The Caribou Trail

The Caribou Trail is a walking sim set against a backdrop of the First World War. Game was developed by a Canadian studio, and it tells a story of the early days of a Canadian Newfoundland regiment and their first deployment. I get the impression that it is a kind of tribute to them and to all forgotten soldiers from forgotten battles of the First World War. Positive – storyline is good, but to be honest, that’s not due to the developers, as they’re simply retelling a true story. Soundtrack, sound effects, and sound design are of the highest quality. Developers have really gone to great lengths to make players feel as though they are actually there at that time. They’ve also included a wealth of little-known facts about the First World War and the history of the Newfoundland Regiment. Characters of our companions and other soldiers are also well-developed. They’re realistic – one is an incorrigible optimist, another a cynic; one tries to drown out his fear with conversation, whilst yet another turns to alcohol. This is reality, not some lofty war film that distorts facts ‘for the greater good’. Neutral – story seems to cut off halfway through. Game doesn’t give us the chance to find out how our characters’ stories end or what becomes of them after the war. Negative - game covers only a single chapter of the regiment’s entire history. After the Battle of Gallipoli, soldiers went to France, where they took part in several important battles, and in 1918 they crossed the River Rhine. Furthermore, names on the gravestones are repeating themselves – developers created a database that was too small, whereas each soldier should have their own personalized name. [b]Would I recommend it? Yes. [/b] It’s a good war story without any unnecessary pathos or romanticization of war. Boredom and routine are interspersed with moments that are either gripping or sad. And the whole thing simply makes sense. It’s a shame the developers limited themselves to Gallipoli, instead of following the story through the entire wartime route of the ‘Caribou’. ✅[list] [*] Semi-realistic art style using fairly low-poly 3D graphics. Art style is similar to their previous game (Two Falls) as well as Firewatch. [*] Soundtrack consists of orchestral music inspired by war films, interwoven with Newfoundland folk music. It was composed by Nicolas Des Alliers. [*] Soundscape is realistic. Sounds are just as you would expect to hear on a battlefield – roar of cannons, sound of machine guns, screams of the wounded, and so on. It has been rendered faithfully and without any unnecessary embellishments. [*] Superb voice acting. All the voice actors are perfectly suited to their characters and have accents and dialects that match their backgrounds. [*] Story recounts real events as well as the pivotal moments during this regiment's deployment at Gallipoli. Specific historical events are interwoven with typical trench life - this is both a deliberate narrative device and a reflection of reality, as World War I differed greatly from how we imagine it today. [*] Our companions are believable and authentic. I know they didn't actually exist, but I get the impression that the developers designed them to be an amalgamation of specific archetypes and behaviors. Each of them represents a specific type of person and a certain, characteristical motivation. [*] Final sequence is something else entirely. It’s like the culmination of all feelings and emotions that have been building up inside MC since the start of this campaign. What he’s been through, what he’s lost, what he’s done – all mixed up with something that could be described as shell shock. I have to admit, it really makes an impression. [*] Our inventory and journal were put together quite creatively, as they took on the form and standard typical for a soldier’s gear from that period. [*] A lot of lesser-known lore and history from the World War I era. Most of it revolves around the Newfoundland Regiment. [*] Price/length ratio is well balanced. [*] Achievements are easy to obtain and connected to the story. [/list] 😐 [list][*]I don't think someone whose foot got caught in barbed wire just a moment earlier would be able to move smoothly and quickly after just a few minutes... They should have handled that better. [*] We know where the protagonist, his mates and the rest of their unit ended up after Gallipoli, but developers didn't reveal what happened to them afterward.[/list] ❌[list] [*] Names on the graves are repeating themselves. Developers could and should have taken the time to make each one unique. [*] Even though we see quite a few dead bodies in the game, I get the impression that it’s all been heavily toned down for the audience’s sake. What do I mean? Corpses look as if they were lying in a morgue rather than in no man’s land between two lines of trenches. [*] It's a shame that the game focuses only on Gallipoli, because “Caribou Trail” lasted until the end of World War I, and its final battles took place as part of the Hundred Days Offensive. [/list]