14 DAY TRIAL // 
Since the first time it was shown to the public, at the Game Awards in 2020, Season: A letter to the future charmed me and entered my must play list. The visual style, the atmosphere and the story promised a memorable indie that focuses on human emotions and the big questions of life. Now that the game has finally arrived, can it live up to the expectations of indie game fans looking for more than cheap thrills or spent shells flying in the air?
Developed by Scavengers Studio, this new indie title is not exactly what I expected, but still delivers on the promise of beautiful vistas, exploring human connection and posing some questions about what is important for us as individuals and as a community. It offers an atmosphere that completely engulfs you and teleports you to a land that looks serene on the surface but is silently struggling underneath.
The one thing I did not expect is the mystical angle the developers have given to the story. It all the starts in a small village in the mountains, Caro, a safe place for its inhabitants, that isolated themselves from the outside world. The game’s world seems to be a post-apocalyptic one, albeit different from how we usually picture it. Instead, devastation and mayhem, people seem to have reverted to a simpler way of life, focusing on spirituality and creating or keeping memories.
Leaving behind the overwhelming lifestyle of the giant metropolises, the surviving humans seem to have been cured of the mysterious illnesses that plagued their life before. Giving up the rush and hustling of everyday life, they turned toward spirituality and community. As a result, Seasons have been born, each one bringing new an unexpected challenges. Going from one season to another signifies major changes that affect the lives of people, much more than just climate conditions. In the least people tend to lose their memories, but there is a real danger of not making it through the shift.
In this weirdly tormented yet somehow calm world, you will meet Estelle who is burdened with the task of recording what the current season looks like and preserving the memories for future generations. After a quick spell that results in a pendant meant to protect her memories, our hero is sent out into the world equipped only with the clothes on her back, a sketchpad/journal, an old camera, a sound recorder and an old bike. Your one and only task is to capture what you think is worth remembering about the current season and making sure you can pass it on.
SEASON: A letter to the future gently holds your hand through your adventure, guiding you towards an inevitable conclusion, but it does offer you limited freedom. You can choose how to populate the empty pages of your journal, thus documenting the things that impressed you most in one region or another. You can take pictures, record sounds, and interact with various objects that will trigger thoughts that you can write down in your journal.
There are some special pages that require you to hunt down specific vistas or record specific sounds in order to reveal more about the world you are journeying through. When enough mementos have been placed on the two pages reserved for every region, you will witness an interior monologue revealing Estelle’s conclusion about what you experienced. This also unlocks a few decorative elements that can be used for an even greater degree of personalization of the pages.
In the game’s world, mysticism and our everyday reality are mixed in a seamless way, the end result being curious enough to be worth exploring. Despite the vastness suggested in the beginning, you will only end up experiencing a vertical slice, your journey being limited to a single valley, mostly empty of human activity. This is being explained by your arrival just before the dam is brought down for safety reasons. Having a day at your disposal, you are free to explore at your own pace by choosing the order in which you explore the present and the past of the place.
Although the game is short, it does not mean that the game world is small. The developers managed to create the illusion of a world being alive, in which you are no more than an observer. You are welcome to meddle, but it feels like with or without your involvement, life goes forward anyway. The most significant and important mark you can leave in this world is recording what you consider worth remembering.
You can collect those moments by walking around and interacting in a natural way with the world: looking at pictures, talking with the inhabitants, gathering clues by interacting with various objects and even recording the wildlife or the thoughts of the NPCs. The world being reasonably large, you will need your trusty bike to get from one point of interest to another. The developers managed to make traveling interesting by trying to simulate to some degree the experience of using a bike.
When you mount it, you will need to activate the two triggers of the gamepad, somewhat similar to the way you need to pedal to gain speed in reality. Going downhill your speed increases effortlessly, while climbing hills or stairs you will need some finger action again to keep moving. You can use the brakes, but it is futile since you can stop in an instant with just the pressing of a button. If you forgot where you parked it or you are too far from your metal steed you can summon it from the main menu.
Visually, the game is beautiful and manages to offer players a truly immersive experience. From the very first moments the game world will engulf you and you will find yourselves analyzing every detail and pondering what you want to keep for the future.
The cartoon like graphics are full of color and personality, while the overall visual design have taken inspiration from different areas like the 80’s socialist society, Asian mysticism or Italian mountain villages. The sound design is also excellent, the voice actors doing a great job bringing his characters to life, while the surrounding world is bustling with activity. You can hear the rivers, the birds, the insects and every sound you expect in nature.
The Good
- Unique and immersive atmosphere
- Beautiful visuals and a carefully crafted world
- Great sound design
The Bad
- Way too short
- Very basic mechanics
- Some camera control issues
Conclusion
Overall the game is a great indie production and one that will enchant the people who are into games revolving around questions about the meaning of our existence. It is a beautifully crafted walking simulator, with a unique atmosphere and some memorable moments, but no replay value at all.
Review code was provided by the publisher.
