Rosewater Review

Although it’s been good enough for Rockstar and Will Smith, the Wild West is a setting that is underused in video games and the entertainment industry. But what’s good enough for Rockstar is good enough for Grundislav Games, with its latest point-and-click title Rosewater promising players a western adventure, and even featuring some voice work from Arthur Morgan himself (Roger Clark). After five years in the making, does this western earn a cowboy hat tip of approval? 

Starting in the titular town of Rosewater and set in the universe of Vespuccia (which includes Grundislav’s previous game Lamplight City), the story follows journalist Harley Leger, who arrives in town to start writing for the local rag – the Rosewater Post. Her first assignment is to write a fluff piece on the cowboy showman ‘Gentleman Jake’, who’s in town performing. But what starts as a simple task explodes into a larger-than-life story about a missing scientist who was pioneering aetheric research (a source of energy in Rosewater’s world) and the search for his missing fortune. Gentleman Jake convinces Harley that joining as part of the search crew will give her the front-row seat she needs to make her article a must-read and a decent financial reward as well.

The Rosewater Post – the most trusted news source in town

And so begins the ragtag crew’s journey to find the missing scientist and his fortune. Joining Harley and Jake and his assistant Danny, aspiring doctor Nadine, New Spanish army general Phil, and caravan driver Lola. The game spends very little time in Rosewater, with the bulk of the story taking place en route to their destination – a town called El Presidio. The main quest is pretty straightforward, but along the way you’ll have frequent stops that play out like vignettes that allow you to shape Harley as a character, as well as learn about your new companions and form bonds with them, or not. 

But that is essentially my biggest gripe with Rosewater. While the overarching story here is fairly interesting, the road trip started to feel drawn out, because while the stops varied in length, almost none of them had anything to do with the bigger picture – finding missing scientist Dr Clark or his fortune. But as they say, it’s about the journey, not the destination. You’ll stop to help people, to explore your surroundings or because of a breakdown, and as a result you’ll meet a whole cast of side characters that all have their own problems. These sequences aren’t bad, in fact most of them (especially one featuring playing dress-ups with an old sea captain who’s lost his marbles in a manner of speaking), are quite good in their own right, and Harley does learn more about her travel buddies thanks to the game’s branching narrative where choices affect your relationships and the story. It’s certainly good content for a newspaper article, but ultimately they’re not the mission, and at times I found my interest waning a little. 

Thankfully, Harley is a compelling character. She’s as tough as an old boot and has a history of letting her fists do the talking for her (to clarify, she was a boxer), so she’s not afraid to stand up for herself in a world that cocky and trigger-happy men dominate. The world may be an alternate universe, but we know how women were perceived and portrayed back in those days, so it’s great to see a game set in those times with a strong female lead. In fact, there are numerous times where you’ll see Harley’s traits as a leader shine through, stepping up in moments when others look for someone to do so or hide.

It’s not every day you stumble upon a community willing to take you in

The fact that Rosewater is superbly written and wonderfully voiced helps mitigate the moments that drag a little. It’s got some of the best writing I’ve seen in an adventure game from the past few years, and it’s brought to life by some great performances.

Rosewater is a traditional point-and-click adventure by choice, and in an era where even adventure games have modernised their design somewhat, this may impact your enjoyment. Purists may scoff at the suggestion, but sometimes pixel hunting and trying every possible item combination just isn’t fun, and in reality never was. That isn’t to say that Rosewater is a brain buster; most of the time the puzzles have logical and even multiple solutions, and the characters around you will give you useful hints to get you started on the right track. But occasionally some roadblocks stop you in your tracks, and with no hint system, you have to revert to trying every option until it works. 

Visually, Rosewater has a striking art style that has some vibrant colours and gorgeous backdrops – it all feels fitting with the Western theme. Backgrounds are well-detailed without being over the top and the rotoscope animations give the characters a sense of realism. The only area that stood out was the eyes, which are straight from uncanny valley. It’s one of those things that once you see you can’t unsee, and they all look like they’ve seen some shit.

Some of those lads have seen some shit, you can see it in their eyes

Final Thoughts

After almost 20 hours of following Harley’s journey, it’s obvious that Rosewater is more about meeting people and relationships than finding a lost fortune. The game’s deep narrative design allows players to engage with others in various ways, and despite my mixed enjoyment at stopping frequently, I enjoyed the stories that were told as a result. But while Rosewater is good, it falls short of greatness. As good as some of the side quests were, I sometimes wondered if Harley questioned why they were stopping so frequently. But as Harley discovers, it makes for a good story. If you’re in the market for a classic point-and-click adventure with a ton of stories to tell, Rosewater has what you’re after.

Reviewed on PC  // Review code supplied by publisher

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