CHENNAI: Ghost on the Shore contains the essential elements of a Sunday-afternoon, tea-time game. As a story-exploration game, it is low-effort, providing a riveting, original story in a short span of time. It is perfect for tea-time, because we walk around an island, sniffing for gossip. We follow the story of Riley, a young woman who decides to take her boat on a long voyage to escape her past. With a storm almost wrecking her boat, Riley saves herself with the help of an incorporeal voice.
The voice is that of Josh, a ghost haunting the ‘Rogue Islands’. In gamer terms, Josh is very ‘sus’. He has no memory of his life on the islands, generally sounds like he is withholding essential information, and refuses to leave Riley alone. However, as a woman looking for adventure, Riley seems very keen on helping the very sus Josh. The game does an excellent job of retaining linearity in its storytelling, but provides different endings based on choices we make through dialogues. We start the game as an observer trying to understand the history of Rogue Islands.
The object of interest then turns from random islanders, to specific islanders, their relationship with Josh’s past, and quite abruptly — to the present equation between Josh and Riley. The whole game lasts less than two hours, but seamlessly pivots in its story and emotions. Using subtle environmental cues, we move across the island in its intended direction, slowly unraveling the mystery that surrounds it. The gameplay element is limited. We walk around, look around, click on interactable elements, and read notes. This makes it an excellent play for beginners.
Ghost on the Shore released a few weeks back, and is available to play on Windows and MacOS. I enjoyed playing it, and reviewing it even more so — to encourage indie games and their developers. It is published by Applications Systems Heidelberg, an indie game publisher whose game I have followed and played for the last few years. The developers of this game, “like Charlie”, are passionate about conveying an emotional narrative through a videogame, and it is executed well in GotS.