This game has affected me in a way that no other game ever has. Not a day goes by where I don't feel the presence of this game in my mind. I remember getting a copy of this game for free on Playstation Plus years ago, at the time I installed it, played for 5 minutes and decided it was boring. It was only as I got older, more patient and more willing for an experience rather than the instant dopamine rush of of an FPS, that I sat down to play this game.
By the time I played this, I was well versed with the "Walking Simulator" type game. They fit perfectly into my life, a few hours of deep immersion in a well crafted world and story. I started with the likes of Firewatch and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and finally came back to the game I had spurned all those years ago.
By god I was wrong.
The gameplay is standard fayre for the genre, a little more interaction than most. But typically you will wander the open world village of Yaughton. This is not a problem as Yaughton is potentially one of the best locations I have ever played in any game. I am from small town England, I have lived in small villages and spent many a holiday visiting and staying in villages like Yaughton. The devs have captured it perfectly. In fact, part of the draw of this game to me is the aching nostalgia I feel for the village, it mirrors my childhood, it conjures memories of me visiting villages like this in the 90s. They have perfectly captured a slice of English heritage and culture and for that alone, this game belongs in a museum.
The story is simple, yet intriguing and powerful. It hooks you in and makes you want to explore, make you find the answer to where everyone has gone to. It will take you through the village, across farms, and houses. You'll explore a caravan park, a train station and the observatory. And every moment will be imprinted on you.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of a game such as this is the soundtrack and score. Jessica Curry has created a masterpiece with this. The score fits perfectly with the aching melancholia in the game. Some particular tracks stick to mind, my favourite of which is "Carry Me Back To Her Arms", the sound starts as you round a hill on a farm. Tall grass swaying in the wind and the bloom of the morning sun cresting the distant hills. I have goosebumps just thinking of this. In fact, the album is one in my constant rotation on Spotify.
The game is now approaching 8 years old, unlikely that many people will read this review. But I felt like I needed to get this out there. If you are reading this and you are on the fence as to buy this game. I implore that you do. No media, TV, Film or Game has ever made me feel like this game has.
It has been over 2 years since I first played this game and I have just finished another play-through. I am sat here in my living room, listening to the soundtrack on vinyl and it has dawned on me that this game has had such a profound impact on my life. Nearly every day since I first played this game, I have thought about it. I have felt a yearning ache, to return and spend more time in the sleepy villages of Yaughton and Tipworth. Hell, I even bought a house in a small English village, with a couple of pubs, a church and a post office.
Last year on my Spotify wrapped, I was in Jessica Curry's top 0.3% of listeners, I even managed to find a copy of it on vinyl. After I first played it, I said I would confidently put it in my top 3 favourite games. Right now, if anyone asks me what my favourite game is, this is the answer.
Every time I go back and play this game, I find something new. A new perspective on the story and characters. The best way I could describe this is that it's like going back to your favourite book - the one you've read countless times - at a different age, with different life experiences and taking something completely different from the story.
I love this game, more than I have ever loved any single piece of media in my entire life and I just wish I could go back and play it fresh, without knowing anything about it.
Thank you The Chinese Room for this game. Thank you for an experience. Thank you for something that I will never forget. I'll see you back in Yaughton.
