During my time reviewing games for Entertainium, I have been lucky enough to be able to review almost every game that Grundislav Games (mostly a solo venture helmed by Francisco González) has released. Back in 2014, they released A Golden Wake; a historical point-and-click set in Florida during the 1920s land boom, centred on the development of one of the first planned communities in America. Following the Wadjet Eye co-production of Shardlight in 2016 came Lamplight City in 2018; a Steampunk Victorian detective adventure set in the alternate universe of Vespuccia; a United States which remained part of the British Empire. Now seven years later, we get another look into this alternate universe with Rosewater, a Wild West tale set several years after the events of Lamplight City.
You play as Harley Leger, the sister of the late Bill Leger, who was killed at the start of Lamplight City. Leaving the city of New Bretagne following her brother’s death, she has headed west in search of new pastures, taking up a job as a journalist for the Rosewater Post, a provincial newspaper in the small western town where the gold rush (called aurum in game, after the latin name) has been and gone. Harley is tasked with interviewing local adventurer turned showman “Gentleman” Jake Ackerman. It’s not long before Jake has enticed Harley into joining his quest to find the fortune of Dr. Bennett Clark; a scientist who was experimenting with “aethericity” before his mysterious disappearance.
Alongside Jake you’re joined by a cadre of accomplices; Jake’s sharpshooter assistant Danny Luo, General Filomeno ‘Phil’ Marquez, a rebel leader from New Spain (Mexico), and Nadine Redbird, a Native Vespuccian from the Tohono Oʼodham people. Together via many differing twists and turns you learn more about Dr. Clark’s research and the impact it had on various groups, as well touching on other topics such as the New Spain war of independence and the prosperity and security of the O’odham nation. The cast is large and all the voice acting is excellent across the board, and while the plot takes a little while to get going, it is still well written and involving.
Similar to Lamplight City, the narrative also features a variety of branching paths. For example, early in the game you have to steal some supplies from a wagon in order to help out the O’odham, among other objectives. You’re given three different ways to do so; a purely stealthy approach, a distraction method of confusing the guards, or an all-out assault. Most of these decisions ultimately lead to similar conclusions, but they can impact the story in various ways down the line. The character variety definitely helps to keep things engaging since you almost always have companions to talk to, very much harkening to the ensemble Westerns such as The Magnificent Seven (1960) or The Professionals (1966).
Gameplay is the same tried and tested point-and-click interface we’re all very familiar with. Harley has an inventory and will need to solve puzzles in the world by talking to people, picking up objects and combining them with others. For the most part the “adventure game logic” is kept to a minimum, with most interactions feeling logical and understandable. There are some occasional more active elements like taking part in a shooting competition or having to reply with a correct line of dialogue within a time limit, but they’re fairly infrequent. Navigating around the world quickly is easy though thanks to double-clicking at the edge of the screen to jump to the next location, as well as being able to skip dialogue if desired (although the dialogue is frankly the main reason you’re playing the game).
Visually the game keeps the same style as Lamplight City with its 1990s aesthetic low fidelity graphics reminiscent of Beneath a Steel Sky, but substitutes the dark city streets for the wide vistas of the desert, alongside typical Wild West frontier towns and a variety of other locales which do tend to be a bit more colourful than the last game. The character animations look great and are nicely rotoscoped, which absolutely helps to give the game a sense of realism, despite the painterly backgrounds. The music from Mark Benis, who also did the soundtrack to the last game, feels appropriately Western themed and suitably dramatic in places, helping to add tension, drama and comedy to some scenes.
Rosewater doesn’t mess with the formula Lamplight City started and neither does it mess with the overall format of typical point-and-clicks, sticking very close to established methods of how they should operate. Given the boom in point-and-clicks over the last decade, predominantly on Steam, it can be difficult for some of them to stand out amongst the crowd. It’s Rosewater’s unique setting and worldbuilding which really helps to keep the engagement, tackling many modern issues through the benefit of the lens of alternate history. Vespuccia benefits from being similar but different to reality in believable ways, and it’s always fascinating to see the advancements they have made in some regards (airships and other steampunk technology) while also lacking in others. If you were looking for a solid adventure which nicely expands the singular world of Lamplight City, Rosewater delivers.
