Wayward Strand
by Aethyna
Sep 20, 2022 |
1
Votes |
40
Played |
0
Reviews
10
rate
Platforms:
Genres:
AdventurePublishers:
Ghost PatternGraphics:
2DLabels:
Adventure , Storytelling , Hospital In Wayward Strand, you play as a 14-year-old aspiring journalist, Casey, who follows her mother, the head nurse, to the hospital to help out. Chat with the many elderlies and staff there, learn their stories, and maybe even help them with their problems once they are ready to open up to you. Play Now Similar Games Played
People Also Played
Summary
Wayward Strand is a unique story-driven game set in a refurbished airship-turned-geriatric hospital that was originally-found derelict and moored to a small town in Australia. In this game, you play as 14-year-old aspiring journalist, Casey, who follows her mother, the head nurse, to the hospital to help out. Chat with the many elderlies and staff there, learn their stories, and maybe even help them with their problems once they are ready to open up to you.
Plotline
You are Casey, a 14-year-old girl, who a journalist for the local school paper and is currently on school break. Your mother is the head nurse at a geriatric hospital that’s pretty iconic because it’s established in a refurbished airship that was originally-found derelict and then moored to a small town where you grew up.
Like every tween, you aren’t happy about the idea of getting stuck at a hospital, even not as a patient, during your school holidays so you had some disagreements with your mum. However, you were forced to go so you’ve decided to make the most of it by turning the 3-day-worth of hospital visits into an article, specifically about the airship and its history.
As you meet and chat with the various elderly who live in the geriatric wards as well as the many staff there, you started to uncover their respective stories. You can even eavesdrop on other people’s conversations to learn about stuff that the patients or staff may not want to tell you directly if you ask them.
The airship itself also holds many secrets and unless you’re on good terms with its current residents, you might find it hard to unveil them. Sometimes, you may even discover a new location that you weren’t allowed to access before.
However, there’s a catch here – you’ve only got so much time (3 days’ worth of working hours) and you can’t be everywhere at once. This is where the replayability of the game comes in. You can play the game again and focus on the other patients that you might have missed the first time around to find out more about them.
Gameplay
Wayward Strand plays out almost like a typical 2D point-and-click adventure game, except that there isn’t a whole lot of puzzling or stuff to pick up and hoard in your bag. The game only provides you with a notebook where you can jot down important details about a person at the hospital, be it a patient or a staff, so you can ask follow-up questions the next time you’ve got the chance to talk to them. Note that not everyone is open to chatting at first, and sometimes, it’s good to persist.
In terms of interactions, you can move left or right, either at a walking speed or by running, and you can chat with the various people at the hospital. If someone’s occupied, you can sometimes even listen in (eavesdrop) on their conversation or you can peek through their doorway to see what they are mumbling to themselves or to see what they are doing. This is a good way to find out about things that the people themselves are reluctant to reveal to you if you ask them directly.
There will also be events that happen, which will change the patients’ dialogues and behavior. Sometimes, they might ask you for help and reveal something dear to their hearts if you’re on really good terms with them. Keeping the elderly company is something you can do here as well. No words will be exchanged during this time but, occasionally, the patient may try to initiate a new conversation by sharing something of theirs or by asking you a question in return.
At the end of the day, you’re expected to meet your mum at the nurses’ station so you can go back home. Although being there on time seems optional, your mum will become very mad if you don’t make it on time, even if you’re spending some precious moment with a patient.
Uniquely enough, the game feels very realistic; very “slice of life” in the sense that everyone isn’t beholden to your character. They have their own lives to live and will go about their day accordingly. This also means that sometimes, several interesting events or conversations happen simultaneously, and obviously, you can’t be at all of these locations at the same time, so you’ve got to choose which event to follow.
Most events or conversations, especially those that you’re not supposed to hear, can be very revealing, allowing to you add important information in your notebook that you can then ask the people involved later. Being at a certain place at a right time can also reveal some insightful details as you may sometimes bump into someone unexpected who may then explain why they are there.
As fun as I have in this game, I’ve noticed there are some flaws in the writing, such as Mr. Pruess having “Dinner” at 3-4 pm which is admittedly a wee bit early. Casey also didn’t note down the first time Mr. Pruess said that he’s Austrian and I had to do it again in a later conversation. It’s not a huge issue though – it’s just something that I’ve noted.
Graphics/ Sound
The graphics here are absolutely gorgeous. The art here, from the characters’ appearances to the layout of the ship, has the kind of style that is popular in classic storybooks, like Winnie the Pooh or a Wrinkle in Time, back in my childhood, which admittedly gave me pangs of nostalgia.
Wayward Strand features some really pleasant yet relaxing soundtracks that match well to its theme. To infuse some real-life feel to the game, it also has a great cast of voice actors to give life to every character in the game. It does help make each interaction feel more personable and at the end of the day, you feel as though you really know each of the people at the hospital on a fairly intimate level.
However, the game does need a lot more polish in the animation department. Some of the animations look wonky and there are times when dialogues appear way too fast; faster than the voice acting.
Conclusion
All in all, if you’re the compassionate sort and enjoy a good heartwarming story about a young girl trying to help keep the elderly company at a geriatric hospital set in a refurbished airborne (but moored) airship, you’ll absolutely love Wayward Strand! The game even offers plenty of replayability as you try to make friends with the old folks and the staff there and maybe they might eventually reveal something interesting about themselves or about the airship. There are lots of secrets to find, mysteries to solve, and stories to discover, all of which made Wayward Strand such a compelling game to play.
Wayward Strand Blog
New Game Added: Wayward Strand
by Aethyna
Sep 20, 2022
In Wayward Strand, you play as a 14-year-old aspiring journalist, Casey, who follows her mother, the head nurse, to the hospital to help out. Chat with the many elderlies and staff there, learn their stories, and maybe even help them with their problems once they are ready to open up to you.
Read More
Cozy Narrative Adventure Wayward Strand Out Now for PC and Consoles
by Aethyna
Sep 16, 2022
With multiple heartfelt stories playing out at the same time, Wayward Strand allows players to choose from an ocean of experiences - no two playthroughs will be alike
Read More
Featured Games
Blade & Soul
Avenge your massacred brothers and sisters in Blade & Soul’s epic story of war and betrayal!
Forge of Empires
Starting with a small Stone Age settlement it is your task to create an empire and follow it onward throughout the centuries!
Sinespace
Explore tons of gorgeous, player-created worlds or create your own in Sinespace!
Lady Popular
Dress to impress in a stunning virtual fashion game where you can own the catwalk.
Tribal Wars 2
Rally your armies, fortify your castle walls and lead your soldiers to glory in Tribal Wars 2 today!
Adventure Academy
Dive into a world full of adventures and learn while having some incredible fun by attending the Adventure Academy!
