Different from ordinary walking simulation, the presentation method and overall process are more cinematic.
Since there is no voice throughout the game, I feel that:
"Although I didn't understand the plot, I felt something"
The transition of the game would be better if it were smoother. The music is not surprising, but it plays an important role in setting off the atmosphere of the scene. The cinematic style and good lighting in the game also make the screen look comfortable.
It's still a very good game. It's worth experiencing. You can give three ⭐ (At the time of discount)
For context, some of my favourite games of all time include Gone Home, Tacoma, and Firewatch, and I also really liked Kentucky Route Zero. Very much into narrative-heavy games, walking simulators, and I can take some surrealism and ambiguity if it's well done.
I couldn't even follow this, I had no idea at any point what was real and what wasn't, it felt like there was supposed to be a narrative in there somewhere but I couldn't put any selection of these scenes together in any way that made sense. Wikipedia has a summary that kind of works, but relies on information that I swear was never presented in-game.
With about ten minutes of cutscene left to go I was just so tired and just sticking out the experience because I paid money for this and because I don't finish enough games
The main menu of Virginia says “Press Enter to Take a Trip”. That is about as perfect a way to describe the game as I can: “A Trip”. This is like if David Lynch made a game. The whole thing feels like an acid trip of sorts. There is no dialogue at all so the game depends on facial reactions; music; and visual clues to make sure you can figure out what is going on. Luckily for Virginia those three things were the game’s strong points. The music was especially fantastic throughout the game. The graphics stunning but had a very simplistic quality that managed to be more detailed than I expected in it’s own way. I won’t pretend I understood the whole game but I understood enough to appreciate the story and the ability of the developers to intertwine various stories to all flow together without using voice acting. Gameplay wise it is mostly a walking sim as you are finding what objects to interact with.
I played Virginia on Linux. It never crashed on me and I didn’t notice any glitches. The game only has options for resolution; motion blur and a toggle for AA. There is a frame limiter but it only had options for 30 and 60 FPS. I would have preferred a Vsync option. I left it at unlimited rather than 30 or 60. The game has an auto save system but it never tells you exactly when it’s saving so the one time I exited the game and reloaded my game I was further back then expected. I would have preferred a manual save system. Alt-Tab Works.
Disk Space Used: 4.04 GB
Input Used: Keyboard + Mouse
Details Used: 1080P; AA on; Motion Blur Off
GPU Usage: 77-100 %
VRAM Usage: 1498-2053 MB
CPU Usage: 35-60 %
RAM Usage: 3.1-3.6 GB
Frame Rate: 79-228 FPS
I went into ‘Virginia’ thinking that it’d be a traditional adventure game, in which I’d be solving a mystery as an FBI agent. I was wrong. Yet, if I had read the reactions of people who had played it, I’d have hesitated in trying it at best, and spoiled the ending for myself at worst. I was glad I went into ‘Virginia’ knowing as little about it as possible.
‘Virginia’ is a walking simulator, a genre that has gained traction in recent years due to a few notable titles. I’ve played a few of them, namely ‘The Stanley Parable’, ‘The Vanishing of Ethan Carter’ and ‘Firewatch’. Of these, I’d say ‘Virginia’ is the one that I had the least agency over. Whereas you could make choices in ‘Stanley’, solve puzzles in ‘Ethan Carter’, and freely explore in ‘Firewatch’, you’re pretty much along for the ride in ‘Virginia’.
What sets ‘Virginia’ apart from other walking sims I’ve played is the editing. The game plays like a movie you’d watch, but from first-person perspective. While you have the illusion of having places to investigate, evidence to find, and a case to solve, you just have to interact with hotspots in a pre-determined order to move the linear story along. Thankfully it’s a good story, but one that gets more ambiguous and confusing near the end. The ending of ‘Virginia’ is divisive, and it’ll make you wonder about everything you’d have just experienced.
The greatest strengths of ‘Virginia’ are its story and soundtrack. The story is told without using dialogue, and right off the bat, the developers managed to convey so much with just simple animations and actions. The music by Lyndon Holland set the mood so effectively that I was never in doubt of my character’s mindset. He deservedly won a BAFTA Award for his work.
‘Virginia’ is not a typical game, walking simulator, or interactive drama. In just shy of 2 hours, it managed to get me thinking about its potential social commentary, and the meaning of its ending. Check it out if you get the chance to.
Play this game if you are in the mood for:
- story-driven interactive stories
- no voice acting, quite a few reading
- low poly, orange twilights and gloomy nights
- a slow pace, a gentle music and scene editing
- a game that by its own nature isn't giving you all the information digested: you have to fill the gaps (less about "what happens" and more about "what does it mean that X thing happened").
Pros:
- interesting characters. Classy, yet unusual
- beautiful music (and wonderfully embeded into the game)
- it has optional collectibles. Very pretty, some quite hard to find
- easy to control
Cons:
- the camera can make you sick (that screen bob...)
- it's hard to tell when you'll have enough time to read the text
- you are very slow. It's good for a big part of the game, but sometimes it would be nice to go faster to check the other corner of the grass field. That balance isn't easy, but still, this is not a big complain.
