Belgium based Happy Volcano finally releases The Almost Gone. The game will see a release on mobile devices, Steam and the Nintendo Switch. The first ideas for the almost gone date back to 2015 and in 2018 the studio even won a few awards for their unfinished work on the Almost Gone. It took them another 2 years to finish the game. Some wine tastes better with age, a game often doesn’t…
Dark-themed adventure
In The Almost Gone, you play as a young girl who needs to “solve” the world around her in order to cope with what has happened in her life. As vague as that may sound, that’s more or less the point of the game. As you untangle more and more of the world, you’ll find out about the darker sides of life. Not everything is greener on the other side and every household comes with certain problems. Those problems feel very real in an unreal world. The demons of alcohol/substance abuse, rejection, and separation – to name a few – all take form in throughout the game. The story unfolding is written by Joost Vandecasteele, a renowned Belgium writer, comedian, and columnist. The kind of literary style on display really shines bright in this indie game.
Pastel shaded artwork
At first glance, The Almost Gone doesn’t look like a dark-themed adventure at all. The environments are all done in pastel shades and look very clean – almost simple. The cutesy looking dioramas don’t look like the backdrop to a story filled with personal demons but the contrast makes for a special atmosphere. You feel at ease in the world of The Almost Gone while you shouldn’t be at ease. The tranquility invoked by the surroundings is in a constant battle with the lurking psychological demons and makes for an interesting experience. The ripples made by some events will sooner or later smudge the cleanliness and eventually reveal the true nature of what’s going on behind closed curtains.
Vague clues
Since your progress is the actual narrative in The Almost Gone, everything is really vague at the start. By exploring the different places some things will start to make sense but often also invoke a new question. This constant push-pull mechanic is constantly present during The Almost Gone. Once you figured out a certain area, you’ll get a real sense of accomplishment since you had to figure it all out without any hints. I felt the puzzles were hard enough to make me think but weren’t that far fetched they became impossible. Finding that balance is often what makes or breaks a good point-and-click adventure and The Almost Gone nails it perfectly.
Isometric view
Each scene is presented in an isometric view. Moving from one scene to another is done by clicking the arrows pointing up, down, left, or right. At first, I was going through each diorama and couldn’t figure out how to go further. I seemed stuck but had neglected to use the rotation buttons. With a click you can rotate each room, revealing a side of the room/place previously obscured. Since everything connects on a sort of isometric grid and adding the frantic rotation I did, it took me and my bad orientation a few times to know where I was and where I could go next. Since each of the five chapters aren’t that big it didn’t take me long to familiarize myself with the surroundings.
Conclusion
This is the first game made by Happy Volcano as an own project – they’ve done mostly work for other companies. I must say, I’m really impressed by their first effort. They really encapsulated the story in the actual gameplay which makes for a great experience. The style makes it stand out which only adds more appeal to it. The only downside was the fact it was over so quickly. I’m glad I experienced The Almost Gone but it left me with a taste for more. I open Happy Volcano will get the chance to continue their great work and make some more awesome dark-themed-pastel-shaded adventures.
