Island Off Outer Darkness

charming little game that constantly manages to surprise you despite its small scope

Best comp I can come up with is impressionist Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 in a remote, dark island from a fictional world where strange things happen and a bunch of neighbors are retrogrades and reactionaries. As in Boku no Natsuyasumi, being enclosed in a small village peppered with characters to get to know little by little through the mundanity of everyday life creates a very characteristic feeling of familiarity. I decided to play one or two days each day, which takes me 10/15 minutes tops, and I am really enjoying the experience, slowly, in a mundane way.

This is what video games are supposed to be

Highly worth your time if you're interested in games like Flower, Sun, and Rain: games about slowly exploring a space and its inhabitants that is willing to have a lot of fun with the premise and setting, as well as fun at the expense of you, the player. Highly evocative in its direction, a very thorny game to dig through and contemplate as well. Really enjoyed the complicated developments across its cast and the ways in which you have to navigate your own thoughts and feelings about the people and the world you are inhabiting.

This game has the sauce. I started it thinking it'd be something like a lo-fi walking simulator in a fantasy world, but man does that sell it short. You are quickly dropped onto a strange island and forced to work as a postal worker, which opens up the meat of the game: making conversation with the island's small group of inhabitants as you piece together how the world works and enjoy the incredible ambience of it all. It's also something of a "cozy" game in how you are a newcomer to a small town where the folks slowly open up to you as you do your job day-to-day. You even farm, but it's secondary to your job as a postal worker. I've never played a game in that genre that was half as weird or interesting as this one, where I'm always excited to open up a new line of dialogue.

What a game. For some reason I really like games where you can be a little guy with a little job, so I was instantly hooked, but it's also strange and atmospheric in a way I loved, and it's intentionally full of friction in a way I find really delicious in games. Like, the walking is too slow, and some of the characters never ever warm up to you. It's probably not for everyone but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ was for me. And the soundtrack is gorgeous. I did think the game was ending when the Postman leaves Rekkieg for wetter winter(?) (this world has very confusing seasons) (< complimentary) and I got really sad, but don't worry, there's quite a bit more. I'm guessing I'm the outlier in taking 22 hours to play the entire thing but I just really loved hanging out in this world.

Short thoughts: I really enjoyed my time with IOOD, and I plan to play it again with the dev notes mode soon. I completed my first playthrough at about 14 and a half hours. I think the audience for this game is going to be niche and full of sickos (positive), and I'm glad I got to be one. Also, the music is absolutely phenomenal and there were several times where I would put the Postman somewhere with a nice view while I chilled out and listened. I'm stoked that this exists, glad I played it, and I'm looking forward to what Zugerujk does next. --- Longer thoughts: Lately, I've been thinking about games that wouldn't make sense or hit nearly as hard in another medium; getting to go through each day as the Postman brings an intimacy to the experience that I wouldn't have if I were watching this as an animated film or a theater production. There is a deliberate tedium to this game that gives a (literal) gravity to the experience of play. You move slowly, and even when you get almost all of the possible movement upgrades, the player movement is deliberate and clumsy and asks for your patience. Even when I felt pretty confident in the movement, I would turn too slowly and fall off a dock, splashing into the pixelated water only to emerge on a sandbar beach off to the side of the island. This also turned out to be a piece of artwork that I wanted to savor, sitting with it for a couple of hours each night. I think that tedium and slowness will be off-putting to some - but for the narrative sickos like myself who had their worlds changed by games like Kentucky Route Zero, 1000xRESIST, NORCO, and others, it is a treat to experience. There are a few pieces of media I could compare this to - its called-out inspirations would be obvious ones (and in particular, I was very excited to see Jeff Vandermeer's SOUTHERN REACH books in the pile). But if I had to pick something that *wasn't* already on that list, I would point to two pieces of media: The first is the Kid A-mnesia Exhibition that came out a few years ago, a 3D experience of the albums through a strange physical space full of creatures that only sometimes acknowledge you. The Exhibition is maybe not a *game* - despite being played like one - but it is unique. The second is a gallery installation located at the Hirschorn Museum in Washington D.C., a permanent exhibit from Laurie Anderson. It is a medium-large room painted matte black with white hand-painted notes, snippets, quotes, existential thinking, and *stuff* scrawled across the walls, floor, and ceiling, along with four or five distinct installations within the room. It is striking and I think about it regularly. I see a lot of myself-from-ten-years-ago in the writing of these characters; I am very glad that this game came across my radar, and I am excited to see what the dev does next, and I hope they decide to keep making art. I will be thinking about Island Off Outer Darkness for a long time.