The Caribou Trail is a first‑person narrative adventure set during the Gallipoli campaign of WWI. The game was developed by Unreliable Narrators & Manavoid Entertainment, and published by Unreliable Narrators as well as Indie Asylum. Unreliable Narrators have developed a game previously called Two Falls. In Caribou Trail you play as Fisher, a soldier of the 1st Battalion Newfoundland Regiment, experiencing the psychological toll of trench warfare through slow, deliberate exploration, dialogue, and small mundane tasks. Caribou Trail is inspired by real testimonies, blending history with fiction to portray a rarely explored front of WWI: Gallipoli, from the landing to the final evacuation.
Caribou Trail is available on all major gaming platforms but I played this one on the PS5, try it for yourself on the PlayStation store here and let us know what you think!
You guessed it right, I did immediately go left, whoops?
Gameplay
In Caribou Trail you explore a large environment. So things like the trenches, camps, beaches, and No Man’s Land. Movement is intentionally heavy to reflect exhaustion and fear of the soldiers at the time and feels as authentic as you can make it within a video game, without leaning too heavily into pure realism. It shows the parts of the story it needs to for the narrative. You use specific tools to help you navigate this land. Binoculars allow long-distance scouting. A map and compass help navigate increasingly maze-like trenches. New areas will give you plenty of lore and some historical accuracy. With plenty of logs to read ranging from the food the soldiers ate to the tactics in the trenches.
Mundane tasks are the bulk of Caribou Trail, but deliberately so. These range from digging trenches, cooking food, interacting with other soldiers. Most importantly gathering fallen soldier ID tags. This part of the game was stressful, as it was historically striking. Having to walk through no man’s land during a truce and being afraid of shots fired your way was truly a harrowing narrative experience. The side characters were wonderful and I felt they all had something you could connect to, whatever your background was.
Graphics & Audio
Caribou Trail uses a bold, chiselled art style with strong colours, fitting the WWI setting. Lighting and weather effects enhance immersion. I felt this art style really stood out to me and made the game a little lighter emotionally and easier to digest. The idea of using a version of cell shading in terms of the graphics really helped in putting across those hard blocks of colour especially when it came to fire and destruction. Not forgetting to mention the sheer amount of hardship these soldiers had to endure. This is all conveyed through a bleak but harsh colour palate at times. This art style may not be a first choice for many to represent a World War type setting, but it definitely worked well here. The audio was not cut short here either and every bullet had weight. A weight surely felt by the soldiers firing them.
Longevity
Caribou Trail doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, hitting at around 3-5 hours in the trenches, more towards the higher side if you want all the side trophies for doing some obscure but fun tasks. With a story game like this unfortunately there isn’t much in terms of re-playability however this is to be expected. This is more of an experience you tell your friends and family about at family events to connect with the older generation. It sure is a conversation starter.
Final Thoughts
The Caribou Trail is a powerful, atmospheric WWI narrative experience with minimal gameplay but exceptional emotional depth. Its slow pace and repetitive tasks are intentional, serving the story rather than traditional game design. This may not be for everyone, but I sure enjoyed my time with it! If you value immersion and character drama over action, it’s a memorable and meaningful journey. With this in mind, I’ll be awarding The Caribou Trail a Thumb Culture Gold Award! Hopefully we see more from these developers going forward!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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