Developer: like Charlie | Released: 2022 | Genre: Adventure, Facile
This was a walking simulator across three islands, following a sad story about a dad leaving his wife and child behind. It was first person and I never saw any faces up close, except for a few ghosts on the islands. As the protagonist Riley, I also had the ghost Josh speaking to me, panning between loudspeakers.
The 3D art was simple yet created a nice atmosphere. There was a lot of talking between Riley and the ghost, Josh. The walking was excessive and made it abundantly clear this was truly a walking simulator. In fact, some of the strolling on the islands reminded me a little of Dear Esther.
At times, a dream-like cutscene showed a few ghost figures talking together in the past.
The path through the three islands was linear and there were no puzzles. I did have to find two keys and a code for safe, but they were ridiculously easy to find nearby. A journal wrote itself as I traversed the paths, and I could also click points of interests for sketching a pretty view. Tapes and letters could be found and I then had to sit down and listen to them for a while, after which Josh and Riley might comment.
The story seemed uninteresting for a long while, until a few surprising revelations towards the end made it much more personal. Still, I’ll have to say that all the linear walking and the complete lack of challenge didn’t work so well for me this time. It felt like the game was a bit too casual.