Cold winter is definitely here with sometimes lots of snow and what better way to spend the day than staying inside and playing a new indie adventure like Duje Segvic aka Ilustrator.hr‘s FLAKE The Legend of Snowblind?
FLAKE The Legend of Snowblind (PC)
(Croatia 2024, developer/publisher: Duje Segvic/Ilustrator.hr, platform: PC)
Amnesiac snowflake-like creature Flake finds himself on the sunken continent Nesca where a neverending winter followed a war between sentient animals and Solids, and only by finding a Heart Gem might he create a warmer climate, if it weren’t for meddling ghost sorcerer Leonide.
Heavy on lore
The game’s story starts out very promising with the mysterious identity of FLAKE (or Flake?). Even more interesting is the world he traverses, as he learns about an endless winter and various spirit forms as well as hints at other beings that populated the world. This can be seen with ancient warrior statues and spirits who tell Flake more about a big war that split the races apart. Other strange stone creatures leading to an underground cave system that have a certain Lovecraftian Cthulhu touch make the player wonder what kind of setting this actually is.
The presentation reminds one of the fantasy comic Bone which had storybook-like characters that were suitable for children, but darker parts for adults. Just like fairy-tales that used the same formula of entertaining and frightening children, one is overwhelmed with cozy and somehow unsettling feelings while exploring this strange world and somehow tries to figure out what is going on or went on.
Some of the background stories are told via an adventurer’s diary which is not only well drawn but features an intriguing story about a group of other explorers one partly gets to meet during Flake’s journey. The writing is quite engaging and again provides some immersion with this weird world, even though it suffers from many linguistic mistakes (see more about this later).
Neverending story
It’s usually a bad idea to talk about the ending of a game, but in this case, one has to be prepared that the story promises too much and delivers very little towards the end. Just when it starts to become like an epic journey for the protagonist, the game doesn’t only end, but continues with another protagonist (quote: “Every end is new [sic] beginning”): an elephant one saw licking icecream while sitting on the moon in the intro sequence. A switch to the rat guards on the underground bridge with the same dialogues but watched by future versions of them is another mindboggling part.
This just shows how weird the storytelling is. Maybe the game was meant as some kind of dream that doesn’t necessarily have to make sense. But as a player who spends around 8 hours with characters and traverses its world, one can’t help but feel disappointment with no real closure, instead being left with muddled world-building that has led nowhere.
Back to the classics
The antagonist GHOST (or Ghost?; the form of sorcerer Leonide) is reminiscent of the evil sorcerer Sordid in Simon the Sorcerer and Simon the Sorcerer II in both appearance and the sadistic satisfaction he has when torturing his minions and enemies. Only he does it by telling bad jokes. There are plenty of other memorable characters like polar bears who live outside the city because of apparent racism or an adventurer with a fedora hat whose Indiana Jones influences aren’t only found in his looks, but in his attitude (“I work alone, kiddo!”).
The pop culture references, e.g. poking fun at the movie Fight Club or the RPG weapon terminology too many times, can become grating and it’s clear that The Secret of Monkey Island is a big part of them, too (as can also be seen in the final credits and an insult fight). Humor is often hit-and-miss, never quite reaching the same high quality of witty remarks Simon or Guybrush delivered.
Heavy on characters
Dialogues are mostly too long, especially towards the end, and it’s somehow ironic that some of the more interesting background stories are skipped with “BLAH BLAH BLAH” text. This is a shame, because most of the characters are fun.
A statue head guarding a gate is similar to skull Murray in The Curse of Monkey Island, only his ambitions aren’t to conquer the world but are satisfied by simply being given a name. Rat guards on a bridge make for some funny scenes with their bickering, too. In general, the cast of characters is very likable even if they’re not as memorable as in the adventure games of old the developer tries to imitate.
Talking and writing is a battleground
The most irritating part of dialogues and storytelling is the language used. Riddled with way too many grammatical, spelling, and phrasing mistakes, it becomes impossible not to be drawn out of this magical world. One constantly wonders why not more attention was paid to the script, as it only remotely resembles English, e.g. “sale away” vs. “sail away”, “warm” vs. “worm”, “snorting” vs. “snoring” or the elusive “on daily bases, find entrance in attempt”. There are even some inconsistencies with spelling an important name in a diary: “Dafne” vs. “Daphne”.
What is also quite distracting is the incoherent use of profanity. Constant insults even become part of a duel between the hero and antagonist as well as an Indiana Jones-like adventurer, and unlike the insult sword fights in The Secret of Monkey Island, they aren’t that funny and feel out of place. A rock-paper-scissors duel between Flake and Ghost isn’t very imaginative, either. It’s somehow ironic that the hero comments on this disappointing RPS battle, but still goes through with it. Making fun of adventure games with metafictional lines like “Save before the duel” only shows how lame some of the humor is.
Do good or bad and see what happens
The game has an interesting but flawed morality system which make Flake’s feelings being affected by his good or bad actions. His whole body actually changes for a brief moment, as he either turns more into ice or water. Even if it’s repeated multiple times with the same superfluous comments like “Looks like I change if I do good in this world”, this mechanic doesn’t go anywhere. Sometimes one is forced to do certain actions in order to progress, but they don’t change the story or characters’ attitude towards Flake in the long run. Granted, it’s not meant to be an RPG, but at least one would have expected a few more relevant consequences in gameplay or storytelling.
Pleasant and unpleasant puzzling
Puzzles are mostly logical with enough hints and not too many items to carry around with. The number of locations is manageable, although a fast travel or map option is missing. The same goes for the absent hotspot key. While there isn’t much of pixel hunting with objects easy to make out in the environment, backtracking becomes a bit annoying later on. Speaking of annoying, a complex mind maze that requires using colored orbs (that can also be combined to create new colors) to open portals might be the breaking point for some players.
Still, puzzles are well integrated in story progression, e.g. asking an archaelogist to decipher runes at a cave entrance that becomes a time portal when Flake speaks the right words and makes the correct gestures. Solutions can be quite creative and surreal at times, e.g. literally pulling down the moon in a small version of the island and picking it up in a mind maze by manipulating the day/night cycle. There is even a time travel mechanic, as Flake steps through a portal into the future, which makes for some interesting, but far too few puzzles, e.g. growing specific seeds in a compost heap and picking up a flower later on.
Unnecessary repetition is also seen in a couple of instances when one has to throw snowballs and Flake only becoming skilled enough to hit other targets if he has practiced enough. Waiting for water to boil or a tea to be ready might be realistic but it would have sufficed if the old-fashioned “a couple of minutes later” was used (as when Flake has to dig for treasure later on). Not every puzzle is a winner, as one has to tell a wolf spirit jokes from almost all the characters one met before, running to and fro in the hope that one hears the right ones.
A cartoon come to life in visuals and partly sounds
The art is beautiful throughout with lovely drawn backgrounds and cartoon-like characters. Special effects like the reflection of Flake on watery surfaces are quite nice, too. Anyone looking for a winter feeling game will be happy to see lots of snow either on the ground or falling from the sky, creating a cozy but also melancholy mood.
This also holds true for the soundtrack that despite some repetitions is varied enough not to be distracting. Voice acting is something of a mixed bag. While most of the actors fit the characters, they often mumble and speak too low or too slow as if they just started learning to read or to understand English. It’s difficult to follow the accent-heavy dialogues without reading the subtitles. Even here, what is said and what is written isn’t always the same, hinting at some sloppy QA.
A mildly successful throwback to the good old adventure gaming times
FLAKE The Legend of Snowblind is a half-baked experience with a convoluted story that leaves the player with more questions than answers and a morality system that doesn’t quite work. The art and music are great and the world-building as well as characters invite the player to explore for a cozy 8 hours. Most of the puzzles are logical and fun, even if a confusing maze could be the end for some players. The biggest problem, however, is the poor writing that is riddled with linguistic mistakes, as form almost destroys content. Capital letters in title and text form as well as a missing hyphen is indicative of the problems that are sadly reflected in storytelling and gameplay, too.
Score: 6.5/10
Buy the game for PC on
GOG
Steam
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