A floating hospital with a mysterious granny as a patient? Narrative adventure Wayward Strand uncovers this and many other enigmatic tales as 15-year-old journalist Casey Beaumaris. Given three days for him to write a thesis on the history of flying hospitals, the game takes you into the calm and mellow daily life of an elderly resident.
Rhythmically serene, sparse acoustic guitars capture a quiet, serene environment that is sustained over approximately six hours. The game introduces a cast as colorful as the creamy pastel aesthetic it employs to tell its story. His style choices for this art are reminiscent of cartoons for young children. When you enter the room, the walls are lowered like theater curtains, and it feels as if a play is unfolding. It doesn’t deter older audiences, but in fact, this visual style only adds to its fondness, fueled by its choice to focus primarily on age groups that receive little spotlight in entertainment media.
The game offers a lot of dialogue with over 20,000 lines of script and will almost certainly make you jump for a second playthrough. However, the second run is a little tedious, as there is no option to fast-forward or skip dialogue. is at the end of Think twice before closing the game before the chapter ends.
With a nice cast and setting, Wayward Strand is sure to stick in your mind, even if it lacks some gameplay essentials like more frequent save points or at least a skip button.