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.