The newest installment within the Demagog Studio post-apocalyptic prolonged universe, Highwater is a hauntingly lovely and provocative sport that expands on the ravaged world launched in Golf Membership Wasteland and The Cub. This sport takes place within the ultimate moments earlier than (a few of) humanity managed to flee their ruined homeland to Mars.
A extra story-driven sport than the others within the sequence, Highwater follows Nikos and his ragtag group of pals as they try and discover a approach onboard the rocket headed for Mars. Nikos lives on his rubber dinghy, crusing between the few remaining scraps of land in a world decimated by floods. The gameplay is break up into navigating across the drowned map and turn-based fight between you and those that stand in the best way of the assets your group must survive.
The worldbuilding in Highwater echoes the opposite video games within the sequence. You piece collectively the total story of how the world turned so devastated by means of off-hand feedback made by radio presenters taking part in by means of the story, in addition to newspapers and books you discover scattered around the globe. By means of the narrative, you give attention to Nikos and the individuals he encounters.
You meet all kinds of people who’ve all reacted to the apocalypse in another way. The elites of Alphaville have given up on the mess made from planet Earth. Insurgents are livid that the Alphavillians would abandon the planet and so many individuals left stranded, and incite battles for vengeance. Small teams and even lone people exist in their very own little worlds, with their very own distinctive method to surviving.
There is a gigantic group of healthful, hopeful individuals round Nikos. They assist one another by sharing data and assets. Regardless of the final understanding that the planet is doomed, they resiliently get on with their everyday lives, elevating a brand new era to adapt.
You spend a quick period of time with every individual, getting sufficient of a glimpse into their way of life to grasp their response to the world. They’re all extremely attention-grabbing and believably written, with distinct, memorable personalities. The quick stretches with new individuals really feel such as you’re solely scratching the floor of the true depth of the Highwater sport world. It’s straightforward to be left eager to discover extra of the completely different paths individuals have taken—to query which avenue you would possibly take beneath comparable circumstances.
The fight is turn-based and requires you to creatively make the most of the abilities of the completely different characters journeying with you on the time of any given battle. It’s also possible to make use of assorted options of the setting that add an additional ingredient to your technique. It’s pretty straightforward to determine how one can generate a bonus for your self in most battles, however they nonetheless present an honest quantity of problem.
Initially, the turn-based construction can really feel prefer it loses the urgency generated by the desperation of the narrative. Nevertheless, this fades fairly rapidly. The several types of enemies you face, the number of environments by which you end up, and the ever-shifting make-up of your staff leads to a genuinely absorbing expertise.
Between cutscenes and fight, you sail across the map, listening to the totally gorgeous radio soundtrack, chatting to whoever is touring with you, and watching Nikos replicate on his scenario. Highwater is an extremely introspective and provocative sport. It questions the morality of selections you might be pressured to make if you end up determined. It immediately challenges the selections individuals with energy and affect in the actual world make day-after-day, and prophesies a terrifying future.
Highwater ends ambiguously. As you make your approach in the direction of your ultimate purpose, there’s a looming sense of dread about whether or not it should really present Nikos with the “fortunately ever after” he goals of. He has left his pals behind in his bid for security. Whispers within the background forged doubts on the guarantees made by the highly effective. The story concludes nonetheless dripping with uncertainty.
The sport, and the parallels it attracts with actuality, are onerous to cease fascinated by.
