The Autumn Glen

Sad stories are a part of everyone’s life, but most people do not get to experience life-altering dramas that scar them forever. Even if you happen to live a relatively normal and quiet life, everything can change on a dime, and you do not even have to leave your comfort zone. Obviously, bad luck has a lot to do with it, so there’s not much you can do other than accept the bad parts and hope they go away.

The Autumn Glen is a first-person exploration game in which you get to follow an intriguing story and solve a few puzzles along the way, although the latter are not as complex as you would expect from a real adventure game. You get a lot more time to reflect on your own thoughts as well, since there are plenty of in-game places you can just stop, look at the scenery and let your mind wander freely.

The story involves two brothers, and it’s actually quite intriguing, albeit vague and somewhat poorly presented in some cases. You should still be able to follow the plot, on the other hand, because although you might not understand what it’s about at first, it becomes a lot clearer later on. There’s nothing stopping you from giving it multiple tries, especially since it should take you less than half an hour to complete.

As for the puzzles you have to tackle, the gameplay mechanics are simple enough to help you figure out most things from the first try. Thus, you have to pick up objects, examine them and maybe take them with you over short distances to use in combination with other items. Granted, the actual riddles are not very tough to figure out, but at least you have something to do while you explore.

Speaking of which, it must be acknowledged that the developers managed to express so much with very little. The low-poly models might not look very modern if you get too close, but they actually work incredibly well as an ensemble. The level design is very well-done, since it’s very relaxing to just sit and admire your surroundings. On top of that, the soundtrack is great as well.

While the ending and the story as a whole might prove to be a tad too surreal and riddled with symbolism for some, The Autumn Glen is still worth a shot. Not only that, but it actually feels like someone put a lot of effort into it.