PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

F

romtheveryfirst

moments,thislargely

text-basedgameputs

meonthebackfoot.

Superficially,it’sa

gameaboutmanaginga settlement

ina fantasyland,makingsureallof

yourcitizensaresafe,warmand

well-fed.Butalmostimmediately,it

revealsitselftobemuchstranger

thanthatimplies.

Beforeyouevenbegin,youhaveto

chooseanoriginstoryforyourclan,

pickingfrommultipleoptionsat

differentpointsintheirhistory.

Thesechoicesarelargelybaffling,

steepedheavilyinthegame’sunique

setting.I scrapetogethercrumbsof

loreasI go– godsareveryreal,their

powercanbeinvokedbyphysically

reenactingoldmyths,butmostof

themareasleepI think?Andmy

clan’spatrondeityis thegodofa

specificspeciesofbeetleusedto

makeredclothingdye?

AsI getintothegameproper,it

becomesclearthatmorethanbeinga

challengeoffarming,building,and

therest,it’sanongoingtestofhow

wellI canunderstandandwork

withina culturetotallyunlike my

own.Eventsaretriggeredas I play, in

whichsomethinghappensand I’m

invitedtomakea choiceabout it. Far

frombeingfamiliarmoraldecisions,

theyfrequentlyrevolvearound the

clan’sveryspecificcustomsand

traditions,andhowtheyapply to

oftenbizarresituations.

AGEAPPROPRIATE

What’stheleastembarrassing way to

dispersea flockofmagicalbirds that

keepwhisperinginyourshaman’s

ear?Isa polishedbuzzardbeak an

appropriatebride-price?How many

cowsis a fairexchangeforthe spirit

ofa sabre-toothedtiger?Fair

questions.I wishI knewthe answers.

I won’tlie,it’soverwhelming. But

atthesametime,sucha commitment

toitsweirdworldis refreshing.

Tomymind,videogamesare in

direneedofmorestrangeness. For a

mediumsosteepedinsci-fiand

fantasy,andwheretheimpossible

takesnomoreefforttorepresent

thanthereal,it’sdisappointing to me

howmuchtimewespendstuck with

tiredoldtropes.Shootingzombies,

choppinguporcs...repetition has

madethefantasticalbland.

SowhileI amstrugglingto get to

gripswithit,I’malsointrigued. Given

thechoiceoflearningthebackstory

behindyetanotherwarbetween the

forcesoflightanddarkness,or

figuringoutthecorrectwife-to-

buzzard-beakexchangerate, I know

whereI wanttospendmytime.

a few jump scares – though nothing
that will induce a heart attack, asit’s
more of a horror-lite experience.

FEAR FACTOR
Gylt is a game about what it’s liketo
be bullied. The school, where you
spend most of your time searching
for Emily, is a grim visualisation of
just that. At a table in the back ofthe
cafeteria there are a few mannequins
posed around one sitting on the
bench, pointing and laughing at it.
Classrooms are filled with red and
black graffiti taunting you to ‘getlost’
and ‘don’t tell’. And as you get closer
to finding Emily, you can make out
words in between her screams.
For me, it was the moments I
spent crouched behind a desk that
made me remember the time I would
try to avoid the kid who liked to bully
me during break time. I would hide
in the bathroom or try to sit closeto
the playground supervisor. Gylt plays
up the terror of being a child who
gets made fun of every day, but italso
does more than that – it drives home
the importance of standing up forthe
kid who is bullied. The idea of
fighting off the monsters (aka the
bullies) with light is romanticised,
but you are the only one who is
coming to Emily’s rescue – and
sometimes all it takes is one personto
stand up for someone else. Yes, it’s
scary, but it’s the heroic thing to do.

ROBINVALENTINE

THISMONTH

Learnedhowtomake

friendsviathegiftof

livestock.

ALSOPLAYED

XCOM2:WaroftheChosen

EmbracingtheoddinSIXAGES:RIDELIKETHEWIND

“Games are in need

of more strangeness”

Sometimes, one

person is all it takes.

THE GAMESWELOVERIGHTNOW

NOW PLAYING

Advisers help guide your choices, but

frequently disagree with one another.

Everything a bully

will tell you.