Review for The Mooseman
The Mooseman, Morteshka’s mystical side-scrolling adventure, is about a shaman's journey on a quest to bring out the sun. The game uses a simple mechanic: switching between two different versions of your environment. It finds other ways of putting this trick to use and manages to pull this off until the end of the game, which you will reach in an hour or two. It looks like a storybook come to life: a moving collage of mostly monochromatic silhouettes, with some thoughtful attention to detail, especially in the animation department. Accompanied by the soundtrack courtesy of the Perm Krai College of Arts and Culture, it feels like folklore coming to life.
You will guide Mooseman using basic controls: left and right. There’s an auto-walk mode that can easily switch on and off, allowing you to sit back and take in the atmosphere when nothing is in your path. You can also press a button to swap between the two representations of your world. Sometimes you’ll use it to hide, reveal, repel or attract a creature, or pass through an obstacle. Despite its apparent limitations, it manages to twist the formula around just enough to stay attractive and break up the more walking simulator elements of the game.
The mythology of The Mooseman comes from the Komi, Mansi, and Saamic traditions, focusing on the Komi-Permian practices. Their communities are spread throughout a region from North-Eastern Europe to Russia and have a distinct historical heritage. This game has no dialogue, but there’s a lot to read. I read it in English; the text is concise, easy to read, and in a tone that fits the myth. It’s a supernatural folk tale. It’s not about the schemes of some detached and all-powerful being but a journey of life projected onto the tribulations of a shaman -- one of the creator’s sons.
This adventure will take you through the Lower, Middle, and Upper World, where spirits, living humans, and gods reside. You will encounter animal-inspired beings and spirits blocking your path or even trying to kill you, which means you’ll return just before the confrontation for another shot. As you continue on this path -- the game is very linear -- it reveals more of who the Mooseman is and how your work fits into the grand scheme of things as you try to bring light to the world.
Every element of the game adds something to the journey. The living and breathing environments, suggested by overlapping silhouettes, are lovely. The soundtrack, written by Mikhail Shvachko, is beautiful and underscores the folkloric nature of the game. Besides what the developers refer to as traditional musical instruments, it has choral music performed by the Student Choir of Perm Krai College of Arts and Culture - arranged and conducted by Larisa Beletskaya.
This relatively short experience is primarily an educational art game, in a walking simulator, with some deceptively simple puzzles that manage to keep you engaged through sheer creativity and not overstaying their welcome: you’ll probably finish the game within two hours. Cultural artifacts are hidden throughout the game if you want to explore everything. They’re inspired by research at the Perm Regional Museum. You can uncover them by taking a little detour from always moving forward, using the game’s mechanic, or just by taking a couple of steps in the opposite direction when you enter a new scene. It’s another nice touch, and it adds depth to the story. If you’re just there for the trip, this game is fine, too: you can walk through it in less than an hour if you like.
The Mooseman is highly recommended; even if there is nothing spectacular from a pure gameplay perspective, it delivers as an interactive narrative art experience.
