Available on PC
Orwellian is a term that’s being used to describe a lot of games these days. Since Orwell wears its gameplay on its sleeve it’s easy to predict what it’s about. It’s the actual gameplay that’s the unique element here. It’s really different than anything I’ve seen and I had a blast playing it.
The Story
As a new agent in a special program called Orwell, you’re tasked with investigating a set of bombings that appear to be politically motivated. There are multiple parties involve and you end up working through a complex set of suspects to find the culprit, or who you think is the culprit. Throughout the project some of the people you work with as part of the program seem to have some motivations of their own. That’s about all I can say without giving too much away. The story is actually really interesting and kept me engaged throughout the entire game.
The Gameplay
What’s neat about this game is that there’s no external UI. The second you boot up the game, you’re in the tool that you use to complete your investigation. There will be daily headlines from the local newspaper for you to read, not all of which will be relevant to what you’re looking for. Beyond that, you’ll take at some video footage, scour official and personal websites for information and even monitor chat conversations and phone calls. Any important information gleaned from these exploits can be used to create a profile for the people involved. You can bring up these profiles at any point in the game to see where some pieces might fit together.
This gameplay is really, really cool, but I do have one issue with the game: It holds your hand way too much. Any information that’s important is always highlighted so there’s no challenge in trying to figure things out on your own. It isn’t until late in the game you’re given the task of only grabbing a set number of what are called datachunks. That made the game a challenge as you had to stop and think about whether each piece of information was important and how important it actually was. I think the game would have been much better if this gameplay mechanic had been employed throughout the game.
The Rating
Orwell hasn’t been rated by the ESRB, but I would estimate it would probably gain a T rating. There is some language and sexual innuendo, but’s all fairly mild.
Takeaway.
Orwell is really fun and new take on the concept of “Big Brother.” I had a lot of fun with this game. My only issue was that it was made too easy by providing you too much guidance. But that’s a small reason. Even with that issue, it’s still a game you should definitely check out.
