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0 First thing’s first, I have not looked into anything about Project Songbird. And I have not played anything else by Connor Rush or FYRE Games. Which means I will be going into the game blind, besides knowing the basics: it’s a horror narrative, and we play as an artist named Dakota. Who knows, after this, I might check out some of his other works!
There is a type of beauty, found in tragedy.
Whilst Project Songbird does not release until 26th March on Steam, that doesn’t stop you giving it a little Wishlist. You know we love helping out indie developers here at Thumb Culture.
Gameplay
Project Songbird places us into the shoes of the musician Dakota, who is struggling with a bad case of writer’s block. After a phone call from her manager Rob, she is offered a recluse cabin in the woods to hopefully aide in clearing her mind. It is at the cabin where we will fully come to learn the reasons behind her blockage. Now, the game is dominantly a narrative story, with a main focus on walking as a way to let you take in the context. If you like more action to your horror, there are major segments of the game that use some light combat if the player wishes to use it. Dakota gets a revolver at one point with limited ammo, and some painkillers to heal. Dying does not take anything away from you, but the respawn is interesting and adds a little to the story.
Weapons are upgraded at workbenches, and you will need to use any scrap you find to do so. Just like most upgrades on a gun, this increases damage, and reload speed. There are some logic puzzles along the way too. A couple of which need you to work under some pressure, thanks to lingering monster nearby, such as the piano puzzles Dakota must do and a really fast monster that plays like the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who. Whilst playing I really appreciated that the dev enabled you to press one key, look up, then repeat. Instead of having it reset each time, all whilst needing you to quickly play the notes!
Graphics & Audio
Project Songbird has some great elements; the freaky breathing noise that the statue creature (again think Weeping Angel) makes when it’s approaching you from afar, it’s brilliant at making you feel a frightening pressure. The voice acting is also stellar, particularly Finn’s. Project Songbird does have some collectables in the game as sound recordings. To obtain them, your field recorder will beep, and you must find the origin of the sound. I enjoyed this use of sound within the narrative too. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of the songs the game had to offer, but that’s more my personal taste.
Graphically the game looks great and the environments are well-designed. They felt immersive but not over cluttered, and I didn’t suffer any frame drops as a result either. If I were to nit-pick I’d say everything looks maybe a bit too shiny, but this didn’t ruin any immersion for me.
Longevity
I finished Project Songbird in just a little under 5 hours. Which is roughly what the Steam page says it takes to beat. The game offers 12 achievements for the player to unlock. I don’t think there is any other endings, as the one it had was pretty damn strong. Through all this the game has 3 acts and the ending itself is a bit on the longer sides, but worth it.
Final Thoughts
Project Songbird tells a beautiful story in two forms. One of depression, and another of from the perspective of the artist and their work. Game-play is kept at a nice pace and filled with dialogue or music. Making the game never quiet unless needed for effect. There is combat, which is very much optional in Project Songbird, but it aims to tell its compelling story first. The game may start slow but as I played through Dakota’s story it was interesting to get a glimpse of how critics can have a negative impact on the artist themselves. To the point I almost felt bad writing my thoughts on the game! Projects Songbird’s ending delivers a meta video that brilliantly shows off with some of the games themes.
It was definitely impactful to playthrough the story in one sitting, and be left with some insight. I would highly recommend this as one to dedicate time to play through all at once. Gameplay is simple and enjoyable, with some minor tedious moments. So I shall be giving Project Songbird the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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