Indie Game Review: The Cherry Orchard
I am not what one would call a playphile. Team Dogpit’s rendition of The Cherry Orchard has given me a newfound appreciation for the medium as a whole. I grew up being educated on Romeo and Juliet as well as other similar works. Therefore it was incredibly refreshing to experience a play from outside the red, white and blue education system. I think there is real value in experiencing old things in new ways. There are a lot of new ways to tell a story and Manuela Malasaña has done a fantastic job.
The first thing one might pick up on with The Cherry Orchard is that it has stylized 3D artwork. Said artwork has been put into the framework of a Dynamic Visual Novel. I don’t know if the genre has been coined yet, but if not, I would like to officially name it. A moving visual novel with influences from the stage (Dynamic Visual Novel). Which is different from games like, Hyperdimension Neptunia, that use Live2D-Type animation. Those games have their charm, but this game might be the beginning of a new genre of visual novel.
Another really neat thing about The Cherry Orchard is that it is unintentionally(or very intentionally) falling into theme with the trend of using ‘Cyberpunk Colors’. A contrast between bright hues and dark shadows. It gives the whole thing a very fresh look compared to the much more subdued colors of a live stage performance. I say live, because the actual game is a real stage performance. The voices behind the 3D models are just as real as they would be on stage. The animation although rough at times does a very good job of mimicking the real thing.
When I left a regular review on the steam page I commented that the game itself was well worth it’s asking price. It is likely cheaper than the ticket to a live performance. Which no one should be going to this year or next year based on how the pandemic is going. So, honestly a Dynamic Visual Novel rendition of the 117 year old play might be worth it. You don’t even have to be into plays. It does a very good job of just being a kinetic visual novel if that's more your speed. The characters are fun and the voice acting is top notch. I particularly like the performance of Hermes by Matthew Curtis.
I deeply enjoyed the story even though there wasn’t anything to bombastic happening. It reminded me a lot of the only good parts of Umineko When They Cry. Where you get to listen to the kids dissecting their parents’ childish behavior and squabbles. You want to keep reading because a lot of the time this isn’t a world you are privy to. I’d go as far to say that this format likely made the play itself a lot more interesting for people who would normally call it a waste of time. The updated language aides in making it easy for anyone to understand what’s going on.
Along with that, because it is a game and a play. The Cherry Orchard is able to use visuals unavailable to a live stage play. The metaphors are now visual in the most literal sense. One of my favorite moments is seeing a character’s model change to imply a feeling or an idea. I won’t spoil it, but you’ll know what I’m talking about the minute you get there. It’s a fun visual that reminds me of the Scarecrow sequences from the Arkham games.
Alongside the visuals is some pretty great music. The feeling I get off it is elegant vaporwave. Now, as a genre, vaporwave is hit or miss for me, but the use of it in The Cherry Orchard was well suited. It didn’t distract but it wasn’t white noise in the background either. I believe that Jordan Roherty did an excellent job with what they were given. It can’t be an easy task to compose music for such a unique project. I hope to see more of Jordan’s work in the future. I think vaporwave might even be growing on me now. Which itself is a miracle.
The last thing I want to talk about is game development in general. It’s a subject that can’t really be avoided here. Team Dogpit despite the name is made up of one person. The amount of work that went into this game is absolutely incredible when you take that into consideration. As a game developer myself I know how hard the medium is. This game is a passion project, but it is well worth the attention it doesn’t seem to be getting. I would love seeing more plays adapted into Dynamic Visual Novels. It would give them new life. We have Manuela Malasaña to thank for that. Therefore anyone reading this article should go to steam right now and pick up the game. Make sure to leave a review when you finish it. Hell, post about it on twitter and then go write some fanfiction about the OTP that is Peter & Hermes. It’s the least that can be done. This game is owed a Kotaku article, but I hope mine will do.
Now that we’ve reached the end. I want to thank you for reading. I have left some vital links down below.
You can purchase the game here. Which you should.
Steam Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1109490/The_Cherry_Orchard/
Team Dogpit: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeamDogpit
Manuela’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManuelaXibanya
