Virginia begins by telling the player that the events of the game have been compiled from notes and case files to create the play they are about to experience. Like a play or film, the game lends itself to a variety of interpretations, a situation which the game wildly encourages.
Virginia is one of the most blatant attempts by a developer to blend cinematic techniques and games conventions. To the credit of 505 Games and Variable State, they have definitely hit the mark.
You as the player are Anne Tarver, a newly graduated special agent in the FBI. The opening moments of Virginia see you putting on your lipstick as you prepare for your welcoming ceremony to the FBI. Your first case sees you investigating the disappearance of a young boy, Lucas Fairfax, from his home in the unassuming town of Kingdom.
The town itself has its own secrets and hidden motivations, with an air force base near by, and individuals hiding their true natures from their family and friends.
And that’s not all you’re doing in Kingdom. You’ve also been assigned a partner, veteran agent Maria Halperin. She’s under suspicion from the senior agents. You have to watch her, and find out why she might not be trusted by those high up in the agency.
You’ve got to find the truth about the boy and the woman.
The player’s core gameplay loop is very simply, move around a set environment and click on highlightable objects. In this regard it is a very simple adventure game. There are no puzzles, and no real challenge in terms of skill. You look around fairly well realised environments, hunting for clues and trying to work out what’s going on in the story by means of context. This is where the game gets challenging. These items are not necessarily hidden, but often their meaning will be something that is only fully realised by the player later on.
So you walk around, and your cursor will highlight the objects you can interact with, then you do so. Often there will be two or three things that will offer insight into the narrative of the game, but in certain instances, I did find myself cursing as I picked up an object. There’s a tendency to jumpcut to the next scene immediately after picking up the key item, rather than letting the player look around any more. While this works on a cinematic level, carrying the narrative along, it results in some frustration for players as you are left without the chance to interpret the context of the scene fully if you accidentally progress the story. This is mostly just a nitpick though, It’s hard to argue that wanting to immerse yourself more in a story is a downside.
In a very deliberate move, the game features no dialogue, and very little text outside of environmental effects. As a narrative choice, this results in the game being incredibly open to interpretation. People do talk in the game, but you’re not supposed to hear it. Instead, scenes begin or end around conversations. The player is left to theorise for themselves as to what’s going on. In my case, this led to a lot of second guessing as I watched events unfold and constantly revised my version of the narrative. That narrative was enthralling though. As events play out, the player is immersed in the world and the characters, as simple movements of animation and the accompanying music capture the essence of the event far better than words.
Speaking of which, the music is astounding. Perfectly matched to the action, the direction is wonderful. Every high note and dip serenade the audience, leaving the lack of dialogue long forgotten. Even in the moments where the music is muted, the sheer absence of emotional manipulation works, the player being left to contemplate meanings themselves. Recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the music is integral to this game, as much as the graphics or gameplay. The effect cannot be understated. One particular moment in the game was like a punch to the gut as a result of a sharp change in the tone, underscoring the events in the narrative.
The game also features a very charming graphical style. The colours are all pastel shades and watercolour textures, and very simple colour schemes. All of the characters and locations are presented with a simplified caricature style, with chunky appendages and a focus on faces. It’s not exactly a unique look but it allows the developers to make the small cast of characters feel familiar, like images in a child’s story. This sense of other media being drawn on is something that is utilised throughout the game.
The game makes heavy use of cinematic techniques that don’t often get used in traditional games.. Here, the techniques are heavily integrated into the method of telling the story. The directors use jump cuts and sharp scene transitions to save time in explaining their narrative. An early sequence sees the player descend into the bowels of the FBI basement to meet their partner in a scene that is clearly X Files inspired. Rather than simply have the player walk down dozens of flights of stairs to get the point across, the developers choose an alternative approach. After an initial movement throughout indistinguishable corridors, then a descent down identical, empty stairwells, the player’s view smash cuts to the basement, then leaving a long walk onwards before even reaching the office.
While functionally this has the same effect as a long stairway, the cuts ends up disorienting the player, letting them infer the distance travelled, without being explicit.
This willingness to let the player experience the narrative without explicitly explaining anything is quite likely to be divisive among players. The frequent use of dream sequences and flashbacks and forwards don’t necessarily lend themselves to a straightforward understanding of the story. If a player isn’t willing to offer their own interpretation of events, this game could easily get frustrating. In particular, without spoilers, a long sequence near the end of the game has a lot going on in terms of metaphors and themes. While it’s not particularly complex in cinematic language, players that aren’t fans of that sort of storytelling may be dissatisfied. Personally, I found the final sections of the game incredibly compelling, as the pace rocketed on and the narrative began to tie up for an ending.
Yet in spite of every caveat that I’ve just given about frustration, for those willing to embrace it, Virginia is an excellent piece of work. It is an explicit crossover of cinema and film, with the narrative of the former being combined with the immersiveness of the latter. In this game, both aspects are equally essential. Virginia costs less than the price of most films. It takes about as long to experience. But it is a densely packed story, with a whole host of ideas going on under the surface for the player to experience.
You should play Virginia. I suspect that we may be seeing more games like this soon.
Virginia is available on Steam, Xbox One and PS4, retailing at £6.99