REVIEW : Whateverland (PC)
These days, the proverb is stale. Although it appears in many different ways on motivational posters, the message is always the same. “What you do is who you are,” “What matters is what you do, not what you say you’ll do,” etc. In essence, all of these sayings are saying that “your actions define you.” Whateverland, a brand-new point-and-click adventure from Caligari Games, expands on that sentiment beyond only internal moral character.
You play Vincent, a morally dubious individual, in Whateverland. Vincent, a skilled thief, is seen testing his abilities as he tries to take some jewellery as the game first begins. Unfortunately for Vincent, the owner of the home he is currently attempting to rob is someone you would do well to avoid. An old and formidable witch named Beatrice discovers Vincent with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. With a dash of magic, the witch, who has a special punishment for those who disobey her, exacts her vengeance by sending Vincent to the titular Whateverland.
In what resembles a garbage dump’s worth of unkempt and broken objects, Vincent awakens puzzled. Vincent meets Nick after conversing with a poetic talking crow and working with an eccentric scientist. Nick is a little irritating but an oddly endearing writer who serves as a tour guide for Whateverland. He describes it as a strange pocket dimension where Witch Beatrice disposes of individuals and objects that she wishes to make vanish.
I Spell Trouble Ahead
The impact of this prison on the captives is distinctive in certain ways. Although there is no such thing as death or ageing, people can change. You see, the physical characteristics of those imprisoned here begin to alter if they succumb to their darkest selves. For instance, Nick is evolving into a ghost. He can now fly because both of his legs have become spectres. In Whateverland, you’ll come across a wide variety of folks who are transitioning.
In the first thirty minutes of Whateverland, Nick tells Vincent that there could be a way to escape this dimensional captivity. The first captors here received a spell from Beatrix years ago that might call her to prison. But over time, due to disagreements, this spell had been divided into seven fragments, each of which was now held by a citizen of Whateverland. Nick’s strategy is straightforward: get all seven components of the spell, repeat them, and beg Beatrix to release them. Naturally, Vincent supports this.
The two then set out to use all available ways to free the spell parts from their owners. For Vincent, that might entail making use of his unique set of abilities.
Witch Way Is The Right Way?
The 7 spell components belong to 8 different persons, each in their special place (1 piece is owned by a pair of twins). You can visit each location, interact with the local populace, and choose the best course of action. Whateverland features two distinct paths through the game, which is a recurring element of choice.
First, Vincent could perform the tasks he excels at. Using theft, he may win the game. He can locate the spell component at each site using a set of thief’s tools, and then just take it. Naturally, given that this is Whateverland, there may be… unanticipated events.
As an alternative, Vincent might interact with the inhabitants of Whateverland, become friends with them, and see if he can offer them any assistance that will enable them to give up their part of the spell. Although this route through the game is much lengthier and somewhat winding, it is unquestionably the right one.
The game prominently labels these two paths on every page. During the discourse, choices that take a wicked, thieving route are marked with a moon. Options that are more morally “good” are marked with a sun symbol.
The Thief of Time…
Whichever of the two paths you choose to take will affect how you perceive Whateverland. If you take the morally righteous route, this game has a pretty classic point-and-click adventure feel to it. To accomplish your objective, you’ll move about each set clicking on objects to pick them up, using them elsewhere, and interacting with characters. There aren’t any huge leaps of reasoning involved here, and the solutions to the main problems at hand are frequently simple. possibly a little too simple at times.
This is countered with several standalone puzzles that you’ll encounter on practically every path to the seven parts. A handful of these is modern takes on old favourites. In one, for instance, you must sort fish that fall onto the screen into two bins as quickly as you can: one for keeping them and one for throwing them away. Others are challenging; in one, you must build an air conditioning path to each room using a limited number of joints and turns by arranging pipes on a blueprint. Some of them don’t express their goals enough. For example, in one puzzle, you have to turn TV dishes green, but it isn’t made clear that you must connect them in a circuit.
The continual fetch quest structure is effectively separated from the rest of the “morally upright” path by these puzzles, even though they vary in quality. Before making demands, one individual after another will remark to Vincent, “I would help you BUT…” Because Whateverland does this frequently, it draws attention to the fact that everyone wants something from Vincent. Certainly, the riddles help spread this out.
As does the Bell and Bones minigame, which ultimately has a significant role in the plot. Characters in Whateverland play this hex-grid bound tabletop game. To carry a bell to your opponent’s goal while defending your own, you must move four small animals around on a board. Sadly, I can’t say that I enjoy this game. The good news is that practically all of it can be skipped.
…And Space
Whateverland takes on a different vibe if you choose to capitalise on Vincent’s morally dubious thieving talents. While you will still visit each site and converse with select folks, your questions will focus on where they keep the spell piece rather than their needs and wishes. These quest lines will frequently conclude with a straightforward burglary.
They serve as a forensic analysis of a puzzle-box component. To open a safe or other locked object, you’ll need to examine and work with it using Vincent’s arsenal of burglary tools.
On Unstable Whatever…ground
Unfortunately, Whateverland has a few flaws and problems that ruin some of the game, especially the final few hours. Nick assisted me in one stage of the game by creating a distraction so I could enter a room. When I entered the target area, Nick was shut out, but I could still hear him commenting on the items I was clicking. Additionally, it looks like I was unable to click on the object to move forward, which soft-locked my save game and required me to load an earlier save (I’ve since played through this area again and was able to move on without any problems).
The game’s last chapter occasionally has an unsteady feeling. I was able to pass through walls, which was obviously against the rules. When a character interacts with you, they will repeat an action that duplicates quest items as well. The final hour of the game seems to be struggling under the weight of the convergent threads that started before it.
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