Sunset is a game where you play as a housekeeper in time of civil unrest. This masterpiece of a game has a very interesting story to tell, on a very pleasant way.
What is it?
Sunset takes place in the fictional metropolitan capital of San Bavón, in 1972. You are Angela Burnes, the housekeeper for the wealthy bachelor Gabriel Ortega. The whole game takes place in his apartment. You have to do chores for Gabriel, each week between 17h and 18h. You follow the events of the ongoing civil war and, like all civilians amidst war, Angela does not directly influence the outcome of the story.
You will never pick up a weapon and shoot, because Sunset is a story-driven game. Instead, you interact with items, such as notes from Gabriel, and these actions affect how the experience unfolds and how your relationship evolves with Señor Ortega. The more you interact, choice a response, the more you can influence the events. You soon learn more about Gabriel and his role in the civil war
What’s so special about it?
The looks of this game are quite something. It has a very colourful setting on it. You are after all in the apartment of a wealthy bachelor, not in the rubble between 2 fighting factions. But what’s most refreshing, is that you never meet anyone else. In my whole play-through, all kind of interaction with Gabriel was either in doing his list of chores or by responding on the notes he left. You get a deeper inside in Angela by her monologue or when she sits down in a chair and write in her diary. You can choose how Angela reacts on the chores and notes of Gabriel for she can have a warm or a cold respond. The influence of that, will have a trigger other responses from Gabriel or will influence certain events.
As mentioned before, you have to do the household tasks each week between 17h and 18h. So have one hour each week in Gabriels apartment. Each tasks you do, takes a certain amount of time. Once the clock ticks 18h, you leave for home. What’s great about Sunset, is that there is no punishment, nor a reward if you do or do not complete your tasks. You are completely free to do whatever you want in the apartment, and the game won’t punish you for it. Don’t feel like doing the chores, not a problem. Want to look at the paintings, sit in the chair and write in your diary, Sunset lets you do it without punishing you.
Getting there.
Sunset has a little problem with the structure. It doesn’t always feel right, there is an escalating civil war, but it doesn’t always comes so on. These are some minor problems, I could walk out of the playable area by walking through a door. And there are minor bugs, but these aren’t all that bad. The developer has promised to work on these problems, so they should be gone by now.
| The Good | The Bad |
| + Different way to interact | – Story isn’t always as forewent |
| + Storytelling | – Some bugs |
| + Atmosphere |
If you like games that are very strong story-driven, then you should take a closer look on Sunset. The way Sunset presents its story is one of those hidden diamonds out there.
It is out now, and you can buy it from here.
