Orwell Review

When I reviewed the first two episodes, I said that I was particularly looking forward to Episode 3: Unperson. Due to the weekly release schedule, I figured it would be best to wait for all five episodes to be released before publishing the full review -- that way spoilers could be in one contained place. I’ll summarise the review for the first two episodes, rather than expect you to go and read it.

Orwell sees you joining a team of people who work from home, and monitor the online activity of certain suspects. Terror suspects, mainly, but since The Nation (the country you work for, but don’t reside within) passed a Safety Bill, anyone can be targeted if the higher ups want. They can’t arrest without sufficient cause, however. So you have to find it.

By monitoring everything from their social media to chat programs, phone calls to their personal computer, you collect nuggets of information to build a profile about each target. The system, the titular Orwell, flags certain phrases and information, and it’s up to you to decide whether it’s pertinent information or not. For instance, do you tell Orwell that the suspect lives in “The Woods lol”, or wait to find out where they actually live?

All of the information you drag into each separate profile is then sent to your superior, who has one-way communication with you, so may comment on the things you send over. Often, the things you send over will open new avenues to explore, such as blogs or work websites. It’s fascinating to see how things are all connected, and where you can wind up with only access to a band’s website.

The first episode begins with a bombing in a town square, and because of the weekly release schedule I spent five weeks in suspense as each day’s worth of game trickled out. What’s more, there are multiple story points that can change. If you miss one nugget of information, it can have a knock-on effect in the next episode. However, there’s no way to miss something that’s needed for the story to continue, but it won’t tell always you what it needs.

As mentioned earlier, you get access to several systems. The first tool is a web browser which lets you look up the local news, social media and such. The second tool lets you listen in on phone calls (which are instantly transcribed by Orwell, meaning you don’t actually hear them), as well as any chat accounts you gain access to. The third tool is available from the second episode on, letting you remotely control any computer that’s online.

Personally, I find the chat tool most interesting. Especially since some of the information nuggets are time sensitive. Miss it or fail to act in time and it can change the outcome of the next scene or even the whole episode. Some information doesn’t actually become time sensitive until later, when you are left suddenly scrambling to remember where something was mentioned.

Of course, I can’t go into too much detail about the story without spoiling it, but it’s definitely worth pointing out that it elicits an emotional response. I can think of a couple of times where chills have run down my spine or I’ve been left stunned by an event. The writing, the timing and music cues are perfect.

The graphics are very crisp and clean, with a stylised look which I’m quite fond of. As mentioned, the music is cued well, and on its own is quite engrossing. You can buy it separately as DLC which I might well do just so I can listen to it some more.

The reason why I would buy it instead of just replay the game is actually the one bad thing about Orwell. It’s too short, and the replay value isn’t huge. Most episodes have multiple endings, but when you know which options to go for then your five hour playthrough will be under two. I don’t usually mention prices, but I feel it’s warranted in this instance -- the game is £7.

If you like getting an hour per monetary unit, then you definitely get that in Orwell. The campaign is as long as Titanfall 2, and it has a heck of a lot more gameplay to it than BATMAN the Telltale Series, both of which cost more and are written just as well.

Now, I’m going back to find all of the endings. The Nation needs me.