Leviathan: The Cargo Demo

Creating a unique atmosphere is what makes video games memorable, because it’s a much greater challenge than working on a beautiful graphics engine or smooth gameplay mechanics. People love to imagine themselves in a different world, and it’s that much more engaging if the said world has enough detail to be credible, despite the fact that it might feature magic.

Leviathan: The Cargo is a highly-interactive visual novel that follows the original The Last Day of the Decade and presents you with a new story in the same universe and with different characters. Just like the episode before it, the game is a great combination of adventure, puzzles, and even first-person action, although most of the mechanics are very simplified to focus on the story instead.

Speaking of which, it all revolves around a couple of smugglers who are tasked with the transportation of a mysterious crate through underground tunnel system. The contents of the crate are valuable enough to influence entire countries, which means that the journey is going to be riddled with dangers. Thus, you must do your best to avoid being robbed or even killed along the way.

Role-play is an important part of the game as well, because your character evolves along the way, and the opinion of the other characters changes as well. Thus, you often have to choose between saying one thing or the other, as well as whether to take certain actions or not. You can even be killed and have to restart the game from a previous checkpoint, so your decisions certainly matter.

The game universe is very original and intriguing, but it wouldn’t be so impressive if it weren’t for the incredible artwork. The designers outdid themselves when it comes to level design and the great mood that sets in a few minutes after you begin playing. On top of all that, the soundtrack goes incredibly well with everything else, so the whole package is more than capable to keep you engaged.

When it’s all said and done, Leviathan: The Cargo is a  must-play for every visual novel fan out there, especially if you do not mind the intricate background stories. It’s worth noting that you probably have to play the first game as well in order to better understand what’s happening.