Setup: iPad Pro (2018), iPad OS, Xbox One Controller
Developer: Finji
Publisher: Finji
Release Date: 9/19/2019
Platforms: Literally Every Platform. (I got it on Apple Arcade)
It’s common, I think, and soothing to imagine yourself as ultra-competent and hardy enough to survive the end of the world. The alternative sucks too much ass: dying within a few days of total societal collapse, either from exposure to the elements, a random bandit, or worse. But that is the reality of things: most of us would not make it in a world suddenly too hostile for us to live comfortably. Whether drowning in zombies or (more realistically) the rising tides of a warming world, the apocalypse would not end with us triumphant against the odds.
Overland wants you to be aware of that. And then it wants to show you again. And again. And again. Oh, you want to play another round? Die some more. Here, we have a dog for you to pet. Oh, you moved it in front of some strange creatures that look like a cross between the pig alien that spit acid at you from Half-Life and the demogorgon from Stranger Things? Time for your puppy to die! Oh shit, a bandit stole your car and ran your friend over! And you’re surrounded! Guess you should plan better next time.
Overland, simply put, is XCOM by way of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
The goal in Overland is to guide your travelers from the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. Each milestone in your travels is a procedurally-generated random chunk of a city, the highway or a dirt country road. Scattered around the small map is a grab-bag of other survivors, objects of interest to search, and the aforementioned nasty weird creature enemies. Some of the survivors are unfriendly, the searchable objects don’t always have much of interest in them, and the enemies – oh, the enemies.
The enemies will always find you. They’re attracted to sound. Louder sounds excite them more and will attract them quicker, but even the quiet beating of your and your companions’ hearts will lead them to you eventually. Each stage is essentially running on a time limit. As you spend more of that time searching the area for goodies, creatures will dig themselves out of the ground. One time, I watched as a whole bunch of burned out cars just got sucked into the ground to make room for more aliens. If you spend too much time in an area, you will be overwhelmed.
Your characters can pick up weapons, like sticks and bottles, but many of these are single-use and you don’t really stand a chance against an enemy with more than one hit point, or in an area where multiple enemies can reach and attack you successfully. Without a weapon, your characters cannot fight. If they get injured, they can’t move very far or very fast. And they will die within two hits.
I’m gonna be honest: I didn’t have a great time playing this. It might be because I’m already in a weird brain space, but I thought the heavy dollops of despair that seep into every corner of this game felt too real, and I kept finding myself becoming miserable during each playthrough. What was interesting about Overland (to its credit) was how it made me think about my disaster readiness in real life, though. Living in Oklahoma as I do, we have the distinct displeasure of dealing with tornadoes every spring and summer and hoping none of them lands near – or on top of – our houses. How ready would I be if a tornado destroyed my home tomorrow?
Any disaster can apply here. Any other potentially paradigm-shattering event can, as well. Would I know how to siphon gas? Could I forage for food? Fuck – would I have the interpersonal relationship skills to team up with a stranger and the judgment to not end up with a fuckin axe murderer? Would I be ready to fight back?
The answer to all of these questions is a resounding “no.”
This game is for somebody. Maybe I’m not Tacticool enough, not strategically skilled enough, to play through Overland successfully. Maybe I’m just not the target audience. I think whoever this game is for will really enjoy it. That person just isn’t me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go prepare a bug-out bag.
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