WIENNE review - Off Without a Witch

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Wienne is a 2020 short, free-to-play fantasy adventure game developed by Creeepling (disclosure: I have spoken to the dev via my Curator's Discord server, though I featured it before we were in contact). It was released onto Steam, itch.io, plus GameJolt, and--like other indie games such as The Witch's Isle or Stories: A Path of Destinies--is a story-driven game where you are supposed to fail many times in the hopes of eventually finding the one series of choices that won't ruin everything for you. If you're a fan of such titles, I gotta say that Wienne is certainly worth your time.


Wienne, as with many indie releases these days, boasts some very nice pixel art. I know not everyone is as fond of pixel art as I am when it is done well, but I don't think there's much to take umbrage with here, visually speaking. Sonically, Wienne is rather stripped back, but that doesn't keep the sound effects and music from working quite well to heighten the mindgames that this title tries to pull on you. I did notice some typos which don't ruin the game per se, but are nevertheless a little spell-breaking for such a writing centric game.


Looking at the store page, Wienne is sold as a lore rich game--and that's certainly a plus in the game's favor. While the lore's implementation is a hair underwhelming--occasionally you will find these floating purple orbs that will unfurl all of the game's worldbuilding at the mere suggestion of your interest--the lore is nevertheless interesting to read--even if it has very little to do with the core narrative conceit. What really sells Wienne are its sense of humor and brain-racking story, which sees you constantly going "Ah! I almost had it!" And rather than doing the very easily implemented gameplay extension of *checks notes* simply being deliberately obtuse, Wienne would rather not waste your time, and the solutions to each new piece of the overarching puzzle are roundly intuitive without becoming repetitive--making for an ending that is genuinely cathartic.


As a whole, Wienne is an interesting playthrough that has me wondering where Creeepling and company will go next. With some more polish, I could see a subsequent effort being incredibly compelling. This is not a content rich game, but it's not trying to be either. There's upwards of an hour's worth of content if you keep calm and don't keep running your head up against a brick wall--and if you go for all of the optional content. I got the good ending after approximately 45 minutes. If that sounds like your bag, I would absolutely recommend Wienne. Wienne gets an 8.5/10.

Great

Summary:
Short and sweet, Wienne won't blow your mind away, but it is a fun time all the same.

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