Land of Screens now open on Windows, Mac and Switch

Written by Jack Allin — February 5, 2022 at 09:23

Besides visiting Adventure Gamers, most of us spend way too much time online. Breaking free from that trap and rediscovering the real world is the challenge in Land of Screens, a short new adventure from the creators of Half Past Fate that has just been released on PC and Switch.

The game stars a young woman named Holland, who is "absolutely exhausted," having broken up with her boyfriend of five years only for the news to begin trending online among everyone she knows. She really just needs a break from it all, so she determines to "ditch the social media saturation" and begin to experience life offline. Of course, that's easier said than done in this day and age, as "no matter where Holland goes to try and get away, everyone is glued to their screens." If she's able to persevere, however, with "the help of old friends and new acquaintances" who need her help as well, Holland might just rediscover the joys of in-person connections once again – and maybe convince those around her to put down their "pesky screens" and join her in doing the same. 

Unlike the developer's Half Past Fate series, Land of Screens is a hand-painted cartoon adventure offering a bit of point-and-click "internet escapism." Rather than sending tweets and liking posts and communicating entirely through emojis, you may find yourself in the middle of a dreaded family reunion, attending "an impromptu party where your only choices of company are strangers – or worse: friends you haven't seen since high school," or "making the best of last-minute concert plans where you've never heard of the band, been to the venue, or met any of the people you're there with," to name just a few of the socially awkward but oh-so-real circumstances that can come from dealing with people face to face. Stick with it, though, and "by diving (or stumbling) into fresh experiences, new relationships, and accidental adventures, Holland might just stand a fighting chance of escaping the ever-present creep of social media drama."

If the thought of switching off sounds enticing (while paradoxically remaining very much switched on), you can get started right away as Land of Screens is available now on Steam for Windows and Mac, as well as the Nintendo eShop for Switch.