![]() It’s good to live in the moment, but some things are worth preserving for the future. It settles into the most anodyne musings on memory and how people live with the past. Season fixates on this same struggle, but unlike the people of Tieng Valley, it never picks a side. The people of the valley are traumatized by memories of past conflicts, and much of life there is centered around how to live with that trauma or forget it completely. Tieng Valley is weighed down by memory, and it brings Season down with it. Season’s story gets bogged down almost as soon as it starts. That’s not necessarily a problem on its own, but neither the mystery nor the few remaining citizens of Tieng Valley are all that compelling. But once she reaches Tieng Valley, the game gets lost in unraveling the mystery of one event that’s consuming one community. Season’s fascinating intro hints at a globe-trotting tour where Estelle will learn about the world for the first time, and see how other people live and what shaped them. It becomes a story about Tieng Valley, about what the Grey Hands are really up to, and about what it means for a season to end. Season stops being about seeing the world at this point. You can’t move on until you talk to the last few residents and learn their histories. But despite Tieng Valley’s size, it feels confining. The sense of freedom Season imparts in its first few hours makes it truly unique. Only a few stragglers remain before the Grey Hands destroy an ancient dam to flood the village, rather than wait for it to crumble on its own. You enter the valley on its final day, with most residents already evacuated to a shiny apartment complex on a hill. Whether you’re riding on its paved streets or rugged trails, it’s full of sights and sounds worth preserving from whatever impending doom the end of the season brings. It’s not clear at this point, but this is where you’ll spend almost the entirety of Season - and it’s where its edges start to fray. He gives her a map, something Season hasn’t had up until now, which shows the massive expanse of Tieng Valley. He works for a mysterious, supposedly altruistic group called the Grey Hands. When Estelle comes to Tieng Valley, she meets a stranger for the first time. There’s no denying how gorgeous Season is. It feels like the start of something beautiful, but like the fading season itself, its splendor doesn’t last. ![]() ![]() She muses on how much there is to learn from the world and what it’s like to feel true loneliness for the first time so far from home. Estelle’s journey takes her to a run-down shipping depot and a rainy field dotted with windmills, all filled with compelling material for your journal. After a leisurely stroll to capture all I could of the gorgeous little village, I was eager to see what else the world had to offer.įor the first few hours, I was captivated. Decorations from a party last night still hang in a tree, and signs of the village’s lived-in past are everywhere. ![]() The courtyard where you’re asked to gather your first recordings is staged perfectly. It’s only the first month of 2023, and Season already seemed like the kind of game I’d be convincing people to play for the rest of the year. It’s peaceful, and Estelle chimes in with observations about the subjects you’re recording, building the world slowly and subtly. You can take all the time you want to compose shots and arrange them in a journal. Outside, you’re introduced to Season’s simple camera and audio recorder and asked to capture your hometown before leaving forever. ![]() Once you’ve made your choices, Estelle leaves with an emotional goodbye. Estelle looks through her home and describes evocative memories and sensations tied to significant objects stashed throughout. Doing so means Estelle’s mother has to give up five memories of her own - one for each sense. Your character Estelle and her mother are making a pendant to protect Estelle’s mind on the journey ahead. Season opens just before you leave home to collect memories of the world as the season ends, an ominous event that’s more gestured at than explained. ![]()
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