General Information
A stylish slice of post-apocalyptic Northern Finland
Fans of isometric games have been blessed with options lately with titles such as Sovereign Syndicate, The Thaumaturge and Broken Roads. Each offers a unique setting and artistic approach, and those looking for more games in this genre won't be disappointed with Rauniot's art direction.
It is a decidedly stylish game with atmospheric soundtrack, close-up monologues and animated cutscenes. The post-apocalyptic melancholia is well depicted through such a presentation. The 70+ scenes also teem with details, making the game's universe feel lived-in. Further adding to the presentation is the fully-voice acted conversations with Northern Finnish accent.
Classic point-and-click puzzles
Rauniot plays as a classic isometric point-and-click title. You direct Aino where to head by clicking on a location on the scene and she can interact with some environmental elements. Some of these she will be able to pick up and add to her inventory, while others will introduce puzzles that you have to solve.
Puzzles often make use of items you found by exploring, often not in the same scene. They vary in difficulty, with some being quite challenging to crack but once you do solve them, they are satisfying.
The game allows you to explore and investigate areas in an open-ended fashion as you look for Tovio. As you'll be moving across scenes often to try to solve puzzles, it is very welcome that there's a fast travel option, easing the need to backtrack, which is quite common.
However, the inspiration from classic point-and-click mechanics means that Rauniot also falls into their tendency to be confusing and unintuitive. Interactive elements can't be highlighted, except by hovering your mouse at the specific item. I ended up just moving my mouse around a lot in scenes to find out which items I can interact with.
Having such an assistive option would be helpful, and the developer already added some assistive elements like the notebook. The latter helps you keep track of the story and some clues you've uncovered. But the assistance goes only so far and being able to find interactive elements or getting a hint for puzzle solving would be handy.
On a technical side, I was surprised to see that Rauniot does not support controller input. With the popularity of handheld PC gaming devices, being able to use a controller would be welcome, if not expected. I hope that such support comes in a future update.
That said, if you're a fan of classic point-and-click isometric puzzle games, Rauniot will deliver on that with a stylish touch. But if you're looking for something more modern and accessible, you'll have to contend with its old-school approach.
Rauniot Release Gameplay Trailer