a perfectly fine keyhunt, though the reality of cults and their slow inducement via gentle attrition is rushed for the sake of a convenient background. despite the lack of any actual threat to the player, there remains a cloying presence on the empty compound which hangs thick over every step in progression. there is no conclusion, only an inevitability.

somewhat spoilers, but in the vein of believability i wish more care was taken into portraying James both in voice and writing; cult leader who seemingly coerced tens of people into militant aggression and mass self-harm also seen fumbling over nudie magazines and his own safe lock, rehearsing his empty speeches within earshot of a believer.

In many ways a standard walking sim, but there's an ineffable something that, compared to others in the genre, Sagebrush absolutely nails. Is it the way it humanizes its subject matter--often sensationalized? The protagonist, maybe?

I'll say this: a lot of environmental storytelling games have an "empty showroom" feel, where a town (lighthouse, forest, what-have-you) has been conveniently vacated for us to gawk at. The protagonist is oddly removed from the proceedings--a player-insert, or perhaps voyeur. (As much as I liked Gone Home, I didn't buy that these people were related to me.) In others, the spotlight is on the protagonist's psyche, with the environment rendered little more than a pretty but irrelevant set-piece for them to navel-gaze at.

Sagebrush doesn't fall into either of these traps. The protagonist's presence makes the story of the people who lived here much more real, and her trajectory through the environment tells a story about her, too. The tense moments reflect a particular person's fears. I thought these elements were interwoven really well, telling a story about the mundane horror of cults: thought control, sexual abuse, and shame at having been abused. I can't say I loved some of the pixel-hunting for keys, but I found it very emotionally affecting.

Essentially, a walking sim inside a cult compound. You arrive in the late evening, because why would you want to see anything? You don't need the sun, here's a tiny missable flashlight you can use to barely see. What do you mean blundering around in the dark isn't fun??

Everything is told through written notes and tape recordings. If you're hiding a secret in a cult, what better way to hide your guilt in a note someone could find laying around??

You begin to ignore the same creaking noise because it has proven to never be anything. It's the same noise, over and over. You lose all sense of dread.

It's a short, cheap walk with nothing original. You hold out hope only to be disappointed in the end that it is indeed, a walking sim spoken through notes. Bummer.