(2 / 4)
Also on: Android, iPad, iPhone, Macintosh, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, tvOS, Windows
TELL IT AGAIN, PARENT
Any parent will testify that small children like to hear their favorite story over and over. For me it was The Three Billy Goats Gruff and a Swedish story titled Peter and his Four Goats. The smaller the child, the less likely it is he or she will tire of it. Well, here's the app for any story reading parent craving some variation: Burly Men at Sea, a children's tale with multiple outcomes depending on the actions of the player. It is the brainchild of Brain&Brain LLC, an American studio consisting of husband and wife David and Brooke Condolora.
In the spirit of classic folk tales, Burly Men at Sea is about a trio of heroes, each with one single characteristic to separate him from the rest. The three Beard brothers are Hasty, Brave and Steady, distinguished by the color of their beard. After finding a magic map in a floating bottle, they embark on an adventure to craft themselves a story, testing their mettle against the forces of the sea.
The goal of the game is to assemble different stories by exploring the world in different ways. Gameplay is very limited, with the story mostly playing out automatically until you get to make a choice. Whatever you choose, you will be able to see it through to the end. There is no game over screen.
Every variation begins with you leaving home and getting swallowed by a whale, and ends with you meeting a magical creature resembling a seahorse, before returning home to start over. In between, twelve possible story branches exist, and for full completion you need to find them all. This is very easy, making it the first game I've ever platinumed.
The writing is consise and good, in spite of throwing all cautionary ambitions to the wind. Instead it explores the joy of storytelling itself, giving it a whimsical and improvised quality of something told with great imagination. A neat feature is that you can send in your particular story of choice to be printed as a hardback book. I'm not sure whether any of the variations are still in print. If you've got one, keep it secret, keep it safe - it might become valuable.
The goal of the game is to assemble different stories by exploring the world in different ways. Gameplay is very limited, with the story mostly playing out automatically until you get to make a choice. Whatever you choose, you will be able to see it through to the end. There is no game over screen.
Every variation begins with you leaving home and getting swallowed by a whale, and ends with you meeting a magical creature resembling a seahorse, before returning home to start over. In between, twelve possible story branches exist, and for full completion you need to find them all. This is very easy, making it the first game I've ever platinumed.
The writing is consise and good, in spite of throwing all cautionary ambitions to the wind. Instead it explores the joy of storytelling itself, giving it a whimsical and improvised quality of something told with great imagination. A neat feature is that you can send in your particular story of choice to be printed as a hardback book. I'm not sure whether any of the variations are still in print. If you've got one, keep it secret, keep it safe - it might become valuable.
The story, however you tell it, takes place in early 20th century Scandinavia, drawing upon old folk tales about the sea monsters of the region. In spite of being Swedish myself, this fact would have eluded me had I not read up a little on the game's production - although the mention of a "sjøorm" in one of the game's plot branches suggested Norway to me ("ø" is a letter in the Norwegian and Danish alphabet, but not the Swedish).
However excellent, quaint and charming, the minimalistic kid's book visuals make the setting fairly generic. They've got the background firs and a few buildings in the opening village looking aptly Scandinavian, but our Earth is too full of coastlines and bearded men for that to be enough. If Brain&Brain wanted to truly localize their game, music would've been key. Sadly, tunes like this one evoke no sense of Scandinavian folklore in me:
Scandinavian folk music sounds like this:
You might think it's too dark and gloomy for kids, and perhaps you'd be right. But I loved a few folk songs as a boy and found them hauntingly beautiful, and sometimes catchy. When I was around five or six my dad caught me humming one, and hasn't let me forget ever since. To me the music in Burly Men at Sea plays it a bit too safe: too universal, playful and upbeat. It's sweet, but does nothing for my sense of nostalgia. On the other hand, I adore the sound effects, many of them made by human vocal cords trying to mimic maritime sounds - one of the traits of a good kid's storyteller.
It's hard for me to rate this game because I'm not the target audience. What I played radiates charm, but I felt left outside the ideal picture of the cozy family unit. My parents certainly don't want to read me bedtime stories anymore, nor would I want them to. Besides, the PS4-version I played (I got it for "free" with my PS Plus-subscription) controlled awkwardly, with the steering wheel cursor fluttering all over the screen. The indirect controls are clearly optimised for touchscreens.
No, I'm too old and have no children. I would, however, recommend Burly Men at Sea to parents of small, curious children who like to explore both the realm of gaming and storytelling together. This could be a great early step into new, magical worlds. If it fails, the time investment is insignificant. One story is roughly 10-15 minutes long and easily digestable. And when you return to it, the heroes might stay the same, but the story could change. Doesn't that sound like a relief?
However excellent, quaint and charming, the minimalistic kid's book visuals make the setting fairly generic. They've got the background firs and a few buildings in the opening village looking aptly Scandinavian, but our Earth is too full of coastlines and bearded men for that to be enough. If Brain&Brain wanted to truly localize their game, music would've been key. Sadly, tunes like this one evoke no sense of Scandinavian folklore in me:
Scandinavian folk music sounds like this:
You might think it's too dark and gloomy for kids, and perhaps you'd be right. But I loved a few folk songs as a boy and found them hauntingly beautiful, and sometimes catchy. When I was around five or six my dad caught me humming one, and hasn't let me forget ever since. To me the music in Burly Men at Sea plays it a bit too safe: too universal, playful and upbeat. It's sweet, but does nothing for my sense of nostalgia. On the other hand, I adore the sound effects, many of them made by human vocal cords trying to mimic maritime sounds - one of the traits of a good kid's storyteller.
It's hard for me to rate this game because I'm not the target audience. What I played radiates charm, but I felt left outside the ideal picture of the cozy family unit. My parents certainly don't want to read me bedtime stories anymore, nor would I want them to. Besides, the PS4-version I played (I got it for "free" with my PS Plus-subscription) controlled awkwardly, with the steering wheel cursor fluttering all over the screen. The indirect controls are clearly optimised for touchscreens.
No, I'm too old and have no children. I would, however, recommend Burly Men at Sea to parents of small, curious children who like to explore both the realm of gaming and storytelling together. This could be a great early step into new, magical worlds. If it fails, the time investment is insignificant. One story is roughly 10-15 minutes long and easily digestable. And when you return to it, the heroes might stay the same, but the story could change. Doesn't that sound like a relief?
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