Lifeline: Whiteout

A while ago, I was searching for a "choose your own adventure" type of game to play with my daughter. Unfortunately, not being native English speakers it was very difficult to find something suiting for a 4-year old and I ultimately gave up. In my search however, I did find an interesting game to play myself, namely Lifeline: Whiteout for IOS or Android.

Looks intriguing, doesn't it?

How does it play?

The way to play this game is hilariously simple. You just read some text, make one out of two decisions, then read some more. Sometimes you have to wait a while to get more text, because the protagonist is doing something, which gives it a more real-life feeling. It's completely up to you to chose when to respond, the game simply waits.

As basic as it gets

You also have the option to change a previously made decision. Of course, that means rewinding the story up to that point, because the decision you make decides which way the story will go. This also means that if you make a wrong decision, ultimately killing the character, you just scroll up and chose another option without having to play again from the top.

Being able to change decisions also allows for some fiddling around to see what happens when you take another path, because the story is in no way linear. There are definitely options that get the protagonist killed, but others simply offer another way to carry on, with different experiences and/or encounters along the way.

The Story

I won't reveal too much of the story of course, but it starts off when you are contacted by a man who has just woken up all alone in the middle of an arctic plane without any idea of who he is or what has happened. His only clues are a crashed snowmobile, a briefcase lying a bit further in the snow and a nametag on his clothes reading "V. Adams". You are apparently the only one Adams can contact and since he has just regained consciousness, he asks you to help him along to find out what has happened.

This is where the game truly shines. The writers of this game are truly gifted. I can't imagine how difficult it is to write this kind of story, but the amount of thought and effort thrown in really shows. Most of the time, the conversations are one on one, just you and Adams. Further in the story though, other characters show up, their voices displayed as text in another colour.

I do feel the one-on-one conversation concept allows for pouring in more emotion in the story, as you are constantly being addressed directly. This makes you feel the weight of the decisions you have to make for Adams all the more. I found myself hesitating quite often when making a decision, not to determine what would be most beneficial, but what would really keep him out of harm's way best. Sometimes though, regardless of how convinced you are of a decision, it still backfires and then you feel even worse.

it can really get intense

Compared to...

I don't really know what to compare Lifeline: Whiteout to. It certainly is more interactive than a book, but apart from the decision tree and different outcomes not that much more either. It certainly is entertaining and gripping though.

Pick this up if...

You like to read and make decisions. If you want to immerse yourself in an interesting story experience I can absolutely recommend this game. You can completely decide when and how long to play, making it a good 5-minute game (though it can certainly get out of hand if things heat up). I do feel like you get a lot back for the 2 $/€ you pay, especially with the replayability.

Don't bother if ...

You like a more action-oriented and/or graphical game. Reading and clicking is all you're going to do. If it's just the story premise that doesn't suit you, there is a whole library of other stories to chose from. Some in space, some grounded on earth with among others a detective story and a horror story. You can download the library app on IOS if you want a complete overview of all games and get one for free!

Please feel free to add comments and/or your own experiences with this game or others like it, I’m curious to know if there are other games like this with the same level of quality/depth. Or if you have a game suggestion for our 4-year old ^_^