‘Seasons After Fall’ Is Artistic Indie Bliss

As the definition of an “indie” title begins to broaden, it’s comforting to find that there are still developers out there that seek to make games with a special kind of appeal.

These aren’t games that try to rely on gameplay gimmicks to rope gamers in. It doesn’t drip trickle rewards to keep players coming back like drug-addled hooligans. There’s no shoehorned competitive multiplayer modes to appeal to the machismo gamer that needs to assert their superiority over all others.

Instead, we get games like Seasons After Fall. Simple experiences meant to evoke feeling through aesthetic and execution.

It’s a 2D platformer, very much in a classic gaming style. You’ll navigate lush forests filled with magical inhabitants. The game is in pre-alpha currently, so details are fairly sparse, but we do know that you play as a fox that has set off on a perilous journey, the purpose of which remains unknown. You’ve been imbued with the supernatural ability to manipulate the seasons, changing them at will in order to proceed in your exploration. Winter will freeze water, allowing for simple crossing. Spring blooms the flora, which can aid you in a variety of ways, from navigational aids to jump boosters.

It’s not a unique mechanic (see: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons), but certainly isn’t a common one, especially when you consider the overarching theme of the game. In the end, the biggest draw to the game is its whimsical art style. The game rocks an intriguing painted look, almost watercolor in nature. It’s much akin to poetry in motion when you see the game in action, sporting a look that is absolutely indicative of the care that developer Swing Swing Submarine has put into the game in so many ways.

It’s too early to pass judgment on the game, however. I’ve long subscribed to the thought process that good graphics do not a great game make. A single aspect of the game is rarely—if ever—the sole reason for a game’s success, games of immense simplicity — Tetris, for instance — notwithstanding . Where a puzzle game might be able to subsist solely on mechanics, even a game as simple as a platformer requires more than artsy-fartsy visuals to get by.