Strangeland
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Adventure, point-and-click, horror, 2D, indie games, singleplayer
OpenCritic
Steam
A point & click adventure developed by the Wormwood Studios team. In Strangeland the player takes on the role of a man affected by amnesia, who wakes up in the middle of a psychedelic carnival. The protagonist's task is to unravel the mystery of the grim version of the amusement park, where events (such as the suicide committed by a golden-haired woman) are looped into infinity.
Videos and Screens
[1:21] Strangeland launch trailer
[1:43] Strangeland trailer #1
Cubed3: 8 / 10 by Renan Fontes
Moody, thought provoking, and chillingly beautiful at times, Strangeland, is a bizarre take on the point-and-click genre that will stick with players long after the credits roll. The story itself is dense with a script layered in symbolism, but never so obtuse where the uninformed can't get by. Thematically, much of the plot centres around the self - self-acceptance, self-doubt, self-destruction, and self-actualization - along with the pursuit of identity. Puzzles lean into the hostile aesthetic to provide a fair degree of challenge, while hints are always available. It all makes for a well-paced, well realized journey that doesn't outstay its welcome. Strangeland is a short adventure, but one of the finest entries in the genre.
PC Gamer: 69 / 100 by Luke Kemp
The narrative is strong and dark, but the game beneath it struggles to keep up.
TechRaptor: 5 / 10 by Courtney Ehrenhofler
Strangeland is an interesting foray by Wormwood Studios into the more artistic side of gaming, but will leave many feeling unfulfilled.
Strangeland Description
Strangeland is another point & click adventure in the portfolio of Wormwood Studios - a team of independent developers whose achievements include the warmly received Primordia. The game was created with the PC platform in mind, and the creators used the ideas developed for earlier, long dead projects (such as Trenchmouth and Cloudlands).
Story
In Strangeland, players take on the role of a man affected by amnesia, who one day wakes up in the middle of a psychedelic carnival. Shortly afterwards, he witnesses the suicide of a golden-haired woman who, for his own good, throws herself into a bottomless well. The protagonist decides to find out what's going on, which is all the more difficult because circus tents and dim stalls are inhabited by abormal creatures, such as malicious ravens, eyeless scribe or an animated oven. As if that wasn't enough, things quickly start repeating themselves - like in the movie Groundhog Day, a woman jumps again and again into the endless abyss. The protagonist comes to the conclusion that a dark creature occupying the top of a mountain railway is behind the whole situation.
Mechanics
The action in Strangeland is shown in isometric view. As in the aformentioned Primordia, during the game we mainly deal with traversing locations, conducting conversations with NPCs (who often have valuable information and may or may not be willing to share it), collecting items and solving logic and environmental puzzles.
Technical aspects
Strangeland's two-dimensional graphics adopt the pixel art technique; the game iss maintained in a depressing style and enriched with modest color palette, thanks to which the visual sphere of the game fits well with the gloomy atmosphere built both by the soundtrack and by numerous references to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Last updated on May 1, 2020
Strangeland Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows
Developer: Wormwood Studios
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Age restrictions: 16+
Strangeland System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, graphic card Intel HD or better, 2 GB HDD, Windows XP(SP2)/7/8/10