The most recent installment within the Demagog Studio post-apocalyptic prolonged universe, Highwater is a hauntingly stunning and provocative recreation that expands on the ravaged world launched in Golf Membership Wasteland and The Cub. This recreation takes place within the last moments earlier than (a few of) humanity managed to flee their ruined homeland to Mars.
A extra story-driven recreation than the others within the sequence, Highwater follows Nikos and his ragtag group of pals as they try and discover a method onboard the rocket headed for Mars. Nikos lives on his rubber dinghy, crusing between the few remaining scraps of land in a world decimated by floods. The gameplay is break up into navigating across the drowned map and turn-based fight between you and people who stand in the way in which of the sources your group must survive.
The worldbuilding in Highwater echoes the opposite video games within the sequence. You piece collectively the complete story of how the world grew to become so devastated via off-hand feedback made by radio presenters taking part in via the story, in addition to newspapers and books you discover scattered all over the world. By way of the narrative, you concentrate on Nikos and the individuals he encounters.
You meet all kinds of people who’ve all reacted to the apocalypse in another way. The elites of Alphaville have given up on the mess made from planet Earth. Insurgents are livid that the Alphavillians would abandon the planet and so many individuals left stranded, and incite battles for vengeance. Small teams and even lone people exist in their very own little worlds, with their very own distinctive strategy to surviving.
There is a gigantic group of healthful, hopeful individuals round Nikos. They assist one another by sharing info and sources. Regardless of the overall understanding that the planet is doomed, they resiliently get on with their everyday lives, elevating a brand new era to adapt.
You spend a short period of time with every individual, getting sufficient of a glimpse into their life-style to grasp their response to the world. They’re all extremely fascinating and believably written, with distinct, memorable personalities. The quick stretches with new individuals really feel such as you’re solely scratching the floor of the true depth of the Highwater recreation world. It’s straightforward to be left desirous to discover extra of the completely different paths individuals have taken—to query which avenue you would possibly take underneath related circumstances.
The fight is turn-based and requires you to creatively make the most of the abilities of the completely different characters journeying with you on the time of any given battle. You may also make use of varied options of the surroundings that add an additional component to your technique. It’s pretty straightforward to determine how one can generate a bonus for your self in most battles, however they nonetheless present an honest quantity of problem.
Initially, the turn-based construction can really feel prefer it loses the urgency generated by the desperation of the narrative. Nonetheless, this fades fairly shortly. The various kinds of enemies you face, the number of environments through which you end up, and the ever-shifting make-up of your crew leads to a genuinely absorbing expertise.
Between cutscenes and fight, you sail across the map, listening to the completely beautiful radio soundtrack, chatting to whoever is touring with you, and watching Nikos mirror on his scenario. Highwater is an extremely introspective and provocative recreation. It questions the morality of decisions you might be compelled to make when you find yourself determined. It immediately challenges the selections individuals with energy and affect in the true world make each day, and prophesies a terrifying future.
Highwater ends ambiguously. As you make your method in the direction of your last aim, there’s a looming sense of dread about whether or not it would actually present Nikos with the “fortunately ever after” he goals of. He has left his pals behind in his bid for security. Whispers within the background forged doubts on the guarantees made by the highly effective. The story concludes nonetheless dripping with uncertainty.
The sport, and the parallels it attracts with actuality, are arduous to cease serious about.