Tombeaux Reviews

It's not great. graphics are bad, performance was awful (like 20-30 fps for such an ugly game, wtf). It is very short (about 30-45 minutes). Gameplay wise you have 6 levels where you collect one or four items, then listen to someone. After each level you go back in a hut and listen to more monologues, then you can check your collected items a bit more in depth with a small discription and history with it. In the fact the game is more about history of a river than everything else. This part was also quite interesting, but the rest is really meh. Some of the narrators aren't good (like the main narrator) or some of the monologes are spoken too quietly or have a bad sound quality. Although the game consists of 6 levels, all of them are really small and the base of the level is always the same (the river), it changes just a bit, like one time there are stumps in the river, once a steamboat, ... There is also not much exploring as the levels are really small and the items are highlighted, so you can see them from far away. Most of the time in the game you will just listen to a monologue. Oh and two achievements were broken in my first playthrough, I had to replay the whole game (without opening the steam overlay) to get those two achievs.

This is one of those stories that needs to be told, because it's not just the history of America; it's the history of every country that's ever been 'colonised' by people who think they know best, by capitalists who ignore natural wonders in favour of making money and showing off. Anyone who complains about this game being anti-white or whatever clearly doesn't appreciate nature or history or the rights of the indigenous peoples to govern their own lands the way they ought to be governed: by those who understand them.

A short and (bitter)sweet dive into the American history mostly from nature's point of view. You'll get to watch how the last few centuries have treated a beautiful river area that is full of tiny, easily missable details. Your main objective is just to wander around and pick up items that trigger story snippets that - as far as I understood - were written or said by real people of that age. All in all the game seems to put a lot of value on historical accuracy, which is certainly a refreshing thing to see in a video game. And when all of the profits made from this game are even donated to environmental charity, I can only recommend giving this walking simulator a try!

I'm going to give this one a thumbs up because I appreciate what it's trying to do. Yes, some of the voice acting is pretty cringe, gameplay and performance-wise it has some issues, but you don't really play these type of games for the gameplay, and considering the obvious amount of research that went into the game and the fact the dev donates the profits from this game really gives me nothing to complain about. As a European, I felt like I've learned something, and I encourage using videogames as a platform for raising awareness. While doing that, however, it's difficult not to make the final message sound too preachy, and the game managed to do that (maybe with the slight exception at the very end [spoiler]brah[/spoiler]).

It's what the description says; an "interactive historical experience." I think it's like a cross between an exhibit at a history museum and a brief lesson on environmental science and technological development. As a student of environmental science, the game really speaks to me. The fact that profits go back to the river it's based on is nice, too. I liked it. The music is soothing, the visuals are pretty (well, if your computer isn't a toaster), and the message is something that I'd like to see more of in games. That being said, I would have liked to see a bit more about the history of the river pre-America, with the native peoples on it, and I would have liked to see more of the river pre-people. The game has an "agenda," sure, but I think that's pretty clear from its steam description, anyway. I still really enjoyed this museum of a game.

No. Sorry. As much as Tombeaux tries to be an atmospheric walking simulator and simultaneously perform as an educational title it succeeds only in the lastly mentioned and barely. Despite of delivering some quite interesting though general knowledge how indian and western culture clashed in the past and how mankind's ignorance can lead to the disaster, it is very short, thin and one-sided. While I acknowledge the sins of the white man, this game makes me ponder that should I be ashamed of myself for what happened or should I just shake my head and ignore the game's far too naive and pious statement. Moreover, while some graphics look nice I've seen much better looking games with a better performance at the same price or less and the explorable areas are roughly limited. I understand that this is almost an obsessive, Samatarian project reportedly giving all the profits for nature protection and if you are in for it you might have a good deal here. Do not have your hopes too high for the game, however.

Before reading any further, note that "100% of the profits from Tombeaux right back to protecting the river which it is based upon" according to the description below. This is a worthy effort regardless of anything else, and if nothing else you can consider your purchase of this game as a bit of charity and goodwill. Now, Tombeaux is first and foremost a warning and somber reminder about the lingering horrors of manifest destiny. Certainly there are moments of serenity and calm where a person could just sit for a while and listen, but the encroaching tone of destructive change is ever present. This is less a game and more an interactive art project. With that in mind, it is really that message that matters most and I can't fault Tombeaux for that. It's an important message to be sure. As far as the visuals and actual "gameplay" go, though, there isn't much to say. You don't actually "do" a ton, and the environments are certainly not mindblowing/lifelike in quality. And yet, there is a simple charm to it all, even in its more somber moments. This feels like one of those edutainment games you might play as part of a lesson in school, and perhaps some out there have. I would have loved if it leaned more into this aspect, with more audiologs and things to learn about, but what things Tombeaux does choose to focus on really draw a line for the observer to follow. These are real quotations from real people. While perhaps not all of the recordings are at the same level of quality, it was still nice to hear these often forgotten perspectives--especially those of the native folk of the region, whose language and history is preserved in these recordings. Take your time (you'll get an achievement for it if you do) and remember that, even though this story focuses on a single river, this is a tale that is found all across the continent in communities large, small, and nearly lost or forgotten. I wholeheartedly recommend this game.

I wasn't sure what to really expect from this game, so I thought a brief explanation might be helpful for others. The narrative of the game centers around a river and a small cabin next to it. There are short "chapters" as you play through the story of this location that take place during different time periods. Each chapter has 4 "objects" to pick up (except for the first and last which only have one), and those artifacts have an audio narrative of someone from that time period relating to their experiences on the river. Then you return to the cabin for the next chapter to begin. Your movements consist of walking around, looking at the world around you, and clicking on the objects you're collecting. The narrative focuses on the environment, and the changes that humans brought to the land of North America from the late 1770s to the present. It has a point: we need to pay attention to what we're doing. It's short; probably only about 45 minutes. Yet I really enjoyed seeing how the small area you're in changes over time. Actually it was rather depressing at the end, especially since you're hearing about real people and real events, but it's the kind of enjoyment you get when you know you've learned something important that you know you need to remember. I also really like that the developer/publisher donates the game's profits to the [url=https://www.smm.org/scwrs]St. Croix Watershed Research Station[/url] and its projects and conservation efforts. This game hit home for me. I grew up in the dense forests of Northern Michigan. We weren't hunters, but I remember spending hours every day all summer as a kid trying to catch turtles and frogs by the rivers and lakes near my house, bird-watching with my parents, and even making up goofy stories about the other small critters that were always around our house and the woods. But even in the past 20 years I've noticed some distressing changes in the environment and natural spaces of the area. There are an increasing number of very disrespectful people appearing and throwing their garbage everywhere, and big corporations exploiting and polluting the beautiful areas without any concern or consequence. It's sad. Disgusting actually. And I think it's important for projects like this one to be shared.

Pure walking sim that's less than 30 minutes long. Well intentioned and has good voice acting plus some historical accuracy, but everything's presented via a "white people and technology bad, native americans and nature good" filter. And wait till you hear the part where "Jeff Olson" talks about being a "merican, brah". If it wasn't for the in your face agenda it could have been OK, but there's really no reason to even bother with this. You can get a much more interactive and well balanced account of the impact of European settlement on the Midwest at any library.

Interesting idea, but that's about it. No matter your hardware, the game is extremely laggy, inside the house mouse sensitivity is, for some reason, about 1/4 of what it is outside, some narrators seemingly used their cheap headphone microphones to record their voices and, best of all... ...the walking sound on dirt/grass is literally the Dirt sound effect stolen from Minecraft.