not in Kansas anymore | Feet In The Snow
3Conspiracy Keanu throwback
Apologies for my exhausted demeanor this video, don't know why I was so out of it.
REVIEW
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Retro aesthetic, classic point and click adventure and a bizarre experience awaits you in "Feet In The Snow" as you journey through a surreal dream world.
It seems like there exists a story in this game but I feel like the experience of the choices made (ultimately which path is chosen early on) writes out the plot through the environments and characters the player interact with. The elements the main character comes across brings forth a certain atmosphere dependent on the path. While the environments can seem sporadic in nature, there lies a specific theme for each route. Following the footsteps gives a foreboding of uncertainty and ominousness which eventually leads to imprisonment at the end whereas the deviating path gives a sense of openness and hope which eventually leads to freedom.
I'm not sure if the significance of the routes and endings are supposed to portray something. Following the footsteps keeps her trapped in dreamland but not doing so allows her to wake up at the end so is it an argument for going against what's to be expected? I suppose it can be interpreted in different ways for every person but for me, it just serves as an interesting yet abnormal adventure of an unconscious mind in game form.
A minor point but adding to what's above, I don't think it's realistic that you can trap yourself in a dream, even lucid dreaming. Maybe in a coma if the brain was still active but otherwise, maybe the dream serves as apprehension to real life effects like a sense of confinement or restriction to her life.
I like the fever-dream inspired tropes being used here. Oddities being everything in the form of strange environments, people with missing organs or faces, "soulless" eyes, everything uncanny. Our imaginations go to very unusual and even unfamiliar places when we fall asleep; the brain is a mysterious thing and this game highlights that nicely.
I've played a lot of games with pixelated graphics but I really like how it's done here. It emulates a nifty similarity to 90s point and clicks where it designed with "outdated" graphics and simple gameplay. Especially with snowy environments, it hits the mark just right for me and I really like the ambient feeling it creates (Shiver is another good point and click utilizing the same technique, highly recommend watching that playthrough).
Despite my lackluster demeanor, I did not falter in enjoying what this point and click had to offer. I'm really thankful for the internet's existence and an appreciation in niche titles because otherwise, I would be missing out on so many quality experiences like Feet In The Snow. 2 thumbs up from me.