Gigantomania

Michelle Tirto and Mike Ciul (2010)


Gigantomania is a dark game set in a desperate Russia, and I have a feeling it's just a little stereo typical. It’s dreary and drab, and it paints the worst picture possible of a people struggling to get by. And that’s your role in this game, to play through a few of the people that live in this harsh world.

Here you see the world through the different eyes of a few people. For me it was just two, the farmer and the steel worker. I know there’s a fourth section, but without a walkthrough I couldn’t get to it. But the interesting possibility here centers around the people, seeing the world through their eyes. I thought that the game could have used a few more of them; like going from the farmer to the miller, to the baker, and then to the factory worker that benefits from it all. In going straight from the farmer to the steel worker I thought an opportunity was missed.

Then there’s the actual game play that’s suppose to mimic this dystopian atmosphere with simple actions like picking grain or pouring steal. They’re all repetitive, and come off as too easy with no roadblocks in your way. If the author is trying to convey that life for Russian’s in the fifties was hard, he almost did it. If he wasn’t so heavy handed about it and actually built a game within the world, not a bunch chores.

There’s not much here. The dark oppressive setting feels forced, and the game play is boring and repetitive. The more I think about it, the more I come to dislike it. The writing was good and makes you feel the dirt, but that’s all I have good to say about it. I scored it a 5.