I AM DRATULA
2025 might be the year I have played the most indie games, ever. I almost feel like I'm padding my "games beaten" list at this point.
Anyways: ENA. I remember watching the videos a while back, getting it in my recommended list on youtube, and I had two thoughts: 1. This is weird as shit what the fuck is going on; and 2: This feels like a video game
Well, lo and behold, a game is real! While I wouldn't say I was like, actively looking forward to it, I was quite surprised and happy to hear that it dropped, and it was something that I wanted to get my hands on, even after watching a friend play it. It's not a long experience, as it only took me a couple hours to beat it, and a little over 6 to 100% it, but it IS only the first of a few chapters.
You ever seen LSD: Dream Emulator? Imagine that, with quests, talkable NPCs, and an equally confusing story. That's what ENA is. I remember when I first watched the videos (I believe I first saw Extinction Party) my thoughts started at the egglikes Vinny Vinesauce used to play YEARS back, just very strange walking simulator, OCCASIONALLY interrupted by a CD-I cutscene; animation splayed over the 3D landscape. Playing Dream BBQ, it feels like just that. To make it more of a game, they also added in quests, and multiple paths, on top of just exploring the world and meeting the wacky characters. I think they successfully translated the feel of the videos into video game form, plus extra. Which is funny, cause the videos had video game feel. It's like a weird, reverse engineering or something. Reminds me of my favorite game: LEGO Prince of Persia: The Game. The video game based off the toy set based off the movie based off the video game.
Because of what the videos are, and how the video game managed to translate that, while the gameplay might be simple, it's EXACTLY what I expected, in a good way. The multiple paths and how they intersect, as well as the openness of the world leading to you Not necessarily having to start quests before you can progress them leads to quite a bit of replayability, which is only enhanced by the achievements and supporter edition collectables. Speaking of...
There's a certain vibe Undertale has. You remember all of the odd secrets, like Gaster, or hallways that would only sometimes appear? That same vibe is what Dream BBQ's achievements and collectables give off in how they work. You're probably never going to get most of the achievements in a first, casual playthrough because of how WEIRD and SPECIFIC they are; and the collectables are usually hidden in very strange corners of the world, some that are a little more reasonable, others that are just like... WHY would you go there. For a game like this, it's perfect. Even if I got really frustrated at some of the parkour needed, or how some bits are just like "stare at the roof for 10 actual real life minutes". It's incredible what game devs can have players do with the promise of achievements. "Please jump off the edge of the map multiple times until a dog randomly appears" < statements generated by the absolutely insane
I'm hesitant to just call this section "story", since I can't really do a deep dive in how the story was written or anything. ENA is a very artistic series, and the game is no different. It's not very... straightforward. It is, kinda in a way. It's enough for you to be able to follow everything to play the game. I'm not really sure exactly how to say it, but there's more than what's just said, and it's up to you to interpret it. Kinda like other indie projects that might get eaten up by Game Theory, there MIGHT be implied "lore?" behind everything, and other bits might be like more traditional art, where the meaning depends on the consumer (player in this case). That's part of the fun of the videos. That's part of the fun of the game.
The plot is centered around finding "THE BOSS". Many people exclaim they are THE BOSS, before being denied said title, and we learn to get to THE BOSS, we gotta find these genies to clear away the smoke blocking the island THE BOSS is on. I think that's as simple as I can make it. Chapter 1, which we have access to, is centered around finding one of what seems to be 3 genies. Here comes the part where it gets weirder. The genie is the bathroom. The bathroom has many lines where it sounds like a religious experience. There are people searching for the bathroom, which you need to create life to get to, but others go to a party known as the purge event where they turn into dog creatures and get eaten, where if you do this and take the wrong path the g-bathroom is dead. Make sense? No? Awesome. But there's meaning here! Even if I'm not smart enough to get all of it! When you reach the genie the right way, she gives you a desire. There is the correct option of clearing the smoke, but the others are asking for forgiveness, for happiness. And she speaks like a church chant. The bathroom has 2 stalls with a confessional window. The whole thing clearly is an allegory for like, seeking forgiveness, what people do to find god (the bathroom), how going down the wrong path LITERALLY makes it so you cannot get forgiveness. I'm not the person to really deep dive this, that's Game Theory's job, but there is something here for interpreting art, and that's kinda awesome. It's also why I can't really be traditional about talking about the story. Something I'm very interested to see if the next chapters expand on are the themes of war; how ENA seems to be connected to being an east Asian war veteran? The outfit, the intro seeming like a bombed village, some of the music, how everyone seems to absolutely hate her (even the genie saying she does not deserve forgiveness). There's something here for both in-universe lore, and what it artistically represents. Something about the horrors of war, something about the pain a soldier inflicts and what that does to them, as well as what others think of that. They're cooking something.
Here's something I can be a little more confident on talking about. The cast of idiots this world is inhabited with. 70% of the joy of this game is walking around and talking to new weirdos. I won't talk about Everyone, cause that's... a lot. But I'll mention some of my favorites.
All of the characters in this game are very creative, each with a (mostly) unique animation style, each speaking a different language; it's weird, it's enthralling, it's amazing.
I mean, as I've said, the art of this game, both literally and... educationally? interpretationally? metaphorically? is the most important part of the game. I'd say it IS the reason to play it. I feel like I've already pretty much said how special the visuals of the game are, but just to kinda summarize, I love the fusion of 3D and 2D, I love the wide variety of animation styles, the vastly different landscapes and textures used; it's a chaotic mishmash, and it works.
The music I believe is made by the same people that made the tracks for the videos, and their work is still very good. It's just as all over the place as the visuals are, yet still matches the vibes perfectly. I'm quite partial to the title screen, the music that plays as you climb up to the bathroom, the music that plays in Seal House that sounds like Zelda and increases the similarities, and the song that plays in the dying area post turning off the smoke (that's also a callback to the first video Auction Day)
My 4th indie game in a year; what have I become?
This was a "simple" experience, but one I quite enjoyed. Honestly, the main complaint I had is I didn't think it was a Deltarune situation going in, and I was kinda sad it ended where it did. I'm excited for the rest of the game to be opened up. A good short walking simulator with lots to explore is good for the soul.
I'm glad that an actual video game was finally made; it feels like this was the inevitable direction with how playable the videos felt. I linked two of em up above, but also check out Temptation Stairway (the longest one) and Power of Potluck, the last two videos. You'll get the vibes of the game right by watching them, honestly.
10/10. A perfect playable representation of some very, very strange videos. I just wish more was available now.