ROSEWATER

Six years. That's how long it took Grundislav Games (essentially Francisco Gonzalez) to complete their next game, after the very interesting Lamplight City. A time that is certainly too long for any project, let alone when it comes to a video game, where, as we all know, any lengthy procrastination can easily result in a mediocre and outdated product. But not here. Rosewater is one of the rare cases of adventures that, even if released five years later in the exact same state, would still create similar impressions. This is an adventure that I find it hard to think how its creator will be able to top in the future, while at the same time raising the bar of quality for the adventures that follow. But let's take things from the beginning.

Rosewater is set in 1850, in an alternate version of N. America, called Vespuccia. It's practically the same universe we encountered in Lamplight City, except that here we're not witnesses of a New Orleans' steampunk version, but a more "down-to-earth" version of the Wild West, but without missing references to alternative energy methods, such as "aethericity". The protagonist of the adventure is Harley Leger, sister of Bill Lager, a name perhaps familiar to those who have played Lamplight City, who after a lifetime in the brutality of boxing (she became known by the nickname Spitfire), decides to follow the path of journalism.

An advertisement in the local newspaper in the town of Rosewater, which was looking for editors, was enough for her to pack up her things from New Bretagne, take the first available train and visit the infamous Western Vespuccia. First impressions were certainly not the best possible. On the one hand, a guy tried, unsuccessfully, to trick her and rob her; on the other hand, just before she arrived at the newspaper building, a poor guy was ejected from the editor's office and found himself in a bad way. Somewhere here we are faced with our first dilemma, namely whether to help or ignore the victim, which has an impact on both the development of the story and our impending relationship with the character in question. We open a small parenthesis here: in general, such decisions are the backbone of Rosewater and largely determine how people behave towards us, and what challenges we will be called upon to overcome. Closing parenthesis.

So, regardless of the above incident, Harley finally meets with the publisher and as her first assignment, she is assigned to interview Gentleman Jack, a well-known local hero and showman, who happens to be in the town of Rosewater at the time. Said interview, after various mishaps with Jack's former associates, ends up being episodic. Seeing that Harley is a "hard egg to crack", Gentleman Jack and his Asian assistant Danny Luo, decide to make her an offer for a treasure hunt. Specifically, the stash of scientist Bennet Clark, whose experiments with aethericity have cost the lives of fifteen people in Lamplight City, with him having literally disappeared off the face of the earth. Is there anything better than the treasure of a man no one will ever look for?

An admittedly dangerous mission that surely needs a few more partners to accomplish, but also a transport vehicle, as the town Dr. Clark last spotted, El Presidio, is nine to ten days away from Rosewater. And it is here that a chain of events begins, with Hispanic revolutionary Filomeno "Phil" Marquez, native herbalist Nadine Redbird and wagon driver Lola Johnson rounding out the team's lineup. A team that will witness all the happenings that can happen in the Wild West.

In practice, Rosewater largely adopts the concept of the roadtrip, with the journey of six heteroclite characters, from Rosewater to El Presidio, taking up a significant part of the narrative. Consequently, there is a strong emphasis on character sketching, after all, how else can you pass the time without countless hours of conversation, while also beautifully portraying both the good and the bad of the Wild West. Our heroes will be confronted with charlatans who take advantage of people's ignorance, desperadoes, "haunted" buildings, cults of fanatics, and even less dangerous situations, such as helping a theater group improve their performance.

Which events come our way is largely random, and how we successfully overcome each challenge often affects Harley's relationship with her companions. Many times, our companions will suggest a solution to the problem at hand, and it is up to us to decide which one to go with. So as we agree or disagree with them, the corresponding "bond" with Harley is formed, which can lead to many different situations, both in-between and not, until we reach the end game, and our behavior towards other people, which can range from being a good "Samaritan" to always going looking for a fight, has its own impact as well.

Besides, during the journey and while we are in Johnson's wagon, we can talk to them, but not with everyone, so we have to make a choice who we want to get along with the most, which can even lead to taking on "personal" missions when they ask for it. So it goes without saying that it is impossible in one playthrough to see everything, and Rosewater is one of those titles that "scream" to be played over and over again.

But it's impressive how well Francisco Gonzales and co-writer Jess Haskins have managed to marry all of this. Their pen is sharp, sometimes humorous and sometimes quite dark and emotional (just reading the diaries, you realise how much work has gone into it), the characters have unique personalities, with their likes and dislikes, that make you really care about them - either positively or negatively. Especially, after some events towards the latter stages of the game, you will feel very strange, as if it's the life of a friend you've known for years. A rare achievement.

But apart from the various decisions and the dynamic plot, Rosewater is a "normal" point and click adventure. There is an inventory, unlike Lamplight City, the controls are simple (with a hotspot indicator if needed) and the puzzles are in a familiar range, though not of high difficulty. This is due to the fact that all puzzles follow the realm of logic completely, the items to use are few and found almost always close to the area you are in. The exception is El Presidio, where we will need to investigate a bit more and get more creative, however even there the game doesn't slip up, as there are alternative ways to solve each puzzle, even if it seems like we've hit a wall.

For example, the game adopts the concept of money, crowns as they are called, so Harley may need to pay to get something, but there is a chance she may not have enough coins in her purse. However, there are ways to earn money: for example, if we have successfully completed a mission during our journey (good deeds are rewarded), sell an item, or even claim a discount from the vendor in question if we agree to run an errand for them. The game has no dead ends and there is always a way to move forward, either nicely or... wildly! Even if we don't make it through his mini-games (like shooting, fishing, hunting), it's okay. There will always be an alternative, even if it might... hurt our ego.

So one realizes that Rosewater is not an ordinary adventure game. The years of development and the perseverance in the original vision of Grundislav Games, paid off, as the experience with the game is so intense and emotional, that it would not be unreasonable to claim that in the future it can be remembered as a classic representative of the genre, next to the best. A claim that extends to the superb visual design, with the rotoscope-style graphics composing a stunning effect. And the depictions of the Wild West, even the alternative one, are masterful, full of vividness (passers-by appearing, the wind moving branches/leaves, etc.) and excellent colouring. Special mention should go to the voice-over, in addition to the equally impressive soundtrack, which features top industry names (you'll recognise voices you've heard in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Baldur's Gate 3) and they deliver their parts flawlessly - undoubtedly one of the best voice-overs we've ever heard.

To sum up, Rosewater is an adventure that can be a benchmark for the genre. If we want to be strict, the relatively low level of difficulty of the puzzles and the somewhat abrupt finale might slightly dampen the impression. However, its amazing writing, the great characters it features, its unparalleled atmosphere and the unique sense of "journey" that conveys to the player, make up an adventure that will be unforgettable for anyone who decides to enter its world. And if they want to, it will be there to relive it in their own way...

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