The Novelist

“$4.99? Seems Affordable” I thought to myself. I clicked on the game in Humble Bundle store and watched the trailer that came along with a short synopsis on the game. The description was good, the video was decent and the game was affordable. On top of that, it’s a story based game. Why not right? I bought it immediately without any further hesitation.

Believe it or not, I did not regret this action. Well, the game isn’t fantastic compared to any big shot Story based game. It’s an Indie game and it has a short story. The story revolves around three characters.  They are generally known as the Kaplans. The main character is known as Dan and Dan is the Novelist (Hence the title) whom brings his wife and only son for a vacation. 

Dan goes there for two main purposes.  He wants to re connect with his family and also attempt to complete the novel that he promised his publishers. His wife always wanted to pursue a career as an artist but her failing marriage with Dan was not allowing her to do so. Their son Tommy whom is having difficulties in making friends desires to get his father’s attention.

The story is simple and straight forward. However, the decision the player has to make for every problem the Kaplan faces, it leads a different pathway. Before I break down the game to smaller parts, I just have to cover an interesting part which is the mode of the game.

Player is given a choice to choose between the stealth mode and storytelling mode. Story telling mode allows the player to move around freely in the game world. In stealth mode, player has to sneak around the world and ensure that they won’t get caught. They are allowed to move from one source of light to another source of light to pick up the pace or to avoid getting caught by other characters.

I have tried out these two different modes and it does make a difference in my player experience.


 In storytelling mode, I could simply go around the three main characters. They won’t be able to see me. I can also travel through the source of light. I can walk pass them and they won’t be able to sense my presence. However, in stealth mode, players have to sneak around the characters. The characters are able to see you and sense your presence (If they spot you). 

This is where the purpose of travelling through light works well. I enjoyed the stealth mode more as it added flavour to the game. It made me feel like as though I was a spirit that went around the house just to observe their moves, thoughts, scan through memories, and search for clues.

In terms of replay ability value, it’s actually pretty short game with few alternatives. Currently, I played it twice and I had to two different endings. I believe if I tried harder, I might end up with another interesting ending.  The overall length of this game is actually pretty short. This game is suitable for those whom prefer not to get too attached to a game.

Everything about the game is very simple. The graphics/artstyle, animation, voice acting, gameplay, controls of the game and storyline is simple but the experience this game gave me was beyond the term simplicity.

In conclusion, “The Novelist” is a very good story based game. It’s suitable for those whom enjoys story based and wants to try something new for a change compared to AAA game.(Triple A game companies). An entertainment for $4.99 which provides a good gameplay experience? Why not right?