My Horror Game of the Year 2021 - Mundaun / Game Review
9Get the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/720350/Mundaun/
Full Review:
Mundaun is a psychological horror game set in the Swiss alps developed by the indie team Hidden Fields and helmed by Michel Ziegler. As young man Curdin we visit the small, isolated village of Mundaun after receiving news that our grandpa died in a barn fire. Soon, we find out that our grandfather - and maybe the entire village - are cursed and its up to us to not only break the curse but also find out why it happened in the first place.
The first thing you will notice when you enter the beautiful world of Mundaun is that nearly everything has been hand-drawn. In fact, Michel Ziegler did a lot of research into Swiss history, visited the actual former municipality of Mundaun and drew inspiration from some of the incredibly detailed artwork from the houses, church interiors up to details like cutlery and art. He even based many of the people we meet in the game on old historical photographs as well as the main villains on local folklore and fairy tales. With its sepia tones and the slightly crude drawings, Mundaun immediately creates an uneasy atmosphere. As Curdin you do feel cut off from the real world and thrown into a world that seems lost in the past.
The gameplay is easy enough and the fighting is maybe not elegant but also not overwhelming, so even casual players might get along fine. It takes a little time to get used to certain actions and controls so you can efficiently defeat or at least escape the many, curious dangers of Mundaun but as a very casual player myself, I did at no point throughout the game struggle and enjoyed the ways in which I could interact with my environment.
A wonderful surprise was how many different things you can do throughout the game with different enemy types, puzzles and incredibly fun and silly stuff like riding a hay waggon or - for no reason at all, really - going to the toilet. For an indie game with a relatively small crew, Mundaun never felt repetitive or boring and managed even level ups and collectibles creatively, sometimes funny and always logically set into the world that Mundaun creates.
From the atmosphere to the enemy design up to small visual as well as auditive details, this game is creepy! It doesn't rely on jumpscares alone - and the few it uses are beautifully set up, so they not only make sense within the story but also really pack a punch. Mundaun has overtly scary moments but also numerous subtle details, amazingly unnerving visuals. It plays with lighting and shadows as well as audio cues to build up tension. As a horror game, Mundaun shows how to create well earned spooks and a continuous feeling of isolation, unease and tension.
But more than that, the story as well as the characters are engaging and so well written. Mundaun manages to tell its story with everything you see, read and use. Even things you will not immediately associate with the main plot, often turn out to be hints and foreshadowing. This way, the story unfolds slowly, organically instead of through information dumps during cut scenes. And for mainly English-speaking players I can also promise that the story will be rather unique since it is drawn from Swiss folklore and Swiss folklore is weird in only the best ways!
Furthermore, the way the characters are written is close to genious. With so few interactions and conversations, it's marvelous how weirdly unique every single character in this game is.
Even Curdin is a lovely protagonist who evades the cliches of the snarky cool or the hapless protagonist who just gets thrown and shoved from plot point to plot point. The beauty of Curdin is how absolutely good-hearted he is and how much he wants to help, even if it might be dangerous for him. I might not have always seen eye to eye with Curdin but damn if I didn't care for him because this goat-friendly, polite coffee-loving gentleman cared so much for the well-being of others.
Speaking of which: I loved how gentle and funny this game is despite it being a super creepy horror game about curses, burnt-up grandpas and terrifying hay monsters. There is no sarcastic snarky humor in this game, no sniveling cynicism depressing the player with its bleak worldview. Mundaun is charming, has a good-natured sense of humor and warmth and offers some truly lovely, gentle scenes that the horror genre could really use more of. Even with the constant sense of unease and danger, Mundaun - very much like a fairy tale - never feels cynical or cruel.
So, if you like horror games that have a great combination of exploration, stealth and a little bit of fighting, nifty but not impossible puzzles as well as a very strong folklore-inspired story and visuals that will charm your pants off, you are in for a fantastic treat.
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