Fatum Betula

fatum betula is a game tense with potential energy. existing forever (or only for a moment?) without the player (would it exist without them?), in a limbo, in apathy, waiting however long or brief for some semblance of change. the world is immutable, immortal, quiet. a held breath that has not exhaled, can not exhale, will not exhale without a gasp and the player punching it in the gut. in fatum betula, change is violent, but the act of change is temporary and fleeting, and the world settles back into a new steady-state. a ball rolls down a hill and rests at the bottom. a dam bursts, water rushes, carves a path. the new riverbed is deep. the way that bryce bucher tackles storytelling in fatum betula reminds me a lot of marco polo in [i]invisible cities[/i]. to describe a city, polo uses a few scattered objects (a pebble for a grave, a page for a library, a can for a neighborhood) and in their placement, position—their gesture, really—a different city is described. perhaps this city existed forever. perhaps just for a moment. these cities often long. perhaps for immortality, or for industry, or for something else entirely. the player points: break this, grind that. the story slants, is changed. often for the worse. fatum betula's atmosphere is thick. beginning the game, the world feels immense. anything could be hidden in the fog. but as you become accustomed to the world, its size compresses. the game changes from mood piece to mechanical. unearthing all the endings, you essentially follow a flow chart, program logic. the game begins by feeling like exchanging ghost stories at a campfire; later, it feels like a conversation with bucher, potential ideas and ways for the story to unfold. what can flex? how can we recontextualize these chessmen, this board? the final secrets feel like bucher inviting you to his heavy writing desk, showing you his pens, his notepads, his thoughts. fatum betula is a mood piece with a lot of surface area. bucher knows this too. this game is his invitation to sit, see his world, poke it, prod it, to see what happens.

You are going to hell in real life. 9/10

i believe it's a good game for people who may be a little snobby with their media consumption and have "life is meaningless" tendencies