Stranger Demo

Originality is more often than not rewarded in almost every domain, since it usually signifies progress and it provides the world with a new way of looking at things. In the case of video games, this is achieved with the help of interesting gameplay mechanics, or a very different universe and unusual characters to drive the story.

However, there are cases when this originality can go too far and actually hurt the overall experience, if the developers do not pay attention along the way. Stranger is the type of game that happened to fall into this trap, since it tries to blend in too much weird concepts at once and forgets to explain half of them, which leaves you disoriented for the most part and unable to make sense of the world, or the events that take place in it.

The story is a good example to solidify this argument, since it starts in a very convoluted manner, with many strange names mentioned in the opening cutscene, as well as a ritual that seems to take place, which is yet again sort of unexplained. After the opening sequence has passed, you are thrown into a weird land somewhere in a different plane, where you must survive and adapt to the surroundings, in order to follow the plot, somehow.

It is worth mentioning that the game is actually a blend of two genres, namely RTS and RPG. This means that your character can get stronger as he keeps on fighting, as well as pick-up various items that can be equipped in order to increase various skills. On the other hand, the interface also doubles as a classic RTS HUD, which interleaves with every RPG panel as well. In the end, you are left with a very tricky and difficult to use interface, which creates more trouble than it tries to solve.

The combat is very difficult and annoying, since even one crab can put your life in danger, although there isn't too much you can do about it, other than keep on clicking. As you go along, you can raise enough money to hire help, in the form of mercenaries, but not even with their assistance do things change that much. The gameplay also features a variety of other gimmicks, such as the fact that you can use crystals to concoct different spells, or melt down found items in order to sell the metal, but you certainly won't be enjoying the game for long enough in order to bother with these mechanics as well.

While it is true that the “casual” syndrome has hit the industry pretty hard in the last few years, this is certainly not the way to complain about it. Stranger has some interesting ideas going for it, but they are very, very difficult to enjoy, as if the developers made sure that the gameplay is as complicated as possible and the players are capable of reading minds, in order to make sense of the story and the universe presented in the game.