A story surprise full of contemplative mountaineering.
Developer inkle has a observe document for making experimental narrative-focused video games dripping with vibes, together with the sky-faring 80 Days, the reverse homicide thriller Overboard, and the language-translating Heaven’s Vault. Their newest sport is the enigmatic mountain-climbing narrative journey A Highland Tune. Set within the Scottish Highlands, you management the younger woman Moira who runs away from house in a mad sprint to succeed in her uncle’s lighthouse and see the ocean. The fundamental plot is comparatively simple as your finish objective is laid out immediately, however by way of a number of dynamic replays, impactful revelations and a wealth of tantalizing narrative threads add a gripping emotional weight to the entire expertise.
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A Highland Tune tells a narrative that may solely be advised in video games as a result of the way in which it unfolds is all associated to your play, constructing as you uncover new paths and determine totally different connections. Moira initially has two maps that exhibit two totally different mountain peaks with hidden paths close by. Matching the map to the correct peak will provide you with the inclination of the place the hidden path is and as soon as you discover the trail, you possibly can transfer to a brand new space, discover a new map, and search out extra peaks and paths. It’s troublesome to parse out the total scale and scope of the world, however that’s a part of the general level. You and Moira are desperately piecing collectively the correct option to the ocean and typically that may be disorienting.
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Climbing and transferring across the hills and mountains is simple, that includes plenty of context delicate inputs that permit Moira to ascend, descend, run, and leap. Determining the correct option to climb to a brand new peak or safely get all the way down to a brand new path in a valley requires planning and timing. Or you possibly can simply say “eff it” and leap down and incur some quantity of fall injury (or lose all of your well being and fail). A day/evening cycle and climate additionally components into your maneuvering, so you want to maintain a watch out on shelters to attend out storms and relaxation.
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The stream of the sport is wonderful, and as soon as I obtained a dangle of it I used to be mesmerized exploring the attractive countryside, selecting up intriguing clues and studying bits of wider lore that, at the least in my time with the sport, led to some gratifying and heartbreaking payoffs. This can be a lovely sport with watercolor-esque backgrounds, spectacular lighting, and beautiful animation. The music enhances the visuals with lovely Scottish folks music (from acclaimed bands Talisk and Fourth Moon). I really like the music, however I didn’t love the recurring rhythm sport segments that highlighted the music. Particularly in handheld mode, it was troublesome to learn the variations between buttons as you moved throughout the bottom, tapping the correct button as Moira ran over it. There are plenty of choices to vary the problem of various features of the sport, together with the rhythm sport elements, however I typically like rhythm video games and I used to be upset to have a difficulty with it.
Even with my comparatively minor points, A Highland Tune is a robust sport full of a definite mystique. The general objective requires enjoying by way of it a number of occasions, however with every playthrough, you could have extra peaks and paths accessible proper from the get-go. This can be a sport that’s about optimizing your approach by way of the mountains but in addition grapples with the truth that that stage of optimization isn’t possible. That ethereal otherworldliness lingers all through each engrossing hour, beckoning you to seek out probably the most environment friendly path to the lighthouse whereas additionally tying up each free finish. This can be a lovely, attractive sport that shouldn’t be missed.