pilgrims addition

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Wouter Groeneveld 2022-12-07 14:08:32 +01:00
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commit 0b1dbb8131
1 changed files with 4 additions and 4 deletions

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@ -16,13 +16,13 @@ When I think about _Amanita Design_, I think about _Machinarium_ and the beautif
It's hard to describe how beautiful it looks and the screenshots don't do it much justice. But it's even harder to describe what _Pilgrims_ actually tries to achieve: is it an adventure game? Is it a card game? Is it an exposition of the artist that also happens to be interactive?
Every Pilgrim depicted on the front cover---except the priest---will tag along and can be "chosen" to play with by picking their respective card. Once you've chosen your pilgrim, another set of cards appears below the scene, which represents your inventory. Pick up a coin, a couple of flowers, a piece of rope, or a mushroom, and each one will be translated into another card in your deck.
Every Pilgrim depicted on the front cover---except the priest---will tag along and can be "chosen" to play with by picking their respective card. Once you've chosen your pilgrim, another set of character-agnostic cards appears below the scene, which represents your inventory. Pick up a coin, a couple of flowers, a piece of rope, or a mushroom, and each one will be translated into another card in your deck.
![](cooking.jpg "Cooking some potatoes we dug up, because you never know!")
Don't be blinded with all that card action though---_Pilgrims_ is far from a card game. There is zero deck building involved, and cards have zero "value". It's just a neat way to represent typical inventory management and actions you're issuing in other games using SCUMM-like verbs. The mouse pointer allows you to interact with stuff on screen, and playing a card will result in a funny scene where things might or might not work out well. For example, playing the booze card might result in your pilgrim becoming mates with the local priest, as he drinks up everything. Other characters you encounter might not be interested in the booze. If you give that same priest an acorn, he'll look at it and carelessly throw it back to you, turning it back into a card.
There are multiple ways to solve a situational puzzle, hinting at the high replayability of _Pilgrims_. The whole pilgrimage costs `€5` and is finished in less than an hour, but the game rewards each failed attempt at solving something with a funny animation and an unlocked card. If you drink too much beer at the local pub, you pass out. This has zero gameplay value except that it amused me and I just wondered what would happen. If you dip fly agaric soup into a lake you'll intoxicate the local lake inhabitant---again, for no reason except for fun and giggles.
There are multiple ways to solve a situational puzzle, hinting at the high replayability of _Pilgrims_. The whole pilgrimage costs `€5`---if you buy it through [GOG.com](https://www.gog.com/en/game/pilgrims), you get the soundtrack by Tomas Dvorak for free---and is finished in less than an hour, but the game rewards each failed attempt at solving something with a funny animation and an unlocked card. If you drink too much beer at the local pub, you pass out. This has zero gameplay value except that it amused me and I just wondered what would happen. If you dip fly agaric soup into a lake you'll intoxicate the local lake inhabitant---again, for no reason except for fun and giggles.
Don't you just love games like this where you can explore what's possible and even get rewarded if you attempt to tackle a puzzle in a silly way? This _is_ a pilgrimage, after all. A tiny one, but a pilgrimage nonetheless.
@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ I'm doing a soddy job at explaining the game. I loved every minute of it, mainly
![](river.jpg "a boat ride on the beautiful river emphasizes Amanita's excellence in art.")
This ultimately left me wondering where to put _Pilgrims_ on the list of excellent games. As far as its adventure game mechanics go, it's very minimalistic: basic inventory management (combinations by drawing multiple cards for example isn't even possible) and extremely simple puzzles are everything _Pilgrims_ has to offer, really. Of course this doesn't mean it should be called a forgettable game: the art and unique presentation form will make sure you won't.
This ultimately left me wondering where to put _Pilgrims_ on the list of excellent games. As far as its adventure game mechanics go, it's very minimalistic: basic inventory management (combinations by drawing multiple cards for example isn't even possible) and extremely simple puzzles are everything _Pilgrims_ has to offer, really. Of course this doesn't mean it should be called a forgettable game: the art, unique presentation form, and the goofiness of it all will make sure you won't.
But will I be playing this game again any time soon? The game was in development for two years, and finished by me in less than an hour. In a sense, the pilgrimage is even over quicker than one of the earlier Game Boy games! I just wish there was more to see and do. Even though the replayability factor is quite high, just unlocking all funny mishaps isn't enough to consider _Pilgrims_ one of the best I've played.
But will I be playing this game again any time soon? The game was in development for two years, and finished by me in just over half an hour. In a sense, the pilgrimage is over even quicker than one of the earlier Game Boy games! I just wish there was more to see and do. Even though the replayability factor is quite high, just unlocking all funny mishaps doesn't do enough for me to consider _Pilgrims_ one of the best I've played.
What I _can_ say, though, is that it's clearly one of the most charming and beautiful hand-drawn games I've ever played.