The Learned Man Whose Lore is Deep is Seldom Happy
Fimbul Fambi
Review of the adventure game Strangeland by Wormwood studio, released for the PC in May 2021.
The arrival of Strangeland had for me been a long-anticipated event. As a great fan of Wormwood studios earlier endeavor Primordia, I was just about ready for another point-n-click epic. However, comparisons will not fill up much of this review, as Strangeland remains a story set in an entirely different universe. It is a change almost literally like night and day, where Primordia seemed to be set in a perpetual dusk, where the morning sun almost but never manages to rise over the horizon. The realm of Strangeland, on the other hand, is eternally bathed in the cold gleam of twilight, enchanting this carnival of the macabre with an ominous glow.
The rusty art-nouveau architecture of a steampunk city have been replaced by a nightmarish H.R. Gigeresque carnival, where monsters and poets stand side by side to unravel the tormented mind of a lone traveler. Though the story is not in its entirety simple, it is best summarized in its core content. You play as a nameless wanderer, though sometimes referred to as “the stranger”, who have to navigate a surreal circus of the grotesque, trying to save a nameless woman and fight the dark thing which plagues this world. When playing this game you might come to experience puzzles of the classical adventure game variety and harrowing psychological symbolism.
One of the first things I want to note about Strangeland is the problem of “pure allegory”. Strangeland is a game, which already from the very beginning, makes sure to note that its setting, its world, is not “real”. It is a manifestation of a psychic realm embroiled in an emotional deadlock. This is by no means a spoiler, as many characters will make sure to state this condition from the very beginning and continue to remind you of that fact to the very end.
While this opens for the imminent splendor of surrealist baroque, courtesy of the artist Victor Pflug, it does rob it of some of the suspense normally achieved by these narratives. Though many other stories across multiple types of media deal with similar allegorical scenarios, the one which I was reminded of the most was a movie starring Christian Bale and directed by Brad Anderson from 2004 called The Machinist. Underrated, but possibly not a hidden masterpiece, this story deals similarly with the trauma suffered by the protagonist and the anguish he feels by his attempts at repressing it.
Though the two narratives are very different, they both still deal with the subject of guilt manifesting as visions and hallucinations. Turning day into dream and dream into hell. Though, in the Machinist, this is shown as a slow and gradual process, starting in an otherwise mundane setting, and then slowly building into a pandemonium of the mind.
The fragmented mind of the amnesiac cast the psyche into the three distinct roles of victim, culprit and detective, and then set itself to unite this trinity by presenting trauma as mystery and memories as clues. This brings a sense of great tension to the story and allows for the surrealism to increasingly absorb you. In the end there will be a revelation or reconciliation, the past is revealed, which concludes the story. Strangeland does in many ways follow this thread, but there is no grand mystery to solve. No slow unraveling of the mind. There is escallation and growth, but nothing which is not already explained. It is all revealed from the start, and then you are left to contemplate the symbols and metaphors, as you work your way through the puzzles.
I think this is valuable to mention, but I do genuinely not believe it detracts from enjoying the story itself. Written by Mark Yohalem, the dialogue and setting draws heavily from a rich and deep understanding of Norse mythology and English literature, and Mark makes no excuse when he desires to flex his own sublime poetic nerve. The characters you encounter, such as the Streammaiden and Rotta, are tragic and deformed creatures, filled with pathos and pain. Listening to their tormented death screams, bellowed with eloquent lines of mythological invocations and fatalist recourse, is as disturbing, if not more, as any scene of gore and blood ever has been.
While the cast of voice actors deserves their applause, it is rare and exceptional to come across prose this fine and detailed. It really shows how far you can come with reverence and dedication to the original sources, while still manage to create something which feels original. In a time where it seems like mythology is something relegated to be a constant tug-of-war between commercial artifice like Marvel’s Thor or internet loons like Varg Vikernes, Mark points a way forward by deconstructing and reassembling the meaning of these old tomes until only the essence remains.
Now we need to segue into the realms of puzzle, for it would not be an adventure game without brain churning puzzles. I generally like mathematical and logic puzzles in these sorts of game, as it offers some breathing room from the abstract elements. While working to break some code of numbers or signs, you equally have the opportunity to cogitate on the meaning of the narrative and the allusions you have experienced. In Strangeland there are far less of these “technical” puzzles compared to other puzzle games, and while many may not miss these interruptions from the gameplay, I still considered them a deserved break from an otherwise comprehensive story.
Generally, I was able to pass through the game without being stumped for too long. Symbolism and praxis is marred to advance the story, where presence is representation and solutions are mental epiphanies. Each answer will have a double meaning, a key for change and comprehension. The only puzzle I will mention as being a stone in my shoe, was the one where you have to decipher a phone number. I think that one mixed too many clues together, creating an oblique mess in the process.
If you’re a fan of adventure games, Strangeland is certainly an experience that should be savored. From the sprites of tar and flesh to the stanzas of death and despair, it heralds a journey of sober self-reflection, and while I’m not personally a veteran from the LucasArt and Sierra On-Line era, Strangeland bears the mark of a mad savant standing on the shoulders of giants. Wormwood Studio could with their talent begin a new renaissance for adventure games, which only makes me more excited for what their future would bring.
DASEIN CON AMORE 