Saltwrack
Henry Kay Cecchini
Ohhhh, I liked this one.
At the beginning, you’re given the goal of ‘go on a dangerous expedition to discover why the apocalypse happened’, and then immediately given some choices that felt sim-like (who to take with you; what supplies to bring), then set off across the wastes. Weirdly, in a way it felt vaguely similar to ‘The Olive Tree’: you’re given a sim to navigate, and while that’s happening, the story happens around you. This one had a much closer connection between ‘what you are doing’ and ‘where the story is going’ than that, but I at least was somewhat in that mode when playing: trying to maximize my survival odds while simultaneously trying to figure out what happened. I suppose a lot of modern cRPGs are similar: you’re given fights to beat to keep you occupied while you encounter the story.
At any rate, regardless of the genre this game inhabits, it worked for me. I felt like I was making meaningful choices as I went, trying to safely make it to my destination and back, and appropriately, the journey there was much less harrowing than the journey back: the stakes kept increasing, and the twists started coming more frequently. Eventually I made a wrong choice and died, and of course the game has no save or undo, so I had to click through the whole game again to get back where I was. (Why? Why make me do this? Whyyyyyyyyyyy?) Then I made a different wrong choice, died again, clicked furiously again, and then finally made it to a satisfying (and weird!) ending.
Other than the fact that save/undo would have made for a VASTLY improved experience, the game itself was great. It had interesting worldbuilding, intriguing characters, a sympathetic and relatable PC, and realistic challenges that felt satisfying to overcome.
I kind of feel like the game was probably a ‘gauntlet’ style choice game (at least on the way home), with wrong choices sending you to an early grave/exit. But I don’t know! I also don’t know if making different choices of companions at the beginning would have changed the outcome, and I kind of don’t want to know, either. Somehow it’s more satisfying to me to have made it through with my original choices.
Did the author have anything to say? Present a harrowing and intriguing world.
Did I have anything to do? Make difficult but satisfying choices to navigate that world.