REVIEW – This game is not a game per se but something different. It should be called an experience. This term is not derogatory in this case (it is for VR products), as Scavengers Studio’s game provides a relaxing experience by having to map the world to preserve memories, as everything and everyone is in danger.

Leave home for the first time to collect memories before a mysterious cataclysm washes everything away. Ride, record, meet people, and unravel the strange world around you. Immerse yourself in the world of Season, a third-person meditative exploration game.

Era

The player’s goal will be to capture important scenes, events, and things from the world so that the next season can remember them because it’s no coincidence that the game is called such. Although the world is similar to the real world, there are differences, as magic is involved in traditional rituals, and there are oddities around diseases and vegetation that the characters in the world take for granted. The rationing of the irregularities feels good, mostly starting to pop up when we begin to get complacent. It’s fixed that it’s up to us what we take with us and what we leave behind, as we are given freedom in this regard. Therefore, it’s up to the player to decide who to talk to, what to record, and what to leave behind. It’s combined with a unique, almost tasteful atmosphere because no sense of urgency would suggest the end of the season. Indeed, the season is coming to an end, but it is worth taking it easy because change can wait if the present moment is not rushed.

It can be felt in the game: it doesn’t want us to run from here to there, but it’s worth sitting back with a cup of warm tea and simply immersing ourselves in what’s happening. That’s why Season: A Letter To The Future (damn the capitalized first word…) is a unique experience because it offers something that is primarily extinct in today’s game industry, which is consolidating and deserving of another crash as in 1983. You can’t escape the fact that it’s a walking simulator, but it’s still an excellent way to interact with the things around you. We will mainly collect pictures and sound samples; if our character sees something interesting, a comment will be made. Over time, our journal will be filled, leading to a slow conclusion. We can move on to the following location if we have answered a question (evidence from several sites) or have been able to “archive” the areas sufficiently in a free-form way.

Data management

…and none of the GDPR kind. There will be some work to sort through what we have collected in our journal. Once that’s done, more customization options will become available, but there simply won’t be room for everything, especially if we annotate everything. Here is where the issue that simply must not be forgotten becomes paramount. What is important to us? Some may choose what is artistic, or others may prefer to leave out one thing or another to make room for what they think is necessary. The game will not pass judgment on us because all that matters is that the journal is complete and nothing else. Technically, you don’t need to pack much to complete it, but that design means you don’t have to pay much attention to things because Seasons: A Letter To The Future accepts you throwing something into the diary. On PlayStation 5, you move around with the DualSense triggers to mimic a bike, and the adaptive triggers mimic when you’re about to hit the road or on an uphill climb.

All that aside, the game is worth a look and a listen. The cel-shaded visuals and text bubbles give it a comic book-like feel. It’s unusual, but it becomes familiar over time that the objects are somewhat realistic. Images and sounds can also be recorded, so the audio factor should be highlighted. In itself, it’s not much, but the game will encourage you to listen because you may find that the chirping of a bird, for example, can be a reminder of the next era. As long as you keep your eyes and ears open, you might find regular, natural things that will catch your attention, leading to possibly capturing these moments. It requries paying some attention, but it’s not as taxing as a Souls-clone game of any flavor.

Relax, take it easy

Season: A Letter To The Future gets a seven and a half out of ten for its ability to make you stop and relax. The sense of society and life accelerating since the second half of the nineties is good, but there is one problem: it all ends soon. That’s the only reason it didn’t get an eight out of ten in the end: perhaps Scavengers Studio’s game deserved it. It is good to stop, relax and look around. OK, you can stop and turn the camera around in a AAA game (like God of War: Ragnarök), but this is different. Here, it’s part of a sense of life and atmosphere, and you do well to follow that direction. It’s worth a try because it’s atmospheric, pleasant, and soothing. It just won’t get much attention. It deserves it.

-BadSector-

Publisher: Scavengers Studio

Developer: Scavengers Studio

Style: archival walking simulator

Release: January 31, 2023.