Since there is no voiceover whatsoever, you will have to pay attention to the dialogues to figure out not just what you have to do next, but also to discover the personality of the NPCs, their thoughts, their feelings. It is a courageous decision and it gives a particular flavor to all the scenes, reinforcing the idea of everything happening in the head of our hero. You will see Whit going through his life as a person, while all the other characters are nothing more than silhouettes you can interact with. The visual style of the game is unique and although simplistic, it does a very good job to complement the surrealistic atmosphere and dream-like scenes. This leads to multiple possible scenarios, each with its own ending giving the game some replay value. Everything is scripted out and although you may feel like you have some freedom, you will be actually following the scenarios dreamt up by the developers. The only actions you are allowed to do are to run around, discuss with the NPCs, make some decisions that will unfold and have consequences towards the end of the game, and from time to time repair or build some structures. Where the Heart Leads focuses so much on the story and the characters, that the gameplay is completely missing. Along the way, through the decisions you will have to make, you will build a bond with all the characters of the game and this ensures an emotional response to the game. The mental journey taking you to ever-higher levels is synced with a timeline of scenes that will take you through time from adolescence to old age.
Where the heart leads us full#
Still, even knowing where everything is headed, it is worth going through the story of Whit, since it is full of memorable moments. His only choice is to try to climb back up, a journey that will make him face his past and possible future.Īlthough the story is engaging and well thought out, the biggest twist revealed at the end of the game is obvious from the very first moments. In a desperate attempt to rescue the pooch with a contraption made up of a winch and an old bathtub, Whit will find himself at the bottom of the canyon-sized crack.
Where the heart leads us crack#
Things are put in motion by a huge crack in the ground that appears out of the blue and almost swallows the family dog. It all starts on a serene farm, where our hero Whit lives with his family: his wife Rene and their two kids, Alex and Kate. The grotesque is replaced by surreal, the quick time events are gone and everything revolves around the idea of causality. The developers from Armature were obviously influenced by the creations of David Lynch, but they put their own spin on the recipe of interactive dramas. Where the Heart Leads hopes to follow on the path of success of games like Heavy Rain, What Remains of Edith Finch, or any title developed by Telltale, presenting a surreal family story and their fate influenced by the decision made by the head of the family. Without debating if this type of experience qualifies as video games, we have to admit that this sub-genre produced some well-known and beloved titles.
Where the heart leads us movie#
Some would say it is like an interactive movie or visual novel, where your input is needed to forward the story.
The only challenge is to make some decisions at key moments and then deal with the aftermath. It has an engaging story and well-written dialogues, but it misses any kind of puzzles. Where the Heart Leads is a peculiar sub-genre of adventure games, maliciously called walking simulators. Obviously, you cannot see beyond the decisions you have not yet taken, but what if somehow you could put everything in perspective and see the effects of your decisions? Where the Heart Leads tries to answer that question, taking the shape of an interactive story, presenting how the choices of one can affect all the people around him. Going through life is a journey full of excitement, adventures, let-downs, tears, and laughter.
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