Video game reimagines Lovecraft's tale
Penguin Colony is a video game that reimagines H.P. Lovecraft's The Mountains of Madness through the perspective of a penguin. The game, developed by Origame Digital, is available for PC and Nintendo Switch 2. It sets the story in Antarctica in 1939, featuring an expedition led by Nazis searching for a supreme Aryan being, with an English researcher named Howard Blakely providing narration.Narration and cultural elements
The narration is provided by Leval Brown, known for his role in Disco Elysium. The game also features Maori characters whose ancestral mission is to prevent the awakening of an ancient entity, highlighting Maori culture with dialogues in the native language. This integration adds depth to the narrative and cultural context of the story.Plot and setting
The game's plot is based on The Mountains of Madness, where an expedition discovers a monstrous and gargantuan abandoned city in Antarctica. However, Penguin Colony shifts the timeline to 1939, and the player controls a penguin who witnesses the expedition's descent into madness from a different perspective. The game includes elements such as a cursed city and Shoggoths, but explores different themes and issues compared to the original story.Gameplay mechanics
The gameplay involves controlling a penguin, with mechanics such as walking, jumping, sliding on the stomach to move faster, and jabbering. The player can switch between different penguins, each with unique characteristics such as size and ability to swim, which affect gameplay. However, the impact of these differences is minimal, and the system is considered underexploited.Game environments and exploration
The game's environments are large and encourage exploration, with features such as a Luftwaffe plane crushed on the ice, dark caves, and ancient ritual rooms. Players can find elements that enrich the story and provide keywords in an ancient dialect. After completing the game, players receive a page summarizing all the items found and missed.Reception and technical aspects
The game is noted for its adherence to Lovecraft's writing style, with narration that feels like an audio book of an unpublished work by the American novelist. However, the game is not translated into French, requiring a certain level of fluency in English. It is primarily aimed at fans of Lovecraft, and those unfamiliar with his style may not find it appealing. The game's length is approximately three hours, and while it is considered a small game, it has numerous collision bugs with the environment, which can be seen as a game mechanic in some cases.
