Tis a new year and it is a new year of new games. It is weird, though, that the first game that I decide to come back with is quite a depressing one. It took me a long time to detach myself from AC: Valhalla, Division 2 and some other shite AAA games to get myself to play just better games. I take time this week to play a game that confronts loneliness and the beyond. This week I milk goats, haggle with my cheese kingdom and wonder why wolves keep killing all of my fucking goats. This week I talk about The Stillness of the Wind.

The Stillness of the Wind is an adventure game developed by Memory of Gold and published by Fellow Traveller. The game is currently on the Nintendo Switch and PC and retails for $13.

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What is loneliness? Why does death always come to the forefront of the mind when you are alone with your own thoughts? These questions are incorporated when you take the role of an older woman named Talma and her everyday life within an area that is devoid of any inhabitants in the ruins of a used-to-be bustling area. It is only Talma, her goats, chickens a cat (that I did not know existed until the second playthrough) and a mailman that delivers news of the outside world, where the rest of her family lives. The day consists of enough time to do a few tasks, eat, read and then fall asleep for another day of repetitious work.

Almost everyday the mail person comes to drop off a letter and possibly trade. Your cash crop is CHEESE and it is worth A LOT to the mail person/trader (but never for a goat). You need hay to feed the goats so they do not kick the bucket, seeds to plant food and flowers and books to read.

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The game has a small farming simulator aspect and it does very little to add to the experience. The fucking well is so far away so dedicating to watering the plants takes the entirety of the day, so it is important to choose what tasks you do wisely.

As the days go by it is learned that Talma is the last of her generation and the rest of her family lives in a city. The story of her family and the tragic nature of the events brings more sadness to an already sad game.

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The game progresses as Talma works harder and the days get shorter. It is apparent that Talma is getting older as the days go by she walks slower and with more limp. No one is there to take care of her and she is doomed to watch as her family crumble before her eyes while she wastes away, far far away.

The Stillness of the Wind is a SAD game.

The game looks good with a “very easy on the eyes” palette of colors and very simple textures and animations.

The Stillness of the Wind is a game that I did not understand until the second time that I had played. It is a hard game to understand because it is filled with small ominous cutscenes that are not fully explained. The game is only about three to four hours long but it never really felt like it lasted that long. The game tackles something that I don’t think a lot of games discuss, which is loneliness and how it affects you.

I enjoyed it even though I didn’t really understand a majority of the cutscenes and I suggest picking it up at least when it on sale.