14 DAY TRIAL // 
Going through life is a journey full of excitement, adventures, let-downs, tears, and laughter. Obviously, you cannot see beyond the decisions you have not yet taken, but what if somehow you could put everything in perspective and see the effects of your decisions? Where the Heart Leads tries to answer that question, taking the shape of an interactive story, presenting how the choices of one can affect all the people around him.
Where the Heart Leads is a peculiar sub-genre of adventure games, maliciously called walking simulators. It has an engaging story and well-written dialogues, but it misses any kind of puzzles. The only challenge is to make some decisions at key moments and then deal with the aftermath. Some would say it is like an interactive movie or visual novel, where your input is needed to forward the story. Without debating if this type of experience qualifies as video games, we have to admit that this sub-genre produced some well-known and beloved titles.
Where the Heart Leads hopes to follow on the path of success of games like Heavy Rain, What Remains of Edith Finch, or any title developed by Telltale, presenting a surreal family story and their fate influenced by the decision made by the head of the family. The developers from Armature were obviously influenced by the creations of David Lynch, but they put their own spin on the recipe of interactive dramas. The grotesque is replaced by surreal, the quick time events are gone and everything revolves around the idea of causality.
It all starts on a serene farm, where our hero Whit lives with his family: his wife Rene and their two kids, Alex and Kate. Things are put in motion by a huge crack in the ground that appears out of the blue and almost swallows the family dog. In a desperate attempt to rescue the pooch with a contraption made up of a winch and an old bathtub, Whit will find himself at the bottom of the canyon-sized crack. His only choice is to try to climb back up, a journey that will make him face his past and possible future.
Although the story is engaging and well thought out, the biggest twist revealed at the end of the game is obvious from the very first moments. Still, even knowing where everything is headed, it is worth going through the story of Whit, since it is full of memorable moments. The mental journey taking you to ever-higher levels is synced with a timeline of scenes that will take you through time from adolescence to old age. Along the way, through the decisions you will have to make, you will build a bond with all the characters of the game and this ensures an emotional response to the game.
Where the Heart Leads focuses so much on the story and the characters, that the gameplay is completely missing. The only actions you are allowed to do are to run around, discuss with the NPCs, make some decisions that will unfold and have consequences towards the end of the game, and from time to time repair or build some structures. Everything is scripted out and although you may feel like you have some freedom, you will be actually following the scenarios dreamt up by the developers. This leads to multiple possible scenarios, each with its own ending giving the game some replay value.
The visual style of the game is unique and although simplistic, it does a very good job to complement the surrealistic atmosphere and dream-like scenes. You will see Whit going through his life as a person, while all the other characters are nothing more than silhouettes you can interact with. It is a courageous decision and it gives a particular flavor to all the scenes, reinforcing the idea of everything happening in the head of our hero.
Since there is no voiceover whatsoever, you will have to pay attention to the dialogues to figure out not just what you have to do next, but also to discover the personality of the NPCs, their thoughts, their feelings. If you don’t have the patience or you don’t like to read, you will not handle well the 12 hours needed to finish the game.
Despite the visual style and surreal theme, the story is actually very mundane and presents the journey of the family through the challenges most of us have to face at one point or another. If you will get attuned to the vibes of the characters, the story will have its emotionally gripping moments and will keep you invested until the end.
The motivation is to see how things unfold in the end and what will be the outcome of the decisions you made earlier for all major characters. It is a down to Earth family drama, inspired by reality. Still, some will walk away disappointed either by the complete barebone gameplay experience or by the story that tends to have a slower pace and no artificial twists.
Conclusion
Where the Heart Leads is not for everyone. If you like interactive visual novels and you enjoy dramas rooted in real life, the game will feel like a hidden gem. If you prefer gameplay over the story and you already have a bad opinion about walking simulators, there is nothing here for you.
This being said, Where the Heart Leads remains a relatable experience, and going through it, you are sure to find some connections with your own life. It's that kind of game that surely triggers emotional reactions just by looking back at your life choices.
Review code provided by the publisher.
