theindiegamesautistic

[theindiegamesautistic]

Carto

once again, I hope this is spoiler free (I did my best)

I got this in the new year and it was a lovely way to decompress post exam.

You play as a young girl (called carto) who is trying to find her grandmother's airship after falling out during a storm. During this, you explore multiple biomes with their own colour schemes and sets of characters.

As well as interacting with characters and objects, you can open up the map tab and move around pieces of the map, which causes the world to move to match.

It is worth noting that this game is story based and not open world, so you may not be able to interact with objects until the appropriate time in the story.

It took me about 7.5hrs to finish the narrative, and I did not complete all side quests. I found the puzzles slowly increase in difficulty, so that I was eased in and then they slowly became challenging.

Also, i can't explain it, but the character of carto (as well as quite a few of the other characters) gives me big Autism Vibes™.

sensory experience:

The game has music, which changes as the story progresses. it is usually light and bouncy in style. There are also ambient sounds, such as the wind, depending on the environment/biome you are in. It makes a sound when characters speak (not a voice, more like the odd video game talking), when you move prices of the map around and there's footstep noises when you walk.

The ambient, music and SFX volume are all controllable separately in the settings menu, as well as the brightness and the master volume.

The overall colours change depending on the biome, but they are mostly muted colours (I didn't find any of them too bright)

As you walk around on a map piece, if the edges are visible, they move around to keep you in the middle of the screen. I find this can make me a little nauseous in some chapters where it's more noticeable.

In chapter 7, there are a few moments when the whole field of view shakes and there is rumbling heard.

emotional experience:

Overall, the game is fairly relaxed. There is not a time limit and you can't die.

It is slightly emotional, as your character is looking for their lost grandma. There are also other characters who are separated from their family members and one character mentions how it's just him and his dad since he "lost" his mum. This is a short conversation and the topic doesn't come up again.

During chapter 7, there is a scene that created mild stress for me, as the speech from the other characters and the visuals make it feel like you must act quickly.

Did I find it accessible?

easy of learning controls ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I found the controls simple to learn. On the map tab, which controls to use are displayed as there are a few to remember, and I found this incredibly helpful.

processing speed/reaction time requirements: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

None of the game requires a fast processing speed or reaction time

focus requirement: ⭐⭐⭐

I found it needed a moderate level of focus, as solving the puzzles often requires remembering things that have been said to you previously. The focus doesn't need to be maintained (no elements of the game punish the player for losing focus momentarily) however, many clues to solve the puzzles are given by characters earlier in the game, so it can be a little slower if you miss these clues (however, for some, more tricky, puzzles, there is prompting)

Also, multiple of the puzzles required visualisation.

Overall, I found carto accessible, if a little hard on days that I was tired/struggling to focus. I was able to access all parts of the game.

overall ratings

sweet scenes:🤗🤗🤗🤗quite a few

happy stims while playing: ✨✨✨✨lots

time lost that i didn't notice: ⌚⌚⌚quite a bit

bear hugs:🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻 unlimited (but only if you want them)

Amount I related to the main character: ♾️♾️♾️ not neurotypical

[theindiegamesautistic]

A Short hike

probably spoiler free (I did my best, but no guarantees)

An impulsive lockdown purchase that I have yet to regret.

The idea is that you are a bird (I know, already brilliant) and you must climb to the top of hawk peak to get phone signal, so you can receive an important phonecall.

There's loads of other little guys (various creatures) to speak to with side quests and problems for you. Some of them just want a chat and they have some wonderful bits of life advice (I'm slightly joking, but some of its funny)

it claims to be 90 minutes of gameplay, and maybe, if someone with neurotypical level focusing skills made extra sure to stick to only the main quest with maximum efficiency, they could potentially complete it in a time close to that. I think I took about 4hrs to get to the top of hawk peak, then there's plenty left to do.

Personally, I don't think I've "completed" it. The boats update added more things to find and I know I've not found every golden feather yet. It's open world and there's enough going on that you can find many hours of activities, including toast!

sensory experience:

(this is based on my experience of it, so there's a chance I've missed bits)

It is in autumn colours, mostly muted, with some bright reds and greens (as shown in the picture above)

it has music that changes as the environment/circumstances change and feels like it progresses as you progress.

There are also background sounds as you interact with the environment (fires crackling, the boats engine, wind) and these, when playing with headphones, have a 3D effect (i.e. if the fire is on your characters left, you will hear the crackling on your left)

You can fly/dive with quite significant speed, causing the scenery to move fast rapidly, which made me a little dizzy, but it is difficult to create this situation by accident and it is not a required part of the game.

There is also a side of the island that is constantly experiencing thunder storms. It wasn't loud or unexpected enough to make me jump and there's no strobing, but it was definitely noticeable.

emotional experience:

Your character is unable to die and will not miss the phone call if you take a long time to get up hawk peak, which for me, lowers the stress.

Around the area with the thunderstorm, there is a small graveyard, but the style of the graphics means there's no names or any other details visible.

There are no deaths in the game.

The topic of the phonecall is revealed to be important to your character, and I believe it's implied that they are nervous about it, but you don't get more details until later.

Overall, it's fairly emotionally light and all characters are broadly friendly (some are a little blunt when they run out of things to say and want to get on with their task, but aren't we all)

Did I find it accessible?

(this is specific to me and what I find makes a game accessible, but it might be useful to people with similar access needs)

easy of learning controls: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I found the controls intuitive and simple. Information is given by characters in the game, which means you can start immediately, however I do wish there was somewhere all the controls where written that I could refer back to without having to end the game (there might be, but if there is, I haven't found it)

processing speed/reaction time requirements: ⭐⭐⭐

the main quest doesn't require fast reactions or processing, however, there are a few side quests that do. these are not critical to the game, however, I found how long I needed to spend to complete them slightly frustrating. However, most of the side quests do not require fast processing.

focus requirement: ⭐⭐

the perspective changes within the game means that you sometimes need to change keys to walk in a straight line, which can mean you go off in an unexpected direction.

overall, yes, I found I was able to access all aspects of the game, even though a small number of things took me a little longer.

overall ratings

autumn vibes: 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁 very

happy stims while playing: ✨✨✨✨ quite a few

time lost that i didn't notice:⌚⌚⌚⌚ lots

boats:🚤 only one that you get to drive, but it's alot of fun