The Silent Age.

Here’s the review I recently put up on the App Store for The Silent Age, the first game developed by Danish studio House on Fire.

At Last
This touch and click adventure, with its ingenious dual structure, finally delivers on the untapped potential of tablet gaming to put narrative at the heart of the experience. It’s well-told, intriguing, and leaves you wanting more. Can’t wait for Chapter 2.

What I didn't say, for fear of spoilers, was that the dual structure I referred to is a time-travel conceit, so you jump back and forth between the seventies, where the protagonist is from, and a near future that has been turned into the silent age of the title by some sinister dystopian plague. You soon realise that moving between the two eras is essential to solving the various puzzles and navigating the game.

It’s a very simple idea, but no less brilliant for that. I can remember a couple of games where you switch modes to develop the story, but I can’t remember any where mode-switching was such an integral part of the experience. Perhaps the greatest advantage of this simplicity is that it leaves loads of space for other stuff, like the writing and game-design, to shine.

Personally, the thing that really hooked me was the writing. The tone of voice isn't over-egged like a lot of games (‘by JamJar’s hammer, I will be avenged!”, etc.), nor is it soured by irony like Superbrothers: Swords and Sworcery (where a very stylish recreation of 8-bit gaming is undone by a narrative voice that legitimises ironic detachment through trying too hard to be postmodern). The Seventies setting isn’t played for laughs. In fact, the first chapter (which is all there is at present) actually comes over quite noir, and the period detail or occasional comic asides provide a timely lightening of the mood.

In short, you can tell the creators have put a lot of thought into making sure the writing serves the story, with the result that playing The Silent Age feels as narratologically rich and satisfying as reading the first chapter of a good book. In this sense it is a strong indicator that the much-vaunted new era when storytelling can hold its own alongside explosions and space marines really might be coming.

To see whether you agree with me, you should go and play it right now, and then pledge some money to the creators so I can play the next chapter(s) as soon as possible. 

UPDATE: As of Jan 2014, they're fully funded to complete the game. But you should still go and play it.