Escape the Pale
Pninuška
Well, I… escaped the pale? I managed it in like four trips.
This game is weirdly similar to ‘The Olive Tree’ in that it seems to be attempting to tell a sad story on one hand while having you run a sim in another. (This time, the sad story is about the Jews, from the time when they were the targets instead of the oppressors. The story of generational trauma inherent in the contrast between the two games is almost sadder than either game on its own.) Unfortunately, the writing was too spare and basic to really sell the point home, and the game was over entirely too quickly, to boot. You buy stuff in one city, then travel to another to sell it, hoping that your cousin’s info about prices is good. And, uh, it always is? I think? I kept expecting there to be a twist, and there never was. The final city I went to (of four, IIRC) had rumors of a progrom in the near future, so I sold my stuff, and immediately bought a ticket out of Russia. And, uh, won the game. So it wasn’t really a sad story as it was a small wooden signpost saying ‘sad story this way’.
Did the author have anything to say? Yes, but they didn’t actually manage to convey it effectively.
Did I have anything to do? Yes, but nothing unexpected ever happened, so I just did the thing the intro told me to do, and then I was done.