After much hemming, hawing and carrying on, I finally have to face the music: while the world around us burns, I need to play video games and tell you about it. I guess. This is mostly something to do to pass the time I’m not spending doing things like: driving, eating at fast food restaurants, doing Uber Eats and Postmates to deliver people meals from fast food restaurants, and generally not playing video games. And so, here is a game I played while adhering to social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC.
Fugue in Void, by German developer Moshe Linke, is a game. There is a loose narrative. There are mechanics. You progress through what may generally be called levels. And after 45 minutes, maybe you understand Linke a little bit better. Maybe you understand yourself a little bit better. Maybe you have learned to appreciate Brutalism more. It doesn’t have a “Purpose” like many other games; there is no save system or victory state. You simply travel through soulscapes that are at once harsh and firm and soft and warm. It is, to my mind, a perfect vignette to explore without consequence or expectation of finding anything in particular – except maybe a beautiful angle by which to take a screenshot. It has a calming effect I very much needed today, even if it was fleeting.
There’s not a lot of time for introspection and self-reflection. Even in the midst of a global health crisis where we could literally all be the heroes of our own video game and literally save the world by staying at home doing nothing, creative people are still expected to be Productive. Gotta write the Next Great American Novel. Gotta make this podcast. Gotta edit this video. Gotta make this game. Hell, I’m guilty of this too. I’m Being Productive right now. But Fugue in Void creates a space to simply sit and move forward and think about things without the pressure of productivity or the clatter of the news.
The game is gorgeous. It showcases Brutalism in such a… lush way that I’m not sure I could really describe it adequately besides that. Light and shadows bounce off the concrete in hypnotic ways and your footsteps echo softly down long corridors. As opposed to games that use Brutalism as a backdrop, usually for something imposing and unsettling, Fugue in Void is Brutalism, and while the spaces you visit during your playthrough are soaked in mystery, they’re never uninviting.
And when the playthrough is finished, you emerge into a world that is slightly less fantastical, slightly less full of intrigue and wonder, but no less welcoming. And then the game ends, having done what it set out to do. The drone of the soundtrack ends, the screen fades to black. You’re back in the world. This world.
Fugue in Void is available for free through April 15, 2020.
