![]() ![]() A young woman leaves her secluded community to explore the world for the first time, documenting her experiences on a cross-country bike ride, and slowly uncovering the mystery of a recurring cataclysm that has halted the world's ability to progress.įollowing the announcement, Season was lauded on social media following for its beauty, its premise, and its promise of a diverse and interesting cast of characters. Reviewed on PS5 with a code provided by the publisher.At The Game Awards 2020, Darwin Project developer Scavengers Studio revealed a beautiful, compelling, and very different new title: Season. Season is a calming, pensive adventure that's as beautiful as it is quaint. Although it doesn't always live up to its narrative, there's something quite special about how its narrative and adventure unfolds. That hasn't stopped me from finding Season quite the memorable experience, mostly for its peaceful and idyllic exploration and unexpected darkness. Some elements the developer assures me should be interactable are also just plain not working, so what should have been a 6-12 hour experience has taken me far upwards of that as I struggle to solve the core mystery with the game serving me technical curveballs. I've had to undergo a few complete restarts to make maps load correctly, or to force the photos I've plastered across my journal to not show the same image. ![]() Unfortunately, my experience with Season has been plagued by a number of (what I hope to be) pre-release bugs. For the most part, that's fine, but there are moments where blindly cycling around the valley could have been tampered by better notetaking - particularly when some of the cues are a little more obtuse. I also wish there was a touch more to a quest log or a better option for notetaking, especially as the game really doesn't tell you anything about what it expects from you. A goat's bray cuts through the otherwise eaceful countryside scene, some windchimes play a particularly melodious tune, a monkey surprises you in a shrine… suddenly you're leaning in to capture any sound in case it's helpful to building out your documentation. It also makes you appreciate the little snatches of audio you find. It's stylized, with an almost hand-drawn charm that makes you want to capture everything you see that's interesting or beautiful - and there's a lot of that here. ![]() It helps, of course, that Season is beautiful. If you're anything like me, you'll end up with an archive of far too many polaroids as you snap away at flowers, unusual architecture, or a tree that's catching the light in just the right way. The snap of the shutter and whirr of the photo emerging just becomes part of the game's glorious soundscape. Taking photographs is easy and filled with the retro charm of using a polaroid-esque camera. Riding the bike is always a joy, with you having to use L2 and R2 to pedal when you first set off or try to go up a hill, and then being able to enjoy the freefall when you've reached your stride. As you journey out from your hometown into the unknown, you're armed with your bike, along with a camera and an audio recorder that you'll use to document what you see and learn. ![]() Season is effectively a road trip game apart from your roads are quiet country paths that snake through stunning vistas and decaying urban landscapes, and your trip is as much about time as it is about distance. ![]()
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