This Game Gives Us Hope, And That’s All We Need

Being alone for 15 minutes is not very long, as everyone knows who has spent the past one and a half years in isolation. A quarter of an hour, that’s how long it takes to complete the new game by The Flavare, an Indonesian indie studio. Yet, the game manages to live up to its name and gives hope that the time of loneliness will soon be over.

In this free 2D adventure, we play a survivor of an apocalypse (again) who is on his living alone in an abandoned house. Loneliness and self-talk shape his everyday life, such as hunger and thirst, so he sets out to search the area for supplies. In doing so, he makes a discovery that will change his life.

Hope manages to arouse a feeling of loneliness despite the short playing time. On the one hand, the graphic style is wrapped in pixelated shadows and grey tones, leaving the surroundings in obscurity. On the other hand, the terrific, credibly written monologues let us penetrate the game world atmospherically, immersing ourselves in the character’s daily life, an everyday life that doesn’t just begin with the title screen.

Yes, there are puzzles in the game, but they are hardly worth mentioning because of their simplicity and below-average point & click difficulty. Nevertheless, the easy combination tasks help to illustrate the protagonist’s everyday trials when he first has to find gasoline for a generator. Still, a bit more of a challenge wouldn’t have hurt.

Maybe Hope be a little longer and should offer more gameplay variety. But perhaps it is enough that the game fulfills its purpose and leaves us with a hopeful feeling; we may reveal that much of the story, and we can all use a good portion of it.

Hope is available for the PC itch.io and soon also on Android devices.

[UPDATE 20/07/2021] Hope can now be bought on the Google Play Store. And here’s the game’s official trailer: