REVIEW : The Magnificent Trufflepigs (PC)
In The Magnificent Trufflepigs, you can rediscover your inner treasure hunter. Equip your trusty metal detector and sift through the fields of Stanning Farm in the hopes of discovering something valuable and turning things around. What will you discover?
When life seems to be moving too quickly, reminiscing about your childhood seem to be the finest method to calm down. Jaded adults want to rekindle their passion for life by returning to the activities they enjoyed when they were younger. Such is the case in The Magnificent Trufflepigs, where you rummage about reliving your salad days.
The Magnificent Trufflepigs is developed by Thunkd, a studio focused on creating “evening-sized” and “human-shaped” games. The game promises a cinematic experience presented in a new media, led by Andrew Cranshaw, the primary creator of Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and published by AMC Games.
STORY – DIGGING UP SECRETS
The Magnificent Trufflepigs begins with Beth, a young woman who returns to her childhood pastime of metal-detecting. Her childhood farm, Stanning Farm, had been sold and was about to be flipped. It was here that she discovered the priceless earring that made her famous. She scrambles for the company to help her find the matching pair before it’s too late, in an attempt to reclaim the spark of her childhood. You play as Adam, a long-suffering pal who assists in the division and conquest of the property.
It’s a storey that begins in the same way that many Hallmark movies do. The plot is a straightforward slice-of-life game with very human characters. Special dialogue is generated by digging up specific pieces and looking at intriguing views around the farm. These parts give you a better understanding of our characters and their small town. There were suggestions of more compelling plotlines, such as UFO sightings and serial killer rumours. However, in your conversations with Beth, these issues are readily remedied. I believe that environmental storytelling could have expanded these questions regarding Stanning even further.
As Adam, you converse with your childhood friend Beth, attempting to unravel her predicament and comprehend her viewpoint. The dialogue is reminiscent of a TV show, but it is still real. I found that the responses you chose only make minor modifications to the dialogue, and it would have been more fascinating if they impacted anything in the gameplay, such as how Beth interacts with you in the long run or cutscenes. It works nicely, offering enough insights about the storey while still including moments of levity, embarrassment, and companionship. The nature of Adam’s relationship with Beth is both intimate and frigid, and the nature of the relationship develops up to the conclusion.
Overall, this is a tight narrative experience, though a little basic, slice-of-life storey about self-discovery. I wish Adam’s conversations had more fascinating plot implications, and that the in-game events were a little more dynamic to allow the player to experience a sense of advancement. The relationship progresses to a conclusion.
GAMEPLAY – EASYGOING TREASURE HUNTING
The employment of the metal detector across larger and larger swaths of land in each level is the major gameplay experience. The goal is to find as many “treasures” as possible before the power in your detector runs out. The main aim is to try and calculate the optimal plan for traversing the fields. You might also go all out and wave your detector everywhere you like.
The metal detector is simple to operate; you simply wave it about while going slowly around the area. When you’ve discovered something, you’ll be prompted to dig up the metal treasure. This simulator is rather simple in comparison to other simulators, yet it is adequately calming. Because of the nature of the storey, some critical discoveries appear to be automated to keep the plot moving forward, while the rest is pure hard labour and good instinct detecting experience.
The Magnificent Trufflepigs prioritises the storey over the participatory elements of the experience. This is OK with me because I find metal detecting without the sun and dirt to be a relaxing and meditative activity. In VR, the game may be an engaging storey experience.
AUDIO AND GRAPHICS – RAW AND ROMANTIC
The Stunning Farm is depicted as a big and bright countryside. The helicopters roar overhead, and passengers on paragliders yell out. Soft piano music plays during particularly emotional and dramatic times, drawing your attention to the discussion. The visual and sound design complement one another to create a moving storey.
The script’s two stars breathed life into it. Arthur Darvill and Luci Fish have a fantastic connection together as if they’ve known each other for a long time. They struck the perfect balance between a pleasant reunion and their tense past. It’s as though you’re listening in on a coffee shop reunion!
While the stages are beautiful and provide some change from time to time, it would have been good to have a little more change in what we’re seeing. The magnificent structures and wind turbines out in the distance become a little monotonous after a time. After a while, it loses its enchantment.
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