I think I was predisposed to love this game, I already enjoy comics and the weird occult vibe this game presented, and to say the least, it had me intrigued; I was enticed by the premise of this game, since it’s cross between a graphic novel, a motion comic and a choose your own adventure book; I also love that there is the ability to create various different saves, where I can choose my own path and then start a new save simultaneously and take a completely different route; however, what keeps bringing me back to this game is curiosity – How will things turn out differently? Will the entire mystery become clear or will it be clouded?
When you reach a branching point in the story you choose a path between two, three or even four options; these branch you into the one of four symbols to varying degrees which effect your character. The Sun, Moon, Globe and Star are the sigyls that make up your character’s karma. I’ve looked at the achievements and you can have any combination of these at the end of the game, and all seem to lead to different endings depending on which you affiliate with more, however you don’t know what decisions will illicit which symbol.
By the virtue of this game being in French and English, I’m assuming even though it never states so, the game is supposed to be based in France. The story revolves around a young woman, Daphne, moving from her home out to the country; she has inherited a wealthy castle from her grandmother after recently losing a baby, and is trying to figure out what her next step is to move away from this horrible event. That’s when the intrigue begins – Mysterious towers, magic, nightmares, a powerful dynasty and a handsome stranger all play their parts into identifying Daphne’s future… I don’t want to say too much as it would spoil it for those who enjoy the intrigue, so I will let you dive in and find out more.
The art really takes centre stage here, it is absolutely phenomenal – Every scene I wanted to stop and spend five minutes staring at the scene setting, with the game being very stylized, each scene starts with a painting; some are more impressionistic than others, however each one is gorgeous, I absolutely love the art in this game – I believe I could play this game again and again, even taking the same choices just to enjoy the art of the panel settings. Something as simple as seeing Daphne walk home is set against a beautiful sunset while framed by a bridge the focuses the eyes to the singular lonely figure in the centre frame. Even when two characters are having a conversation the one that is not talking becomes slightly blurred to give focus to the speaker – This is a brilliant visual message for you to concentrate on the character talking so you can feel like the conversation is flowing back and forth, I mean, just take a look!
The music brings character to the game, and sets the scene is gentle and subtle way. It keeps each scene from feeling stagnant, and makes you pause on the scene transitions and soak in the atmosphere. It makes them flow from one to the next, smoothing what otherwise could be a little jarring of a transition – When time has passed it helps to feel that the season has changed, with it being the only in game sound it helps to set the mood of each scene.
If you’re a fan of comics and art, enjoy magic and intrigue, then this game is definitely for you. The replayability of this game comes in droves. I am so, so glad I got to play this and I’m sure you will be too. I hope you enjoy the rich story and art here.
Don’t get lost in the woods…
Overall, I would rate Along the Edge, a 9/10.
You can check out their Steam page here!
Keljorn Ironfist