“Great games don’t have to be big”
When I first came across the Lion’s Song it was purely at random, but when my gaze fell upon some of the screenshots from the game, I quickly added it onto my wish-list and waited patiently for its release.
The Lion’s Song, produced by the Austrian studio Mi'pu'mi Games and whose motto is “Great games don’t have to be big” (and I couldn’t agree more), is an episodic, point & click series that takes place during the early 20th century. In the first episode of The Lion’s Song we follow Wilma, an up and coming violinist who is under a lot of pressure to finish a piece that she has been struggling to complete. When her professor, Arthur Caban offers to send her to his cabin up in the Alps where she could potentially find inspiration, Wilma accepts and arrives to find herself surrounded by her fears, insecurities and pressure from both her peers and herself.
The Lion’s Song first episode, titled Silence, is a wonderful piece of art about the pressure we allow others to put on us, the pressure we put on ourselves, our fears and how they can be interpreted of visualized, whether through dreams or the world that surrounds us, but it also is about patience and overcoming obstacles, big or small. In the first episode, you will be required to pay attention to Wilma’s pleas and fears and help her find inspirations in the things that surround her and the sounds that will sometimes scare her, or inspire her, in order to complete her piece.
The game allows you to learn a various type of things about Wilma or the people in her life, different games will offer different types of information, and through some events, you can shape Wilma’s will, fears, and even the ending of the episode.
Although the music is an important part of the game, a lot of it resides in the in-between, when you are searching inside of the cabin for something to spark Wilma’s attention and inspiration. Rain tapping against the window or a clock ticking, there is a surprising amount of objects for you to interact with, and the sounds, text and sometimes music that accompanies it are absolutely wonderful.
10/10 I was pleasantly surprised to see that episode 1 was being given out for free, as I was more than ready to pay for it, but having experienced it now, I will most certainly be purchasing the season pass and wait for more wonderful storytelling.
I am extremely excited to see what Mi'pu'mi Games has in store for us, and to meet the other character that will be the protagonists of the next episodes.
Episode 1 is available on: PC