No matter how far the video game media evolves, no matter how shiny the graphics or complicated the gameplay become, the point-and-click adventure game will never die. That immortality comes with a price, though, and that’s an inability to change. From its glory days in the 90s and early 2000s to now, the genre hasn’t evolved all that much. Can Wildwood Down change it that? A tiny game borne of love and carried on the shoulders by a unique protagonist who with a giant heart.
Available On: PC
Reviewed On: PC
Developed By: Crashable Studios
Published By: Crashable StudiosReview code provided by the publisher.
Before we get into this, I do want to address the slight difficulty in reviewing a game like Wildwood Down. As someone with a disability, I’ve always been more than happy to take the piss out of it, and let others do the same, but quite often in the modern world that’s a surefire way to get into some deep shit. I don’t want to say people can be touchy, but…
That can make criticising people and things that also happen to have disabilities or are related to disabilities a touchy subject. In this instance, not only is this a game where the lead character (Daniel) has Down syndrome, but the very same lead character is heavily based on a real person (also Daniel) with Down syndrome. That makes criticising anything about Wildwood Down feel like wandering through a minefield while chugging straight vodka. Allow me to be clear: I’m not providing any free passes. I’m treating this game – and by extension, the leading man himself – like how I like to treat my own illness; poorly, and with the occasional curse-laden rant.
If that wasn’t enough, this is also a tiny indie game made by a tiny passionate team, and it’s always inherently harder to nitpick stuff like that. Everything about this game is absurdly wholesome, but that needs to be put aside. It doesn’t matter.
With that said, I am glad to say that I don’t actually have to lay into Wildwood Down too heavily, because this is a competently made point and click adventure game, and Daniel’s a charming lead who is clearly giving it all with his voice acting. Naturally, that means you have a type of line delivery with a wholly unique cadence and style to what you’re probably used to hearing, but that’s part of the fun. He’s joined by a strong cast, too, that helps bring the zany characters to life.
Daniel, his sister Becca, Becca’s boyfriend and their friend Dakota are heading for the equivalent of Spring Break. Things quickly take a turn when Becca disappears and Daniel finds Dakota buried on the beach, seemingly killed by the mysterious Bay Butcher. The scene is set for Daniel to rescue his sister, which is going to involve seagulls with diarrhoea, a mirror maze and a few more corpses turning up. And on top of that, there’s a mystery to solve and not a Scooby-Gang in sight to help. Who is the Butcher? What’s up with the mysterious person working with him? All of those questions will be answered through the simple yet entertaining yarn that Wildwood Down spins, telling jokes while it weaves.
The writing falls in the perfectly serviceable category. The jokes can be hit or miss (although I did appreciate Daniel’s constant denial that he had done anything, despite the evidence) but the actual mystery is an enjoyable ride. My biggest complaint is Daniel himself. No, not because he isn’t a great character and a lovable goofball. No, it’s because I wish the story had used his Down syndrome more, found a way to use Daniel’s unique way of thinking and existing to make it so only he could solve the mystery and save the day. As it is, you could take Daniel out and replace him with a bog-standard person and little would change.
The tricky thing about the point and click genre is that it has found itself stuck in a time warp. The genre is almost entirely static at this point, only making small changes and tweaks over the years like being able to highlight points of interest or inbuilt hint systems, both things Wildwood Down has. But this raises an important question: should point and click games be too heavily criticised for failing to innovate, when it looks like the whole genre doesn’t have anywhere to go?
Where I’m going with this rambling is that Wildwood Down is a wholly competent point and click game, but also one that doesn’t do much to stand out in terms of how it plays. As soon as you grab the mouse, you’ll know exactly what to do: go around talking to random people, picking up objects along the way and combining them with other items in a bid to progress the story.
As someone who grew up playing Monkey Island, Discworld and Simon the Sorcerer, I’m far too familiar with the insane leaps of logic that have been a staple of the genre. It’s a staple I’m kind of glad the genre ripped out, though. These days, there’s more emphasis on establishing in-game logic that still usually involves crazy scenarios, but with a followable breadcrumb trail that makes finding solutions satisfying. For the most part, Wildwood Down does okay at giving you puzzles that don’t feel overly obtuse to solve, but there are definitely going to be a few conundrums that make you want to punch a wall. There’s a sense that the game is relying on the hint system during these moments. If you decide to tough it out, you’ll need to fall back on the traditional method of clicking on everything like a demented chimpanzee.
It does have a couple of standout puzzles. In particular, I’m thinking of the wrestling sequence where Daniel has to do battle with a cavalcade of wrestlers by paying attention to their movement patterns. It’s a really fun concept.
In Conclusion…
A goofy good time starring a memorable and lovable lead character. It doesn’t manage to click its way to the very tippity-top of the adventure game mountain, but there is absolutely no denying the love and passion that has been poured into it. It isn’t going to blow your mind, but you’re gonna have a good time anyway.
