‘Wayward Strand’ Review: A Slow-Burning, Emotional Work Of Art

Games ‘Wayward Strand’ Review: A Slow-Burning, Emotional Work Of Art Matt Gardner Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. A British writer covering indie and retro gaming, esports, and more. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Sep 20, 2022, 05:00am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin ‘Wayward Strand’ is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Ghost Pattern Of all the concepts left untouched by gaming until now, “wandering around a nursing home for three days” is certainly one you’d expect to remain firmly on the shelf. Yet Wayward Strand –a dynamic, interactive story from Australian indie studio Ghost Pattern, released this month on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC–takes this strange idea and transforms it into an experience worthy of a Wes Anderson movie.

And like Anderson’s filmography, Wayward Strand really isn’t for everyone–but those willing to give it a chance will be rewarded with a compelling, slow-burning, and surprisingly powerful tale about the human condition that stays with you long after you put the controller down. Set in 1978, Wayward Strand places you in the role of Casey Beaumaris: an inquisitive, notepad-wielding 14-year-old girl whose mother, Ruth, is the head nurse on a floating airship hospital docked off the coast of rural Victoria, Australia. Your mum, rushed off her feet due to understaffing and a demanding boss, asks you to spend part of your summer holidays helping her by spending time with her intriguing bunch of geriatric patients.

The dirigible–formerly known as the Gräfin Isabella, a German-made airship that was apparently lost forever in a storm–appeared out of nowhere like a floating, Mary Celeste -like shipwreck, which the locals tied to the shore and transformed into a care unit. It’s a bewildering concept, made all the more fascinating by the fact so few people question its existence, never mind its feasibility. MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry If the setup alone wasn’t Andersonian enough for you, the 2.

5D cutaway format of Wayward Strand feels influenced by the iconic “let me tell you about my boat” sequence from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou . Meanwhile, its characters–voiced to perfection by an incredibly talented and believable cast of voice actors–offer just as much quirkiness, warmth, and depth, so long as you invest yourself in learning more about them. Supported by staff, each one of the key patients has their own story to tell, and their routines play out in real time whether you interact with them or not.

Ida Vaughan (voiced by Anne Charleston) is the perfect encapsulation of a doting grandmother who loves knitting; Tomi Hummel (Susanne Nielsen) is a mysterious, non-verbal Danish patient whose room is filled with foliage and awards from a past successful career; Neil Avery (Michael Caton) is a best-selling author whose success has clearly gone to his head; Esther Fitzgerald (Michela Ledwidge) is an eccentric, sassy gossip who has a passion for fortune telling and clairvoyance; Heinrich Pruess (Erhard Hartmann) is a quiet Austrian gentleman with deeper ties to the ship’s past; and Dr Margot Bouchard (Jennifer Vuletic) is a woman who taught some of the staff now treating her, whose condition is remarkably frail due to a recent, grave diagnosis. Wayward Strand is as far from high-octane thrills as you’ll get. However, your curiosity will be rewarded.

While its core topics and emotions may not appeal to many, it carefully and honestly portrays what it’s like to grow old, and everything that comes with it: loneliness, loss, fear, compassion, illness, kindness, and patience. At first, learning about Wayward Strand ’s characters is a combination of luck and coincidence. Each of the game’s dozen or so faces keep to relatively fixed regimes, and you can learn about them by talk to them directly, following them around, or eavesdropping on conversations.

Along the way, you scribble notes about each character, uncovering the stories that interest you the most, prompting questions galore. Casey Beaumaris is a diligent note-taker, helping you navigate countless storylines with greater . .

. [+] ease. Ghost Pattern Many remain in their rooms or at their stations; some are more than happy to talk to you; others are wary; one or two may appear outright hostile; all begin to reveal deeper feelings and issues that firstly underpin and ultimately dictate the wider story.

For every good memory from someone’s past, another person struggles to remember things due to old age, or a deeper condition. Personalities change with good and bad news; if people act out of sorts, you worry for them; you soon begin to choose favorites. You find yourself actively looking forward to revisiting someone straight away, or again later in the day.

Sometimes, you drop in to see someone out of a feeling of obligation. Unlike any game before it, Wayward Strand finds a unique way to tap into the human condition. Playing as a young teenager initially distances you from the fears of growing old, but the youthful Casey soon takes a backseat to the stars of the show, who you build real affection for, not least because their stories and acting are so real–even if they lack thrills, spills, or major shocks.

They’re only human, after all. Wayward Strand’s characters offer every type of conversation, from banal to incredibly deep and . .

. [+] complex. Ghost Pattern As are you.

Casey’s lack of life experience and age-restricted interpersonal skills highlight how much she has to learn. Combined with her outright nosiness and occasionally cocky self-identification as a journalist, her role can get the most out of each interaction, showing the character traits and flaws of everyone involved. While you’re up against a clock–something I’ve always personally hated in games–it’s surprisingly forgiving.

Over three days, you run a nine-to-five shift, and each minute lasts around five seconds. While dialogue is unskippable, it’s never verbose, and you’re offered every opportunity to leave. You see things going on around you, or conversations you’re missing out on.

Often, saying nothing is as good an option as any. Some patients just like the company. Soon, you feel like you’re doing a good thing, even if you sit in silence for half an hour.

Someone may break it by asking you something, from which you learn a little more about a character. Sometimes, they don’t. It’s fine.

After one playthrough, Wayward Strand lacks closure. At the end of your three-day stint, you leave the hospital with your mum, learning only what you could from being in the right place at the right time. However, that’s entirely the point–something that’s subtly underlined as you descend from the hospital one last time, where you find yourself asking if you can come back to help out in future.

‘Wayward Strand’ forces you to contemplate more about real life than you may realize. Ghost Pattern You can, but that means going back to the start and telling the same story again–even though it’ll be different. Wayward Strand is meant to be played multiple times, allowing you to leverage your knowledge to shadow different people, explore a different tale more deeply, attempt to prevent something that happened before, or just see what it’s like to visit someone at a different time.

All this is tied up with a gorgeous art direction from Marigold Bartlett and Aspen Forster, combined with a beautiful and occasionally unnerving score from composer Maize Wallin. While the game can be visually glitchy–wheelchairs, folders, and trolleys can duplicate or appear in the wrong place, or disappear entirely–it never comes close to distracting you from the carefully crafted storylines that run throughout the airship. It’s safe to say that you will come away from Wayward Strand a better person.

Its deeply emotional storylines tap into a vast array of feelings and fears, but crucially, its tales underline the fragility of life–and how important it is to treat people individually, try not to pass judgment quickly, and simply listen. Sometimes, you don’t need to speak to have your presence appreciated–or even just felt. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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