The Chinese Room have released gripping and compelling narrative experiences for years, but one of their titles stands apart from the rest. Little Orpheus was originally released for Apple Arcade in episodic format and is a 2D platforming adventure game with a surrealist, comedic tone. Whilst the gameplay itself is quite basic and straightforward, it serves to let a magical two-character interrogation play out through a tight script and incredible voice acting over the top. It doesn’t hurt that the visuals are gorgeous either.
In Little Orpheus, you take control of Comrade Ivan Ivanovitch, who is dropped into a volcano with a bomb and vanishes for three years. After turning back up again, General Yurkovoi demands to know what happened as you’ve returned without your atomic bomb or your travelling vessel. So begins an episodic tale that tells Ivan’s very tall stories of escaping dinosaurs, underwater submarines, lost civilisations, and time itself. The game reminds me of two things. Firstly, Irwin Allen’s 60’s style of adventure TV and its hammy drama. Secondly, the tale of Sheharazard and the 1001 Arabian Nights. Ivan refuses to let a tale end, weaving in more cliffhangers than a Scandinavian crime drama. If the story never ends, Ivan can’t be killed for treason… unless Yurkovoi has enough and snaps. The narrative plays out like an audiobook over the top of the moment-to-moment gameplay. Each episode starts with a recap and ends with a “find out next time” and as each episode lasts about 20-30 minutes, they are great bite-sized experiences.
The gameplay ported across from Apple Arcade to the Definitive versions for PC and Consoles also carries across the mobile roots of the platforming. Jumps and swings are incredibly forgiving as Ivan Tarzan’s his way around levels. This means you can be standing a fair gap away from a block to push and press the push block button, and things just marry up. The same can be said for jumps and swings between wines, for example. There are a lot of chase sequences across the game, and these are forgiving too, with slides and jumps over obstacles allowing lots of room for a lack of timing. Initially, I found this quite jarring. Over time, I came to find it a comedic quirk as it kept in style with the hammy 60’s sci-fi adventure vibe Little Orpheus brings.
This does mean that the platforming, stealth sections, and chase sections of Little Orpheus are easy. Death is a rarity and the respawn penalty is usually very minor. Puzzles never go beyond pressing a button, turning on or off a device, or lining up a block or two. Again, this makes the game quite easy. I didn’t have to think about a puzzle for more than a few seconds, but it allowed me to focus on the conversation instead, reacting to my puzzle solving or platforming. What Little Orpheus does do exceptionally well is redress the same game mechanic in new clothes. Stealth switches from avoiding being lunch for a T-Rex, to turning to stone under ancient lights, or avoiding the gut biome of a whale. Instead of pulling switches to change platforms, it might be shining a light on a specific area to make pointy foliage hide. You are still doing the same tasks, but they feel different. The beautiful graphics – in particular the lighting – sell that each episode has a different feel and gimmick. In reality, they are all quite similar, but it is not until afterwards that you notice.
The Definitive version comes with a bonus epilogue 9th chapter, which raises some questions about how you might perceive the original ending. The ending itself didn’t quite land for me personally, as it was left a bit too open-ended, but the epilogue does help the player with their interpretation of events. Was it real? Was it all a lie? Is the truth somewhere in between? It’s up to the player to choose. You can do this whilst replaying the game a second time in Lost Recordings mode. This introduces collectables in each level that unlock new costumes and making of concept art and bonuses.
Whilst the gameplay itself is streamlined, the story itself is enthralling. The voice acting for Ivanovitch and Yurkovoi is some of the best in video gaming history, and the script is pitched at a tense yet quippy level to keep you entertained and slightly worried at all times. The graphics still hold up as a beautiful and imaginative nearly five years on, and the score from Jessica Curry emphasises emotion, curiosity, and hijinx. For me, this is the forgotten Chinese Room title that deserves a bit more love. It is the playable Irwin Allen game we never got to have.
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