Wonderfully odd and exciting, but nothing for you who are looking for a more traditional Point-and-Click game.
To hitchhike has never been a smart idea, at least if one is to believe everyone true crime-poddar and the classic movie The Hitcher with Rutger Hauer. So when Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game appeared in the review pile so I became curious. Can it be safer to hitchhike virtually? And what could you have come up with with a concept around going with?
Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game is not at all as I first thought it would be. I had imagined that it would be a more traditional game to get from one place to another. Instead, it turned out to be very more. You are in a car, which is on its way somewhere. The world outside is recognizable – but there is something odd about it. You have no memory of who you are or where you are going. The man who drives you seems to know more than you think. Now it’s up to you to find the truth about what happened and who you are.
At first it may not look like that Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game particularly advanced out. It’s nice, clean graphics for sure but the animations are quite stiff and generally quite deplorable. What draws one into the game, however, is the mysterious atmosphere and odd story. You constantly get little clues as to who you were. You have a certain opportunity to influence your environment and do things, but on the whole you are really only on the ride. For what is the disadvantage of Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game is that game-mechanically it is very limited. You have different choices in dialogue and such, but it does not feel like there will be such big differences whatever you choose and the only thing you can influence in the car is extremely little and only based on where in the story you are. As an example, you can not open the glove compartment until you need to do so.
This leads to a feeling that you are simply on a journey and can not do much more than what you are told. Should you still get stuck, you get clear clues as to what to do and that’s lucky, because sometimes it’s heeeeeelt illogical. As in a section, you should turn scarecrows around a windmill and you do this by using the window crank…
Despite all the oddities and limited choices, I still like it Hitchhiker – A Mystery Game so much so that I want to recommend it. This is a ride like no other. So see it more as an interactive movie than a game and experience the mystery of who you are.
