There’s a new game arriving and it’s one that’s sure to excite literary fans. Orwell’s Animal Farm is set to be released on December 10 for the PC and mobile devices. Orwell's Animal Farm is being developed by The Dairymen, in partnership with Nerial, the creators of the Reigns series.
If you’ve read the Animal Farm book, then you probably have an idea of what to expect with the game. Just in case, Animal Farm was written by George Orwell and published back in 1945, that’s 75 years ago. Its theme of the corrupting nature of power continues to be relevant. What makes the game version of Animal Farm even more interesting is that it has the full endorsement of the Orwell Estate.
Orwell's Animal Farm is a narrative and choice-based adventure game that puts players in the middle of an allegorical revolution. Players can decide which animals’ wishes they follow or ignore, which then influences critical events that define the fate of the farm. Players need to come up with strategies in order to balance resources, defend the farm, and of course, make sure that the animal population is happy.
Features of the game include:
- Pick Your Own Adventure
- Cultivate, subvert, or sacrifice the different animals that live on Manor Farm and see their different political strategies play out.
- Guide Manor Farm through seven years of Animalism.
- Manage the affairs and feelings of Manor Farm’s animals as the fortunes of the farm evolve.
- Fill the handbook with information about each animal and log events.
- Strategically manage the resources and defense of Manor Farm
- Rally against the two-legged enemy, human beings of course.
- Prepare the Farm for battle by:
- building defenses
- increasing resources production
- Navigate in each passing year.
- Multiple Endings and unlockable achievements
- Choose political machinations:
- Surveillance
- Reeducation
- Bloodbaths
- Reach as many as six destinies and find eight different endings.
- Complete all 48 achievements in the Farm’s handbook.
- Bring in new creatures to the Republic of Animals, and open up new possibilities for the direction of the Farm.
- Choose political machinations:
In a statement, Project Founder Imre Jele revealed that he had long wanted to explore how they could design a video game experience that would immerse players in Orwell’s vision. He added that when the project eventually came to fruition this year, it “felt increasingly vital to bring Orwell’s study of inequity, power and control to a new audience.”
Meanwhile, for writer Emily Short, she shared that George Orwell’s novel “tends to be remembered for how its powerful characters destroy the truth through gaslighting, hypocrisy, corruption and greed – all distressingly recognisable to people living through the political events of 2020.” She went on to say that video games have always been powerful when it came to telling stories about systems and allowing for “what if?” questions and that her “goal was to capture Orwell's very relevant observations in a form that players can explore.”
What do you think? Will you be giving Orwell’s Animal Farm a try?
