>X TRIFOLIUM
This wild seamair óg thrusts up a slender stem topped by a bustly yellow flower between a bundle of three-lobed little leaves.
>SMELL IT
The subtle scent of the shamrock transports you through time and space to 6th century Ireland, to the story of…
- Alltarach
Your brother’s been distant for months, ever since…
This morning you can’t find him at all. Asking around the village gives you an idea of where he might have gone, but do you dare follow him there?
At first, Alltarach's tone and presentation reminded me of the children’s adventure books I so love. Beautiful, sometimes lightly animated illustrations accompany the compelling, enthusiastic, somewhat naively innocent beginning of a seemingly straightforward rescue-story.
The large margins and copious whitespace give rest to the eyes, sucking the reader forward with the pace of the story.
Also typical of good children’s books, and a pleasing feature of this game, is the richness of the world and its history, conveyed in simple yet eloquent sentences.
A wealth of historical information is interwoven with the central narrative. Old Irish mythology and folklore, just in this period intertwining and overlapping with the upcoming Christian faith. Life in a fishing village, or as a sailing merchant, or as a nun in one of the new abbeys.
All this is incorporated organically, without text-dump asides, as part of the characters’ living world. Unobtrusive notes attached to Gaelic words help the reader grasp the meaning of important names and concepts, their place in the historical or mythological context.
During the adventure, you meet many interesting characters from all walks of life. They’re anything but simple cardboard clue-suppliers or sidequest-givers, it’s often not clear after talking to them if and how they have aided you on your search. Rather, talking to them reveals their look on life, their personal worries and priorities. If they do say something helpful, as an answer to your questions or in the natural flow of conversation, it feels like a genuine lucky present from Fate, rather than a reward for selfishly poking and annoying them until you get the answers you want.
The addition of a list of dramatis personae is brilliant. Not only does it give a short recap of the personality and background of each character, it’s also updated along the way so you can refer back to it to see the events that happened while you were with them, effectively giving you a condensed timeline of the entire narrative.
The further the reader progresses in the story, the more the effect of the children’s book naivety wanes. More and more glimpses of your brother’s and your parents’ backstory start to break down the innocent enthusiasm of the introductory chapters, replacing it with a more grounded understanding of the graveness of the situation. The reader’s whimsical preconceptions are gradually deflated by a growing knowledge of the brother’s life and burden.
A compelling interactive novella, good structure and build-up, well-written, touching.