'The sky is sick, and the streets weep molten metal. And no one's sure how we got here.'
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (13th Jun. – 19th Jun., 2023).
By the end of the 1980s, with a comedy-driven formula, Sierra had reached the limits of AGI, its game engine designed to facilitate the creation of graphical adventures. To diversify its catalogue, Sierra commissioned a game from Evryware and gave them carte blanche to produce it. The collaboration between the two studios goes back to Championship Boxing (1983), which incorporated elements of strategy into its boxing matches, before Evryware went to Brøderbund with their series The Ancient Art of War (1984). Manhunter: New York (1988) was a first foray into the world of adventure games and a significant departure from Sierra's narrative habits. The game was particularly dark and intended for an adult audience, introducing very explicit violence. The latter may have indirectly influenced the studio, which became grittier in the 1990s with titles such as Phantasmagoria II: A Puzzle of Flesh (1996). More subtly, Manhunter's close-ups left their mark, appearing in Sierra's own titles as early as Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon (1989).
The Manhunter series recently inspired Ross Joseph Gardner and Aviv Salinas to create their psycho thriller Elsewhere in the Night. The player assumes the role of Lady Tick Tock as she investigates the disappearance and murder of Logan Cole, the latest in a series of gruesome killings. While EGA's colour palette and shot composition, with its disquieting urban frontality, are immediately reminiscent of Manhunter, there are several structural differences that call into question the relevance of such a tribute project. Firstly, Elsewhere in the Night reverses Manhunter's premise, pitting the detective directly against the city's legitimate authority: the title rejects the sterile apolitical nature of the original game to offer a brief critique of the police and capitalism, playing with an aesthetic reminiscent of cyberpunk. This is a laudable intention, but the discourse stands in stark contrast to the game's visual style and certain representational choices.
Because it is so concise, the title never really develops its subversive discourse, wandering awkwardly between criticism and rehashing the clichés of 1980s punk fiction and alternative comics. It is difficult to glean anything from the vulgarity of the various characters other than the simplistic vision of a decaying society. Similarly, the nudity of the antagonist and his sexual perversity echo the codes developed in the psycho thriller genre – which has often indulged in inappropriately depicting the disturbed psyches of criminals – but mostly feel very uncomfortable. Throughout the various interactions, Lady Tick Tock is constantly returned to her status as a woman, which she never really manages to transcend: the end of the game marks a shift in her personality towards a more amiable and sensitive attitude, reverting to a traditional vision of femininity.
Elsewhere in the Night is thus torn between retrograde influences and a deliberately more modern discourse, without managing to find an effective and ingenious synthesis. By never really subverting the visual codes of Manhunter, the title is forced to make major concessions in order to function. In particular, the game refuses to copy Manhunter's gratuitous violence through disturbing close-ups of corpses, despite the killer's gruesome modus operandi, lest it become obscenely voyeuristic. This is perhaps an admission of failure, especially when comparing Elsewhere in the Night to titles such as the Switch remake of Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Kōkeisha (2021) or Paranormasight (2023). Both of these games manage to depict death explicitly, emphasising its tragic aspect and how it expresses the rupture of the social contract through a frightening sobriety.
Limited by its form, Elsewhere in the Night can only hint at anti-capitalist imagery, but remains largely empty. This is particularly unfortunate when compared to another project by Ross Joseph Gardner, Blood Nova (2022), which handled its references much more elegantly. Inspired by a more contemplative point-n-click tradition, such as Future Wars (1989), Loom (1990) and the works of Wadjet Eye Games, Blood Nova constructed a much more successful discourse on nostalgia and love, both through its dialogue and its wistful art direction. Though not unpleasant thanks to its accessible puzzle formula and notable for being free, Elsewhere in the Night struggles to properly mobilise Manhunter, whose historical relevance remains essentially technical. As such, Elsewhere in the Night features some charming locations, but remains a rather pointless exercise in reference.
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (13th Jun. – 19th Jun., 2023).
By the end of the 1980s, with a comedy-driven formula, Sierra had reached the limits of AGI, its game engine designed to facilitate the creation of graphical adventures. To diversify its catalogue, Sierra commissioned a game from Evryware and gave them carte blanche to produce it. The collaboration between the two studios goes back to Championship Boxing (1983), which incorporated elements of strategy into its boxing matches, before Evryware went to Brøderbund with their series The Ancient Art of War (1984). Manhunter: New York (1988) was a first foray into the world of adventure games and a significant departure from Sierra's narrative habits. The game was particularly dark and intended for an adult audience, introducing very explicit violence. The latter may have indirectly influenced the studio, which became grittier in the 1990s with titles such as Phantasmagoria II: A Puzzle of Flesh (1996). More subtly, Manhunter's close-ups left their mark, appearing in Sierra's own titles as early as Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon (1989).
The Manhunter series recently inspired Ross Joseph Gardner and Aviv Salinas to create their psycho thriller Elsewhere in the Night. The player assumes the role of Lady Tick Tock as she investigates the disappearance and murder of Logan Cole, the latest in a series of gruesome killings. While EGA's colour palette and shot composition, with its disquieting urban frontality, are immediately reminiscent of Manhunter, there are several structural differences that call into question the relevance of such a tribute project. Firstly, Elsewhere in the Night reverses Manhunter's premise, pitting the detective directly against the city's legitimate authority: the title rejects the sterile apolitical nature of the original game to offer a brief critique of the police and capitalism, playing with an aesthetic reminiscent of cyberpunk. This is a laudable intention, but the discourse stands in stark contrast to the game's visual style and certain representational choices.
Because it is so concise, the title never really develops its subversive discourse, wandering awkwardly between criticism and rehashing the clichés of 1980s punk fiction and alternative comics. It is difficult to glean anything from the vulgarity of the various characters other than the simplistic vision of a decaying society. Similarly, the nudity of the antagonist and his sexual perversity echo the codes developed in the psycho thriller genre – which has often indulged in inappropriately depicting the disturbed psyches of criminals – but mostly feel very uncomfortable. Throughout the various interactions, Lady Tick Tock is constantly returned to her status as a woman, which she never really manages to transcend: the end of the game marks a shift in her personality towards a more amiable and sensitive attitude, reverting to a traditional vision of femininity.
Elsewhere in the Night is thus torn between retrograde influences and a deliberately more modern discourse, without managing to find an effective and ingenious synthesis. By never really subverting the visual codes of Manhunter, the title is forced to make major concessions in order to function. In particular, the game refuses to copy Manhunter's gratuitous violence through disturbing close-ups of corpses, despite the killer's gruesome modus operandi, lest it become obscenely voyeuristic. This is perhaps an admission of failure, especially when comparing Elsewhere in the Night to titles such as the Switch remake of Famicom Tantei Club: Kieta Kōkeisha (2021) or Paranormasight (2023). Both of these games manage to depict death explicitly, emphasising its tragic aspect and how it expresses the rupture of the social contract through a frightening sobriety.
Limited by its form, Elsewhere in the Night can only hint at anti-capitalist imagery, but remains largely empty. This is particularly unfortunate when compared to another project by Ross Joseph Gardner, Blood Nova (2022), which handled its references much more elegantly. Inspired by a more contemplative point-n-click tradition, such as Future Wars (1989), Loom (1990) and the works of Wadjet Eye Games, Blood Nova constructed a much more successful discourse on nostalgia and love, both through its dialogue and its wistful art direction. Though not unpleasant thanks to its accessible puzzle formula and notable for being free, Elsewhere in the Night struggles to properly mobilise Manhunter, whose historical relevance remains essentially technical. As such, Elsewhere in the Night features some charming locations, but remains a rather pointless exercise in reference.