Pine: A Story of Loss Review

Developer: Made Up Games

Platforms: Android, iOS, PC (Reviewed), Switch

Genre: Adventure

Publisher: Fellow Traveller

Pine: A Story of Loss is an interactive short story game. This game was developed by Made Up Games and published by Fellow Traveller. This review was done on Windows, but the game is also available for iOS, Switch and Android. Pine: A Story of Loss is where you play as a lumberjack who goes about his daily chores whilst reminiscing the memories he shared with his lost wife.

Pine: A Story of Loss is a wordless game that takes about 2 hours to fully complete. A game where interactions are much more than simple clicks on the keyboard. The game started with you as the lumberjack who was cutting down wood in a secluded area. What I enjoyed so much about this game was the mouse movement. Animations are paired with the mouse tracking, where you would move the mouse similar to chopping wood with an axe. A swing-like movement, or an up-down movement follows the action of pumping water.

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Pine: A Story of Loss features hand-drawn visuals that are soft-spoken. The animations resemble a storybook, where the scenery resembles paintings with brush-like strokes. It is so interesting as you can see the difference in design by the lumberjack being fully shaven when he was happy looking shrivelled and outgrown when he felt broken. The visuals are vivid and expressive, as they can convey the emotional story without having to utter a word. Everything is expressed through actions and emotions. The visual design is complemented by a subtle soundtrack and immersive environmental sound effects, like water dripping or fire crackling, that create a cohesive pace for the game.

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The game follows a narrative interaction where you get to carry out the daily chores a grieving man has to take care of. The game is minimalistic, where you start off by collecting crops, water crops or collecting hay/grass for your cabin’s roof. As the lumberjack, you do these tasks on repeat, carrying out the same actions, which at specific times get you to remember a lovely memory you shared with your lost wife. The game gets you to do a lot of the same tasks on repeat with some puzzle elements that can vary the gameplay itself. However, otherwise, it’s kept quite minimal. I could understand why players may dislike this aspect of the game because it can get quite dull. However, I think the developers chose the game to be specifically this way as it creates realism in how someone may deal with grief. They may deal with grief in a way by distracting themselves from their normal dull routine, which can lead to frustration by remembering the person they lost. One of my favourite parts about the game was wood carving, where you would turn a log of wood around and around as you carved it to form a beautiful wood piece resembling your wife.

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The game itself is short; I was able to complete it in 1.5 hours, and the feeling of repetitive tasks did feel overwhelming because it took up so much of the story where there could have been more interaction or more puzzles in the game. I would 100% say that the game did justice in creating an emotional experience that is unique. You won’t find yourself doing the same things over and over again to find closure in other games, except this game does. It does it in a way that may not be to the liking of many players, but it is worth the experience. The beautifully crafted visuals and the animation sequences that are shared with the lumberjack’s lost wife are so sweet. The game is intriguing and beautifully paced, where you can see the lumberjack go through the 4 seasons and reach the end in a meaningful way.

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We are very thankful to have been provided two codes, so one of the other players for this game, Moody, had the following to say, “The simplicity of the game is perfect with the subtle visuals; it tells a bittersweet story that has some moments which are hard to miss. I liked that there was a mix of puzzles, and the puzzles themselves were not challenging at all. Things like a matching rhythm game to filling a crop basket with the right-sized pieces. I would say that the gameplay itself was boring and dull; there was no sense of wanting to do anything. The tasks were slow and repetitive, and the ending seemed a bit abrupt. One of the puzzles that I had encountered, with the trees, was so confusing as it was a completely different mechanic to the other puzzles. I do wish there was more interaction and that it was not the same thing over and over. It could have been more on the side of the memories and having the addition of other tasks take up the time. I did enjoy that everything was expressed through the beautifully drawn visuals that make it seem like you’re watching a movie. Personally, this game would receive a score of 7 from me.”

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Pine: A Story of Loss tells a story through the eyes of a lumberjack who has lost his wife. Grievance takes over as he commits to daily tasks and reminisces on the beautiful memories he shares. Enjoy the subtle, stunning visuals to tell a wordless story that will touch your heart. The slow burn Pine: A Story of Loss creates is worth reaching the end of the game. Be sure to check out Pine: A Story of Loss.

Overall: 8/1o