A Deeply Memorable Experience About Grief and Loss
In recent years, I have felt overwhelmed with the number of amazing titles released every week. And so, no matter how fun a new title is, it is rare that one manages to leave a lasting impact on me. An impact so significant that, even if I never pick it up again, I will remember the way it made me feel. German indie developer Osmotic Studios, creators of Orwell as well as its sequel Orwell: Ignorance is Strength, excels at creating pervasive, narrative experiences that have stayed on my mind to this day. And so it is with much anticipation and high hopes that I jumped into the demo of Closer the Distance.
Closer the Distance is a slice-of-life simulator game, in which you manage the lives of the citizens of a very small, isolated village named Passerby. The opening scene does not pull any punches – within 10 minutes of having the demo open, I was feeling emotional and knew that sooner rather than later, I would be reduced to tears. Our focus is on Conny, nicknamed “Loom”, a young woman waiting for her sister Angie to return for dinner. Her family is getting increasingly impatient, when two police officers show up at their door. Angie has gotten into a tragic accident, and passed away.
At its core, Closer the Distance is a striking exploration of grief in its different forms.
The mother, Pia, is in denial and later turns to her faith in God to try and put together the best funeral for her daughter. The father, Axel, just tries to make himself feel useful somehow, unable to find rest without overexerting himself first. And weirdly, Conny does not seem to grieve at all: She can still hear her sister’s voice, urging her to help the community and make things right by her.
The gameplay in Closer the Distance is very unique – it is not every day that I play a character who has died.
During the day, the player will get to control the characters in the town in a way that is reminiscent of the Sims. You play as Angie, who is trying to guide the people she has left behind via the top down view. You are given information about the different characters’ mental state, desires and needs, and can choose to instruct them to carry out different activities. It starts off simple, with the player directing Conny to speak to the different villagers about Angie’s passing. At night, more insights on the events leading up to this point are given via flashbacks accompanied by Angie’s narration.
The further into the demo you get, the more characters you get to control, and time and energy become precious resources. For a game with such a slow pace, it can quickly become overwhelming – there is just so much to do before the funeral, and not enough time. And at the same time, tasks easily take up most of an in-game day – and yet time moves slowly, and you are left wondering: “Isn’t there something else I should be doing?”
With this, Closer the Distance shows how polished its mechanics are. While this might initially sound like a flaw, or the pacing being off, it feels very purposeful. Isn’t this what grief feels like, in the end? Completely overwhelming, and leaving you feeling helpless? And yet, time marches on and mundane life continues as nothing has happened. The sheep still need to be herded. The washed laundry needs to be hung out to dry. Your body continues to demand food and sleep.
Closer the Distance is an exercise in empathy.
Deeply Human: Navigating Diverse Struggles in ‘Closer the Distance
The small cast of characters is really fleshed out and portrays a diverse group of people grasping with their own struggles. Loss, trauma, a desire to leave the village and go to the city, illness,… Everyone in Passerby has something they are trying to get away from. This is reflected in the mechanics: While there are several stats such as hunger and sleep that all characters have in common, each of them have individual stats that fit their personality. Conny requires a certain amount of isolation to be happy, while the active Galya has a health stat that needs to be raised via exercise.
While no player will relate to every single character, the interface does a great job at giving insights on why they say the things they do, behave a certain way, and how they are feeling at specific points in time. And so, with time, I was able to empathise with all of them, even if I disagreed with their actions. The ability to jump between different characters helps explore their daily lives and their relationships, and the game will automatically pause when an important scene is about to play out, letting the player jump to the relevant character as to not miss it.
Closer the Distance will not be a good fit for anyone looking for a high octane gaming experience or a skill based challenge. However, it is a touching and emotional exploration of what happens in a small village after tragedy strikes, presented via unique and polished gameplay. The full release is scheduled for 2024, and I can’t wait to play the full story as soon as it’s available.
