You’ll never find us, but victim or perpertrator, if your number’s up, we’ll find you
Orwell‘s first seasonwas an unexpected nail-biter anda personal GOTY on release. It wasn’t much to look at, but for all the data input and web browsing, it ended up being a fascinating conspiracy thriller, where the line between surveillance and stalking was easily blurred.
Even with the high stakes involved,Orwellworked because of its intimacy as your agency picked apart the lives of a small but fully realised cast to expose a terrorist cell.Orwell‘s second season,Ignorance is Strength, attempts to expand the series not only with new surveillance mechanics but also a new plot on a global scale. But in doing so, does it lose some of the intensive voyeurism that made the original so special?
Orwell: Ignorance is Strength(PC)Developers: Osmotic StudiosPublisher: Surprise AttackReleased: February 22, 2018MSRP: $9.99
Unlike the first season,Ignorance is Strengthdoesn’t start with a bang, but with an ominous phone call. A refugee-turned-outspoken-blogger makes contact with an old friend, now a spy for The Nation, threatening to blow his cover and reveal some ugly truths about a civil war in their home country, Prages. As a new Agent to The Nation’s intrusive Orwell program, it’s up to you and your handler to stop the leak.
How you do that is simple: build suspect profiles using relevant information called “datachunks.” All you have to do is drag-and-drop these photos and highlighted texts into the right profiles. Though where you find all this information is a little more sinister. It could be freely distributed on the internet or someone’s phone, their laptop, or a confidential database.Orwellis all about following the threads and using collected data to cut through the red tape (even when it belongs to your own government).
The work is administrative and menial, but then that’s the subtle charm ofOrwell‘s gameplay as you start to detatch yourself from everything to get the job done. Much like the first season (later renamedKeeping an Eye On You), your handler will reprimand you for blindly dropping useless information into a suspect’s profile. In game, it makes sense because it gives the pacing a sense of urgency, but less obvious is that the developers want you to critically think about the information being consumed. The reason for this is that sometimes you have to track down your own leads or decide between two conflicting datachunks.
Conflicts are always highlighted in orange and usually change the course of the investigation, so it’s up to the player to pick the right “truth” or catalogue enough information to prove a point. Of course, there are times when there’s not enough evidence, forcing you to go on gut instinct and leading to some guilty consequences down the line. As of now,Ignorance is Strengthis keeping these consequences close to its chest.
Though there’s talk of new mechanics,Episode One: Thesismerely hints at their use in future episodes and soIgnorance is Strengthrarely strays from the established formula. It’s more about reacclimatising seasoned players and softly rebooting the series for anyone who skippedKeeping an Eye On You. In that regard,Ignorance is Strengthgets off to a weak start. It treads water for the experienced player, while the world building of The Nation (a US/UK allegory which isn’t inherently evil, just hyper-realised) gets replaced by a CliffsNotes version for a new audience.
What ends up being introduced does give the game a tighter pace, with phone calls and hidden WordPress drafts happening in “real time.” Every datachunk takes 10 in-game minutes to process, so you have to be more decisive about what goes into the profiles to be ready for any surprises. For now, it’s a simple introduction to what will inevitably be more restrictive as time goes on.
Despite the obvious reference,Orwell‘s first season was indebted to the likes ofThe Conversation,The Anderson Tapes,The Lives of Others,Person of Interest, and even the hapless CIA analysts ofJason Bourne. With the focus expanded to proxy wars and double agents,Ignorance is Strengthtonally plays out like a series ofHomeland, complete with a cliffhanger straight out of24. The question is whether or not that’s a bad thing.
Keeping an Eye On Youwascriticisedfornot asking the deeper questions, but with the answers being so obvious, it made more sense to follow through with a more exciting and cinematic narrative.Ignorance is Strength‘s bigger plotline does seem like a reaction to such criticism, embracing its inner Tom Clancy by the end ofEpisode One: Thesis. As slight as it might be for some, it’s still a game meant to be enthralling and enjoyed by all.
That said, the personal vendetta between two former friends doesn’t quite capture the imagination as it did when you spied on rich-kid-turned-activist Cassandra Watergate inKeeping an Eye On You. Maybe that’s the point, that spying on people from another country seems more cut-and-dry than spying on your own citizens. More likely, I’m just overthinkingIgnorance is Strength‘s message. Either way, the fact it’s got me thinking at all is a success in itself.
Despite my high expectations,Orwellcontinues to be a solid thriller and a very different gaming experience. Those who own and completedKeeping an Eye On Youwill be happy to know that you’re able to load up your original Agent, and that their actions might tie into the concurrent events ofIgnorance is Strength. How it all plays out is still a mystery, but ifEpisode One: Thesis‘ sleight-of-hand ending is anything to go by, this season promises to be anything but predictable.
[This review-in-progress is based on an Early Access build of the game provided by the publisher.]
