October Assassination #6

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I first heard about Umurangi Generation from ErrantSignal on Youtube, and the premise of a photography game was interesting enough that I decided to buy it and try it. Gameplay wise, it's fine - the levels are small, but dense and varied and have a lot of detail for us to scour through. The bounties are fun, and while some of them are a bit arcane/obscure, it never goes into frustrating territory. The side-objectives are constant throughout all levels, but they are usually entertaining, although hunting for films is a bit of a chore in the darker levels. But again, never too frustrating. And I loved the music, it really complemented the whole vibe the games was going for. What felt really weak was the movement, which was quite janky and unenjoyable, too slow and too sensitive at the same time. You'll frequently be sent flying into the air for no reason, or fall through the geometry or get stuck under objects, but you'll usually be back at the game in no time and without much consequence.

And if the game stopped here, it would be a weak recommendation. Good premise, interesting levels, solid music, janky movement, charming overall.

But there is a deeper layer to Umurangi Generation, which requires knowing a bit more about some external factors such as the dev's history, the development context, but also take a deeper look at the events portrayed in the game and all the environmental storytelling. While it's never made extremely obvious, Umurangi Generation is a game about the end of the world, and how your government and the world institutions are failing the last existing generation, and this is all meant to reflect the current state of affairs in the present world. Made in 2020, after the Australian bushfires painted the sky red for weeks on end (hence the Umurangi - Red Sky in the Te Reo language) and, of course, the Covid pandemic hit and was mis-managed across the planet. Umurangi Generation explores the point of view of a generation that was born into those crisis, never were responsible for creating them, but are the ones that will experience the worst effects of it, while the earlier generations (Boomers and Gen X) created the crises, destroyed the world, and will be gone by the time the worst effects are felt. This is all enhanced by in-game grafitti, corporate advertisement, posters, newspapers, and the constant UN peacekeeping force presente throughout the levels. To quote SuperBunnyhop - "it's the angriest videogame ever made".

Once you know that, it becomes a bit easier to overlook the gameplay jank and focus on the storytelling and narrative design, and start to appreciate the game a bit more. It's a game that asks a lot from the player, and gets better the more you give to it. I recommend it regardless, but keep that in mind if you decide to buy it.