DIGGING UP THE ROOTS – LC Plays Sagebrush

Let me first start out by saying this game ended up being pretty personal to me.  I was intrigued at first when I read it was set in New Mexico, a place I am very familiar with after having spent many childhood summers there.  The graphics are lo-fi 3D, similar to the style present when I first started gaming on the PS1.  This was a story re-telling, trying to find clues of what happened by exploring, something right up my alley.  And the central story revolves around a religious cult that performed a mass suicide.  I have always been fascinated with the whys and how this could happen, however it further touched a nerve as though I was never in a cult, I had spend some years as a born-again Christian in my youth and the indoctrination had a real familiar tone to it.

 

The premise of the story is that you search the grounds for clues as to how the mass suicide occurred.  You start by driving to the complex in a car, and upon reaching the ranch, the camera turns to first person mode as you are then on the outside of the complex next to your car and must search around for a way in.  As you continue, more clues are given which leads to different areas, and the full story unfolds.

 

The setting itself wasn’t unsettling, in fact it was quite beautiful in it’s isolation and dusky tones.  I could just about feel the dry warm air flowing through.  It didn’t matter that there was a blocky look to the textures, it all worked very well and all my senses were reminded of the Enchanted state.

 

One aspect of the old style graphic limitations meant that the bushes scattered around moved when you moved the camera, gave me the feeling of those pictures where the eyes seem to follow you around.  Not that seemingly twirling bushes are scary, but when you’re searching for clues in a once lived-in ranch, sometimes finding bloodstains in your path, they can add a bit of a ghost-like atmosphere.

The sound editing adds to this convincingly well.  When doors open they creak, and if you don’t shut them yourself, they creak just as noisily, with the addition of a sudden slam to jar you.  On occasion you can hear a wolf in the background, which makes you wonder if you will be facing a fight to the death later on.  Even when you turn on all the lights in the broad daylight, it still can be unnerving.  And when you find and listen to the many cassette recorders lying around, the colour drains to black and white, and stays that way until the audio diary stops and the colour returns.

It took me a while to figure out there was a ‘run’ button on my controller, so for most of the first playthrough I crept along at a very slow pace.  This in itself built up some tension which added to the haunted feeling of the place. At one point I saw shadows moving at a barn door, which also made me a little twitchy.  I did finally investigate it and it wasn’t quite what it seemed, just the lo-res graphics doing their best to creep me out once again.

I was probably too cautious around the many low bushes on the landscape, as in real life there would be the possibility of rattlesnakes hidden dangerously in them.  But then, I didn’t hear that infamous rattling sound as I traipsed, so I should have considered myself safe.

After a while you begin to understand how these people ended up and stayed in this cult.  The last segment was a work of genius in my opinion, the stuff of a great thriller film.  I won’t spoil it for you, of course, but it really sticks with you.

And that ending, this is what makes a game take your breath away and you realise you have just had one of the best gaming experiences in your life.  Really, it was that good in my opinion.

If you like a bit of detective work in your games and want to feel fully engrossed in an all-consuming atmosphere, this game is for you.  Even if you’re not into old school graphics, you will soon forget that minor cosmetic as you dig out the truth behind the tragic end of this group of people.  Highly recommended.

Sagebrush out now on Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Developed by Redact Games, published by Ratalaika Games.