Another one of those #WishlistWednesday titles that showed up in my feed, The Journey of AutUmn demo is a point and click adventure from Artfactory Jalokivi, currently playable via Steam.
Drifting through space on a survey-type mission, your ship suffers a malfunction, and one of its cleaning drones stumbles out of its hibernation thingy, damaging some circuits in the process. This is fortunate for the drone as it gives them free will to do as they please. Rather than troll around with a broom, they can go to Starbucks, read a book, or visit an alien planet.
The latter is our destination, though not through choice. The ship’s AI initiates the emergency procedure, sending out escape pods and whatnot. Unfortunately, you appear to be the only survivor. On the flip side, the AI has transferred its skills into a multitool that you can carry about like your trusty Nokia.
After crashlanding, the assignment is to re-establish power to your equipment. Cue some beautiful hand-drawn scenes, flora, fauna, and … fudge. Sorry – I needed another ‘f’ – and some inventory-based puzzle-solving. Despite the initial chatty AI, after leaving the pod, The Journey of AutUmn plays out like a conventional point and click.
Armed with the multitool, the drone can scan new species while exploring the area. Granted, there is a mission to be dealt with, but it’s nice to have a look and appreciate the illustrations. It’s clear these are hand-drawn throughout and add a personal touch – the animation too. The closest thing I can compare The Journey of AutUmn to is Growbot, though it is a different, unique style.
The scenes are adventurous, with a fair amount of pixel hunting, though anyone hitting a wall can consult the multitool for hints. I didn’t realise this until the last couple of minutes of the demo, and it was here that I located the codex for all the species I’d been scanning.
Alas, The Journey of AutUmn is short. This does leave you wanting more and makes sense based on the amount of time that has gone into the presentation. Reading through the store page, the artwork is painted in acrylic onto wood, then scanned digitally!? This is my bag, and teased with the fact that this is a point and click adventure coming in early 2024 it HAS to be on the wishlist for any adventurer.
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