Graydon Webb – Contrarian American… With a Heart

Old Man’s Journey

I know I tend to ramble on about random indie games that have touched my heart, but if you haven’t played Old Man’s Journey, you’re seriously missing out. Not only does it have an impressive style of gameplay that’s unlike anything I’ve seen in a video game, the story is an unexpected emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Old Man’s Journey follows an old man who receives a letter and starts out on an unknown quest. Unknown to the player, that is, as he travels across various landscapes, interacting with the land around him, as well as the people who inhabit it. With no dialogue at all, it can be hard to establish any kind of emotional tone. However, the style and color of each locale helps paint an emotional picture as the game progresses.

The real joy of Old Man’s Journey shines through its innovative traversal mechanic. Faced with a hand-drawn storybook world, the player must physically grab the lines marking each landscape’s “floor,” so to speak, and by raising them up or down, they solve traversal puzzles that get our titular protagonist wherever he aims to be. It’s an original twist on the puzzle genre that reminds me of something I’d see in a flash game; it’s just so devilishly simple it must be seen to be believed. This style of movement enhances the storytelling by relying on the world around you to move your protagonist, allowing you to take in every bit of scenery as you go along.

It is here that I must provide a spoiler warning, as touching on the emotional aspect of this game may ruin the journey entirely. While you never get to read the initial letter the old man receives, in the game’s final moments you do find out the intentions behind his great journey. He has come home from his lifetime of isolation to say goodbye to his wife, now on her deathbed, at the behest of his estranged daughter. You see, the old man left his family years ago to pursue his dreams on the sea, and left all he had loved behind. This sudden tearful reunion at the end of a rather upbeat game left me heartbroken and stunned, and thankful for the adventure I had just completed. ‘Tis one I shall never forget.