Pilgrims
What if an afternoon pick-me-up was a video game?
Unless you’ve played one of their games, you probably haven’t heard of Amanita Design.
I need to rectify this unfortunate fact.
Amanita Design is an indie game studio based in Prague, Czechia. If titles like Samorost, CHUCHEL, Botanicula and Machinarium ring a bell, it’s those guys.
Lifting an intro straight from their About page, they’re “known for [their] emphasis on surreal worlds, light-hearted humour, hand-crafted appeal and audiovisual experience”.
Yup, can confirm.
Each of their games is certainly distinct, but they also all share a surreal whimsical quality that is instantly recognizable. I have the softest spot for the studio because of Samorost 3—a gorgeous, meditative, slightly trippy point-and-click puzzle adventure—that I played as a baby gamer on my old laptop. Before the time my computer could handle more resource-intensive games and all that…
Samorost 3 is simply wonderful.
Look at the art. Just look at it.
(High time for me to play through it again.)
Amanita Design is awesome and I’m a big fan. When I remember to check in on the devs, I always walk away with new Steam wishlist entries.
Pilgrims is the latest of them.
Pilgrims, the gist
Two things I want you to know about Pilgrims:
It’s lighthearted and simple.
It will take you maaaaybe 30 minutes to beat.
The post could honestly stop here. If you decided to trust my recommendation, all you’d have to lose is half an hour and a couple of bucks. (Literally—Pilgrims cost 9 bucks Canadian when NOT on sale.)
But I’m not going to be mean—I want you to play it so I’ll tell you more!
Pilgrims, the game
Pilgrims is a hand-drawn animated adventure with a few little stories featuring a colourful cast of characters. You’ll meet them in the opening cutscene, which will likely make no sense to you at first, and then be tasked by helping (or hindering) them.
It’s a classic point-and-click puzzle where you’ll be picking up an assortment of items and trying to find use for them. Some are straightforward, some are less so. The fun is in figuring it out—there are multiple solutions to each task and thus several ways your playthrough could go. A 30-minute game with a high replayability value, imagine that!
There are several ways your playthrough could go.
A 30-minute game with a high replayability value, imagine that!
Just like many other Amanita games, Pilgrims has no dialogue or subtitles. The characters grunt, gesticulate and mutter in a language that may be made up or real, but isn’t meant to be understood anyway. It sets up a certain experience and a way to play that’s almost meditative, although Pilgrims is incredibly upbeat and wants to make you laugh (most of the time).
You’ll quickly learn to pick up the clues to what’s happening based on how the characters act. Trial and error is the name of the game. If an item isn’t meant to be used a certain way, characters will still interact with it before putting it back into your inventory. There are no penalties to getting something wrong and no pressure.
Oh, and the music is awesome too.
Why Pilgrims?
If you’re wondering why I’m singing praises to an incredibly short point-and-click, I’m as surprised as you are.
I played it on one gloomy Saturday afternoon with my mood in the gutters. After I was done, I was a new person. The game is perfect, man. It’s amusing, entertaining, gorgeously drawn, and memorable despite (or thanks to!) its length. It’s like a slice of tasty pie in a game form.
While single-player, it would make for a great party game, in person or on Discord, too. If you are a nerd like me with nerd friends, that is.
That’s all you need to know.
Go play it and tell me what you think!
