehow both shocking and anticipatory. The puzzles get easier, but not in the kind of way I’d usually hate. You’re simply able to understand them better.

The hint system is occasionally inconsistent, and perhaps deliberately confusing, but I loved the times it made sense only when you were already working on a problem. I got stuck a few times, usually when a puzzle suddenly changed its rules (not in a bad way). Generally, puzzles were beautifully crafted. Many were complex and made me feel clever, but I also think it would have been OK if the game had had the confidence to make clues less explicit. There’s a mix of logical and visual puzzling, with an occasional moment of listening carefully thrown in.

Black dogs, dark things, ravens, cannibalism, murder. (Almost) nothing in Strangeland is pretty. I’m told there are divergent paths to take, but they may only be for the most avid hunter of secrets, as I can’t picture playing again. I obviously made narrative and mechanical choices but my impression was one of linearity or, perhaps, inevitability. This is definitely the best adventure game I’ve played in a long time, even if it was exhaustingly existential. I feel a bit wiser and a bit wearier, as if it revealed a hole inside of me that can be covered over but never quite filled.