The game might offer replayability with different endings, but there aren’t many clues to figure out how to get them.
Type: Single-player
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Mow Mow
Publisher: Mow Mow
Release date: 28 Oct, 2021
Intro
Campfire Tales is a GB Studio game about three people that tell their stories on a camping trip. Three stories will be told by each person to make your camping trip worthwhile.
Visuals
The game is presented in monochromatic, 2D visuals that resemble the games made for Game Boy. Some full-screen, cutscene images will be displayed to give a close-up view of the current event, although I found some of them to be hard to visualize due to their outlines. On the good side, the rest of the visuals are detailed enough to give you context on what’s happening to the story.
Story
As a game that is supposed to be focused on the story, the story is very weak. I was thinking that this is a horror game at first since these kinds of stories are the ones that are suitable for these kinds of events, but it turns out that the story isn’t scary at all. It ends up falling into fantasy elements with their weirdness, although they are still not weird enough to get you hooked. Everything feels bland, except the last act that leaves some questions behind.
I haven’t managed to get a good ending in all of my playthroughs, which might be the reason why I found it to be lacking, but all bad endings end up abruptly. There might be hints on how to achieve better endings after you finished the first three tales, but the very last act doesn’t give enough info for it.
The Game
Gameplay
You’ll have to relive the scene of what was being told by the storyteller. Three stories are being told by each person, which is wrapped with a conclusion chapter after you finished all stories. Each story has a different concept in mind, and they all have different endings depends on how you choose to relive the story. The characters will react differently based on what you found to give some replayability value.
The first tale focuses on exploration. You’ll have to go back and forth between places, talking to people and fetching some items. Surprisingly, this is the most solid and enjoyable one of all tales even though the storytelling is somewhat weak and linear. Moreover, you also have to traverse a forest with an invisible path in this tale, which is not an enjoyable thing to do.
The second tale focuses on running around. I wanted to say that it focuses on exploration, but there isn’t much to explore since all areas are very similar. You’ll go back and forth between 4+ areas just to watch the same animation happening over and over again. I found it very redundant, and the fact that it’s almost impossible to get a good ending without interacting with every object that you can find, which I’m too lazy to do, is just unappealing, especially since there are too many areas to interact with.
The third tale focuses on stealth. The story is already weird as it is, and the fact that you must dodge ghosts throughout your playthrough isn’t fun, especially since you’ll be sent to the beginning area if you touch them. Moreover, there aren’t many spots to avoid since the path is very narrow. This is also one of the tales that I didn’t get a good ending in, and I already tried everything that I can think of to get it.
The conclusion part, which is also the last act of the game, gives a fresh take on the gameplay, changing the genre into a text-based adventure of some sort. You’ll be able to choose between some paths to decide where you are going, although there isn’t any clue that designates the correct path. The thing is, you’ll get a game over screen whenever you chose the wrong path and the game will delete your save before you start this act.
Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 60 minutes with some part of that playtime spent in trying to get the game running in full screen. Campfire Tales run at a surprisingly low resolution of 478×430-ish due to its engine that simulates the Game Boy. I tried to do 2 more runs that lasts for half of my first playthrough to achieve different endings, which failed due to the lack of hints in getting the good ending.
Brute forcing your solution to get the good ending can be time-consuming. This becomes more apparent in the last act since it forces you to replay the game from the beginning if you choose the wrong option. It wasn’t fun to replay the game because of stupid mistakes, and I’m already tired to do it again after replaying the game thrice.
Problems
I couldn’t seem to save the game after I finished the game for the first time. This somehow fixed itself after I restarted my laptop though.
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Verdict
Campfire Tales might look like those Game Boy games that you played in the past, but its gameplay doesn’t feel similar at all. Both story and gameplay feel bland, and there isn’t anything that can keep you engaged throughout the game. Moreover, the fact that the game will wipe your save before you start the last act feels cheap to me. The game is already short as it is, and since it doesn’t captivate me enough throughout my playthrough, I’m afraid that I couldn’t recommend this game.
Feedback from the developer
“The update planned for next year will be big! It will expand the window size limitations, expand on the current stories, and add more hints during gameplay. It will also add another story to play through and add a cute secret platformer game whos levels can be accessed from each story.
I do look forward to feedback when offered. I want the players to enjoy my game as much as I did making it! Also, you can never stop learning.”
