Wireframe - #25 - 2019

58 / wfmag.cc

Review

Rated

GENRE

Survival

FORMAT

Switch (tested)

/ PC / PS4 /

XBO

DEVELOPER

Finji

PUBLISHER

Finji

PRICE

£19.49

RELEASE

Out now

Info

Review

Underland, Overland, Wombling free

here’s a line – one that, thanks

to some excellent design in

recent hard games, has seemed

increasingly less obvious. It’s a

demarcation between the realm of

‘difficult’ and that of ‘unfair’. Overland never even

saw the line in its quest to become a challenging

survival title, veering wildly off the road and

ending upside-down in a ditch, on fire, and

screaming at you to “do better”.

Alright, that’s an exaggeration. This isn’t

the kind of game that would ever scream.

No, Overland is cool and calm; it would speak to

you in a low, husky whisper

and you’d get lost in its drawl.

It is stylish and atmospheric,

creating a real sense of

place in this post-apocalyptic

world overrun with blind

(but great at hearing) alien

beasts. Just hanging out at

a hastily constructed campfire with your small

band of survivors – and dog – planning the next

move west across the United States is genuinely

fantastic. It draws you in and holds you tight,

forcing you to live through this nightmare with

the people you pick up, lose, and abandon along

the way. If there were a good game attached to

the presentation, Overland would be a classic.

It’s not the case, though. No, Overland

drunkenly stumbles into unfair territory and

blindly expects you to just get on with it.

Each level is, essentially, a turn-based puzzle.

Contained in a small (beautiful) diorama, you

walk or drive in, assess the situation, and figure

out what you want to do. There’s fuel to the side –

do you want to risk going out to get it? There are

some supplies to loot – is it worth switching your

half-broken thwocking stick for a less-broken

one? You make these decisions, come up with

a plan, and execute it. Sometimes the plan is to

ignore things and move on, risking running out

of fuel but saving your survivors from an alien

encounter. Most of the time the plan is to get

out of the vehicle (a choice you don’t have sans

car, of course), and that’s where it falls apart.

Puzzles need to be logical. Overland is not

a standard turn-based strategy game – every

character dies in two hits

without armour, no questions

asked. It’s not a stand-up

fight – you have to distract

and diffuse, move thoughtfully

and execute those plans you

made. But enemies, items,

placement of obstacles –

it’s all randomly generated. Random placement

does not lend itself to good puzzle design, and

it means in nearly every single playthrough

you will encounter an impossible situation

through no fault of your own. Overpowered and

outnumbered, you’ll attempt to retreat to your

vehicle, friends will die, dogs will be lost, and your

efforts will all be in vain. Don’t get me wrong:

this can be fun, and stories can arise from it. But

for the most part, Overland just slaps you in the

face, takes a dump on your efforts, and leaves

you to die in the post-apocalyptic sun. It’s not a

challenge, it’s genuinely unfair. And despite the

game’s good looks, it’s not a good look.

Overland

T

VERDICT

Gorgeous and enigmatic,

hugely let down by a

clunky, unfair core game.

45 %

Review

Rated

 There’s every chance

you’ll grow attached to

your survivors. Especially

the dog contingent.

HIGHLIGHT

Atmosphere is understated

yet thick in Overland,

presenting a world of

enigmatic and unknowable

truths. Why the aliens

are there, what happened

to everyone – questions

on those lines are left

unanswered. But it does

help create an enveloping

ambience that – outside of

the main game bits – you can

happily lose yourself in.

REVIEWED BY
Ian Dransfield

“You have to distract

and diffuse, move

thoughtfully, and

execute those plans

you made”

 Other survivors might

be unfriendly. And

even if they aren’t, you

can still rob them like

a psychopath.