Orphans is an interactive messenger game from German developers Reality Games. Other games by them include The Sign – Ghost Dimension and The Healing. The story is by Carsten Oellerich and Kai Lilie while Daniel Abenthum and Tim Ringelmann edited it. Those names may be familiar to players of the other games as they are also on the writing team.
The game stars Jay Thomas Keller, Franki Mastrone, Robert Posavec, Stefanie Hill, Jonas Vollmer, Carolin Lange, Daniela Häns, Gary Lalonde, Gabriel Nash, Sophia Arnold, Sylvio Eisl, Sabrina Brown, Jacek Duznik, Denise Blättermann, Kai-Uwe May and the authors. Davide Angelini returns as the hacker we’d be lost without: Wolf.
Meanwhile, voice work in the English version is provided by TongueTiedGames, Gorejess Stone, Gavin Streumpler, Daniel Scandura, Stéphanie Schons, Kai Lilie, Michelle Barkman-Henning, Becky Spangenberg, Isaac Hernandez, Cecilia Keene, Stefan Albescu, David Randall, Jaxon Anger, Sharon Burton and Oliver Douglas.
Be warned this will feature spoilers for The Sign – Ghost Dimension and The Healing. There will also be small spoilers from Orphans but nothing that gives away twists or surprises.
Story
A group of friends sets out to an abandoned orphanage that is surrounded by dark rumors and tales to record more footage for their “Lost Places” channel.
The Official Synopsis via Reality Games
It’s a simple premise. Orphans starts with your character receiving a text from a Mika (whose gender changes depending on yours). She got your number from the back of a picture in the orphanage. Though, little did Mika know what they’d be getting us into as a dark conspiracy rears its ugly head. I’ve talked a lot about the story in my mini-reviews so I won’t spend too much on it.
However, I’ll say, that while the first episode spends most of its time introducing the character and providing breathing room, everything changes by the first cliffhanger.
We’ve dealt with ghosts and serial killers before but a secret society intent on unleashing a terrible Demon is bigger than before. Oh, and that’s also including the spirits of the orphans in the orphanage. There’s a lot to juggle in the game. At times it does feel as if something’s lost within the hubbub but patience rewards those who wait.
It’s also a different experience from the other games. There’s less focus on the relationships between you and the characters and more on the dangers ahead. Although, there’s still enough there to help you connect with the likes of Anni, Mika and others. If you’re looking for romance options, however, it’s not as prevalent as before but it’s still there. Considering everything that happens in the story, it’s for the best.
Gameplay
Have you ever watched a horror movie and wanted to be in it? This is what you get with interactive messenger games. While the character’s path is pre-determined you choose their name and what path they take. Will you help defeat the overarching evil or will you fulfil your darkest urges and become one of them? That is the choice you get to make. It’s a RPG but you are in the driver’s seat throughout. There is no character model, you are the character. For those people out there with main character energy, it’s the type of game for you.
Something you may find yourself raging against is the minigames. I’ll be clear: any interactive messenger game I’ve played with minigames has always been the least fun part. It’s just a necessary evil so the developers can actually make money from their free game. As a side note, I’d easily pay for the game with no minigames yet, if they were gone, I know I’d miss them. They’re like Thanos – they’re inevitable. Besides, there are ways around the minigames such as paying for the flat rate pack. Plus, if you are struggling you can watch ads for more moves and coins.
The game provides you with certain choices that change the course of the story. I’ve only seen one of those paths so far (the good one) but at some point, I’ll probably go down the dark route. But, that’s not all: you also have choices that decide if your friends live and one wrong move can spell the end of the world. That’s not even hyperbole: you literally have the fate of the world in your hands. It’s almost as if you’re playing God but you can replay for a different outcome.
Cast
It’s tricky to talk about the cast as the English version is like playing Alan Wake. Who you see isn’t necessarily who you hear. For example, while Jonas Vollmer is the face of Leon, it’s TongueTiedGames who provides the voice. It wasn’t until watching one of TTG’s streams that I realised it wasn’t the same voice. That’s how good the dubbing is. The marriage of visual and audio can sometimes be jarring but it isn’t here.
If anything, it creates a much more interesting world.
There are also some returning characters from the previous games. If you don’t want to know who these are then it’s time to look away. Spoilers are coming in five, four, three, two, one. And if you’re still here after this, it’s time for some small spoiler talk. Returning from the previous games are two noticeable characters. The first comes from The Sign – Ghost Dimension. The last time we saw him, Henry Fontz was celebrating still being alive and getting into a relationship with Norma Ziegler.
With him, he also brings his daughter, Amber (Sabrina Brown). It’s through her that our other returning character appears. Since Seven – Deadly Revelation there’s been one constant character. Played by Davide Angelini, I’m of course talking about the one and only hacker extraordinaire Wolf. It wouldn’t be the same without Wolf and his quick-to-point fingers at everyone. But, he wouldn’t have him any other way as he always comes through.
Two returning performers behind other characters are TongueTiedGames and Sophia Arnold. TTG is well-known as J.K. Night and Charlie in The Healing. If you don’t know who either of these characters are, you’re missing out. Some may wrongly call him a poor man’s Chucky but Charlie is amazing and everyone loves him and no he didn’t make me write this. (Charlie, stop looking at me like that).
Sophia was in The Sign – Ghost Dimension as the male MC’s ex. This time she’s Mika’s sibling for the male MC. As someone who wasn’t the biggest fan of the ex in The Sign but enjoyed Sophia in the role, I was glad to see her back as Anni.
If I singled out everyone I’d be here a while. Therefore, I’ll say Reality Games has never gone wrong with their cast and Orphans is another winner. There are definitely characters I’d like to see again but whether that happens only time will tell. I’m glad Mika is our introduction to the group – they’re a well-written character and in the case of Franki Mastrone’s version (the one I saw), a character you can imagine as a friend in real life.
A lot of work is put into these games and Orphans is no different. The good thing about the author chats is that it gives a peek into how the game is made. Whether it’s the video footage, syncing audio to visual, green screen and translation, there’s a lot that goes into it. A good example is the timeframe between episode five and episode six.
The penultimate episode was released near the end of August and it took nearly three months for the finale. It’s noticeable how much work goes into these games and I’ll forever be glad to Reality Game for being one of those studios who gives us these incredibly fun games.
Orphans is a game for fans of horror, the supernatural, interactive messenger and RPGs. While it hasn’t knocked The Healing off the top spot (for me) I’ve loved every moment, especially the finale. What I wouldn’t give to see episode six as a film. Can’t wait to see what they do next with ARGUS.
