Where The Heart Leads struck me as a peculiar game when I first saw the trailer. I was immediately drawn to the surreal style used to tell this coming-of-age tale. Armature Studio’s new game will surely lead you to some heartfelt moments.
Watch out for the sinkhole
The game starts outside the farm of Whit Anderson’s family. A giant sinkhole has formed and Casey – the family’s golden retriever – fell in. Whit goes after the dog and falls discovers the sinkhole is quite deep. Once he tries to go back up he enters a world beyond his own. Whit is transferred back to young age and relives moments in his life where key decisions were made. This time around the decisions made can totally shift reality. Where The Heart Leads gives the player the possibility to shape Whit’s life in a whole new direction through interactions.
Coming-of-age
At first, Where The Heart Leads Us, takes you through a bunch of narrow caverns to introduce you to Whit and the way you’ll interact with the world around you. Not long after you found your way through the first underground tunnels you reach a gateway. Beyond that point, the game takes a surreal leap into the life of Whit. The rest of the game is all about Whit growing up, starting a family, and taking care of that family. Along the way, you’ll encounter numerous well-written characters to further shape the life Whit led. At each moment in life, Whit will need to make decisions. These will shape the story in a unique way.
Story-driven
Where The Heart Leads is light on gameplay but excels on the story. This is a pure narrative-driven adventure where your interactions with the world shape the rest of the story. A game like this needs great characters to succeed and Where The Heart Leads certainly succeeds on that front. Whit Anderson and his family were captive throughout the 10+ hours it took me to complete the story. The townspeople in the different sections of the game all gave extra spice to the story and added another layer. Personally, I loved the interaction between Whit and his brother Sege. Both are artists but one is considerably more carefree than the other. Whit tries to keep it all together while Sege is trying to make it regardless of any consequences.
Along the way, Whit will start a family. Managing his own dreams while still maintaining a solid family life are struggles I could relate to. All these small hooks are scattered throughout the game. These all resonated with me and kept me going despite the lack of exciting gameplay. Despite revolving around conversations and no action, Where The Heart Leads kept me going. It was like reading a good book I couldn’t lay down. The added factor of having a say in the outcome of the book makes this game a great experience. The choices made, influence the world and the story to your own liking.
Surreal world
Whit is going through different parts of his life in a surreal way. Each section is weaved into another with small sections back at the bottom of the sinkhole. Each time you’ll be left to ponder about the last section of Whit’s life before being transformed back into it. The world Whit goes through looks plausible but has some surreal aspects to it. The art style used in Where The Heart Leads adds extra flavor to that surreal extent. Every character you meet looks like a shape of what they used to be reflecting things are not as real as they seem to be. The events taking place further emphasize this world created might not be the real deal.
Conclusion
Where The Heart Leads might be an acquired taste. At the end of the day, this is not a game but more of an interactive experience. An experience I fully enjoyed from start until finish. If you want a well-written coming-of-age story, you might as well try out Where The Heart Leads. I’m glad I experienced it.
