Wanderlust: Transsiberian

Found this in my games library and went in without any expectations. Ended up having a nice time and was curious to find out where the whole thing would go. A good experience.

Ah, this was a short game, but I got what I wanted: a sense of nostalgy about my home city. I got it, even if in a small amount. There was a different way to look at my own experience, and gave me a food for thought. Where am I, and why I am here not there... I had to tell myself that the life and experience looked good on picture, but your real home is where you are.

Relaxed; thoughtful experience.

I got this game for free and forgot it was in my library. Considering the ongoing war, I decided to catch a virtual glimpse of the world before. It is unfortunate that he whom I shall not name makes an appearance in conversations and spoils this game for all future playthroughs. The game is designed following a slow games manifesto and it is very similar to 80 days. The issues become clear by comparison. By focusing on real people and real travel there is little novelty. Slow text and stock photos of locations in Siberia make for a very dull experience. By having a depressed protagonist who has little interest in the journey the lens of the experience is shaped the same way. The choices are very limited and I simpply parted ways with the protagonist at 70% of the game. Henry did not want to explore any other options so I quit the game rather than finish his story. I would have given this one star but there is a reason for the second. As I have mentioned, this game was created before the invasion and it provides a glimpse into a virtual world from before. The trivia information and the conversations within it surprised me with their dissonance. There is affection shown for the culture and history of the places and people by the writers. But the locations are mostly showcasing the poverty and the decay of poorly planned soviet infrastructure. While the npcs, primitive, mostly filled with vodka, show apprehension at the western protagonist "on safari". Having played this game, from the safety of my pc, always clicking on the "take a photo" to annoy the locals option, I have to give this second star. They definitely nailed the realism part.

What can you say about this game? Hmm, first of all, it's not difficult (which is not surprising) because the game has such a genre. Stress and Fatigue? Yes, there is such, but he would not say that they are very direct and forceful. So, what about the music, well, it's good. The story is not long, well, in principle, this is not a complete part and it costs 4 euros. Further about the photos, they are good for me. Is that all? There is no language, alas, only English, it's a pity that there is no such as Italian, French, Russian, and others. Stop the story, well, it’s not bad, but it’s not 12/10, probably 7.1 / 10 because of the shortness and not only. rating 7.2