This is a true story, Netflix educational game review

It’s not easy to write one This Is A True Story review because it’s actually not really a game, so typical evaluation schemes inevitably skip and we find ourselves talking about a short and intense experience that occurs after the purpose has touched above all else outside the action.

title Frosty PopCreated in partnership with Charity: water, it is essentially a short, interactive story rather than a narrative adventure, in which we find ourselves after Bontu’s long, painful and in some ways fascinating and melancholy journey in his daily search for water. We limit ourselves to a few simple interactions and engage in some small puzzles, but above all we are passive spectators of this journey who are more informative than entertainment, but staged with considerable weight.

The development team is one of the most active in supporting the new game catalog. Netflix, is freely available to all subscribers of the video service, but the work carried out in this case is primarily aimed at raising awareness among users of an urgent and underestimated issue: the difficulty of accessing vital resources such as water for many populations, especially in the African region. As This is a True Story’s official page reports, “sometimes we have to share difficult stories,” said Frosty Pop, after joyous experiences like Krispee Street activist Angela Ahrendts and her charity:water decided to get in touch to build it. It’s a small story that can involve anyone in the incredible success of collecting clean water for a terrifying number of people every day.

A long way

Everything happens in its course long walk protagonist Bontu must perform in order to reach a not-so-polluted water source to be able to fill the tank and bring it back home. The woman’s village is located near an estuary, but in summer the river dries up and water resources are scarce, forcing locals to seek water upstream, often in more or less hidden aquifers. The road is divided into small sections with different fictions, anecdotes and thoughts where Bontu tells something about his own life and the reality that surrounds him, which manages not to fall too much into didactics, and although it is problematic, it comes across as realistic and lively. has considerable weight, which prompts reflection on the conditions of some populations.

from perspective gameplay There is little to discuss: most of the time we press the edge of the screen to make the hero walk in the designated direction, some moments of interaction change according to the circumstances.

These are somewhat telephonic and predictable stages and offer no real element of challenge in practice: hold down to calibrate a jump, stand behind rocks to avoid being caught in a storm, or solve simple puzzles like composing. crossword or solve basic operations. There is almost no “game” in This is a True Story, and moments of interaction serve above all to get us more involved in the protagonist’s path and emotions: it is completed in less than an hour and does not present any ideas. A story that is “fun” or a skill challenge, but still memorable and can stimulate reflection on issues of great importance.