Developer: Bad Viking
Publisher: Iceberg Interactive
Platform: PC, Switch
Tested on: PC
Strange Antiquities – Review
You might already be familiar with indie dev Bad Viking through their earlier puzzle game Strange Horticulture. In that one, you owned a plant shop where both mundane and magical flora were sold, interacting with your quirky customers and the world at large. Strange Antiquities is not a direct sequel, and you don’t need to have any knowledge of the earlier game to play. However, the setting and mechanics are comparable. This time, you run a shop with occult antiquities, where you sell items that are supernatural in effect and origin.
Story
In Strange Antiquities, you play as an Apprentice Thaumaturge. A Thaumaturge, for the uninformed, is a person who deals with magic and other unnatural powers. In this case, your master; Eli, runs a shop where items imbued with magic – both good and bad – are identified and sold, or sometimes simply collected if they’re too dangerous. When Eli has to leave for an extended period of time to figure out a strange disease that strikes the townspeople, that leaves you in charge of the store. Throughout the game, you interact with customers and hear about things that go on around the world, with your actions even influencing events sometimes. While the story is mostly conveyed through conversations and letters, it sets up an intriguing mystery going on in the background, where nothing seems impossible because of the dark powers at work.
Graphics
Strange Antiquities borrows the art style of its predecessor, where everything looks hand-drawn and authentic. We certainly like it, though it might not be everybody’s cup of tea. We admit the way the people are drawn is a bit rough. But the focus of the game is on the occult items, all of which have really cool designs, and the drawings in your book, which look great. We enjoyed how the graphics were designed in a way that made even the small details fit the world, like how the dialogue boxes look like they’re made out of parchment.
Sound
The music is really good too, perfectly encapsulating the whimsical vibe of the story. The game has some pleasing sound effects when you move or interact with the items. There’s even the ambient noise of the rain in the background, which becomes rather relaxing. The game does not have any voice acting, so be prepared to do a ton of reading.
Gameplay
Strange Antiquities describes itself as an occult puzzle game. In a way, you can view it as a series of riddles that you have to solve. Every day, customers will enter the store and explain their problems to you, upon which you have to give them the requested item that will ease their issues. To do so, you can look in your encyclopedia of antiquities and read up on the type of item they are requesting. Its shape, color, or weight, and what other defining features it has. You can examine each item thoroughly, such as smelling it or seeing if it has any supernatural effect on you while holding it. You will have to find an item within your collection that matches those descriptions and give it to the customer. While some are very obvious, especially near the start, later on, things get increasingly complicated, with the game trying to trick you by having items that might be very similar or share certain features.
As you progress, the game will stop holding your hand as much, too. Rather than directly tell you which item the customer wants, they’ll simply explain their symptoms, and you’ll have to use your knowledge of the antiquities and their effects to decide what they need. Descriptions in the encyclopedia will also be more vague, for example, mentioning that the item has a protective ward. You’ll then need to check an index of wards to find which symbol means ‘protection’. The way Strange Antiquities gradually ramps up the difficulty was really nice, easing you into more and more complicated requests.
The game is helpful enough to give you hints that you can freely access. These hints don’t seem to have a negative effect. The same can’t be said for handing over the wrong item, which will drain a little bit of your sanity. Getting things wrong can thus lead to unforeseen consequences. You can also unlock a map of the town. You will get hints from the townsfolk where in the town other occult items might be hidden, and you can go find them to expand your collection. Last but not least, there is a cat you can pet. Obviously, very important.
Conclusion
Strange Antiquities is a great game if you want to challenge your brain with riddles, but also have an interesting story in the background to keep revealing. We thought the premise of the game was excellent, the world-building intriguing, and the control so simple you could easily get lost in the game. Overall, a short but very fun experience.
No Comments