Video games are wonderful. They’ll take you on fantastical adventures in fictional worlds with alien creatures, however they will additionally develop themselves primarily based off real-time occasions, in historical past or within the current.
A Painter’s Story: Curon, 1950 focuses on the true occasions of the city of Curon. This can be a place in Northern Italy, a small village that had a horrible chain of occasions in 1950. It was determined by the Italian authorities to flood the village and construct a dam. 160 properties had been displaced and fashioned a brand new village, however to today the 14th-century church spire will be seen protruding of the lake. It’s impressed a Netflix sequence and now a recreation.
A Painter’s Story: Curon, 1950 begins with you, Tommaso, a painter within the modern-day. You might be on the website of the lake which was once residence to the village, portray the church steeple protruding of the water. A wierd gentle seems within the water and so – as you do – you examine. Instantly you get up within the village within the yr 1949. What takes place then is a journey via the previous couple of months of Curon’s life earlier than the flooding, as you meet all of the residents and expertise their tales.
The writing is extraordinarily good and locations you deep into the center of the village and the horrible, nightmarish state of affairs they’ve been put into. It additionally focuses on narratives about greed, betrayal, and the lack of a liked one. There are some beautiful touches discovered inside, like a second when the lead character walks via the night time to characterize the passing of time and we get eyes on a myriad of story headlines from the final couple of months. I liked his story and the way in which it seamlessly combined truth and fiction. There are additionally narratives you may gather, which offer the participant with actual info concerning the city, and precisely what occurred.
The gameplay isn’t that onerous in any respect, and much from difficult to know. Firstly you simply participate in a number of fetch quests, as you journey across the village. You may speak to anybody you meet, studying about their state of affairs – from the vicar to the varsity trainer. It’s all quite simple and because the recreation isn’t very lengthy, you’ll most likely be capable to full it in slightly below a few hours.
There are additionally – at varied factors – tiny puzzles that you simply’ll want to finish, however by no means is there something that needs to be too strenuous on the outdated noggin. There’s a good part that introduces a stealth aspect to the sport, the place you take half in an nearly Metallic Gear Stable mode, watching the routes of guards as you try to safely get to an goal.
In the end, A Painter’s Story: Curon, 1950 is a story expertise, relatively than an thrilling piece of gameplay. It’s the exploration beats it explores, in addition to the wealthy historical past of the village and the prospect to soak up the lives of residents earlier than the good flooding, that needs to be seen as the primary focus. There are some fascinating little further collectibles to seek out within the journey as effectively: Work that the artists have drawn, info about the true place and its residents and a few brilliantly hand-drawn footage of the residents and characters from the sport.
The visuals that you simply’ll see within the screenshots don’t actually do A Painter’s Story: Curon, 1950 justice. On first viewing, it simply seems to be like a Minecraft sort of mod; the characters are block-styled, as are the buildings and the world. However the lighting and the design work brilliantly and are very efficient. In reality, at instances, it’s all very lovely with some wonderful skies because the builders use their instruments to acquire a beautiful outcome.
The music is superbly scored too, able to reflecting the somber and magical sense of the sport.
A Painter’s Story: Curon, 1950 has a mild and reflective tempo to its storytelling. There aren’t any motion sequences or high-impact set items, as an alternative offering entry to a recreation that’s all concerning the journey and the sequence of occasions of a small village in 1950. I do really feel the sport feels a bit rushed, and I needed for extra to do, however maybe that may be a testimony to the enjoyment. The story is engrossing too, offering entry to one thing many might not find out about.
If you’re in search of one thing a bit totally different and are after a slice of historical past in your gaming, then A Painter’s Story: Curon, 1950 is for you.