Despite how much of a cultural mainstay the iconography of Frankenstein’s creature remains, there has yet to be an adaptation that explored its greater meaning or understanding of what the novel was achieving. The developers at La Belle Games tout their latest experience as a sincere adaptation of the original novel from the perspective of the growing creature, allowing players to shape their own version of the story by either finding beauty in the fragility of life or falling into a path of self-destruction. Adorned in an ethereal watercolor aesthetic, The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature is a great point and click adventure game. Yet it excels as an experiment in interactive storytelling.
The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature
Developer: La Belle Games, ARTE France
Price: $16 USD
Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
MonsterVine was supplied with a Steam code for review
Developer La Belle Games put a lot of effort into making sure that the game is appealing to look at to ensure its quiet and contemplative moments. Most importantly, this visual style contrasts the tapestries in the brutal castles and laboratories that are portrayed in more common iterations of Mary Shelley’s novel. The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature is a title that’s about experiencing the book and the legacy of its emotional pathos in a way that only the medium of video games can make possible. Through its ability to immerse, it also takes moments to capture the loneliness that the creature struggles with. When facing the testing situations present in the game, the way the player chooses to follow-through with interactions affect the visuals, music, and narrative in dynamic ways.
Early in the game, I was presented with a fairly black and white choice: a young fawn is confronted by a dangerous snake. Do I make the creature stand by and watch as the snake attacks the fawn? Or do I intervene and scare off the snake, protecting the life of an innocent young animal? Choosing the latter resulted in a transformation of the visuals and audio, with brighter colors and a serene composition attributing itself to the decision I made. For a simple choice, a shift in the presentation provided a profound meaning. As I was presented with more complicated and difficult decisions involving morality, religion, and love throughout the creature’s journey, The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature continued this trend of shifting presentation. However, it isn’t always the choices I made that were affecting the visuals and audio. Shortly after this, I came across a small town which was colorful, bright, and full of life. The townspeople were horrified by the creature, and as they chased him back into the surrounding forest, the environment became devoid of light.
There are light puzzle elements that break up the moment to moment story. They’re not particularly challenging, but they provide a reprieve that gives the game longer legs. It took me exactly two hours to finish The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature and I mean to play it again with different choices once I’ve given it some room to breathe.
Expanding past the original story, the conclusion to The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature confronted me with the concepts of human storytelling in a uniquely meta way. It made me reflect fully on the choices that I made in its two-hour playtime. Overall, much like the creature who struggles with the human experience, The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature is art that’s finding the same maturation that Shelley explored with her own novel. The perspective of La Belle Games is an inspiration to not just those who set out to do something creative, but more importantly those who strive to understand other people and nourish a more thoughtful world through their creations.
The Final Word
Those that are obsessed with Shelley’s original novel will find this a worthy supplement. Those that aren’t will still find the experience enjoyable in its artistry.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
