Welcome To Elk Review

Synopsis:
Welcome to Elk is a biographical adventure set on an island like no other, where every character you encounter has a story to tell. From the weird and wonderful to the dark and desperate, all the tales told on Elk are based on true stories of life on the road less traveled.

Publisher: Triple Topping
Reviewed on: PC
Also available for: Xbox One, Mac

Developer: Triple Topping
Team: Andreas Busk, Anne Louise Laugesen, Astrid Mie Refstrup, Dennis Hansen, Karina Psoborg, Konrad Mampe, Mikkel Anttila, Murray Somerwolff, Simon Stalhandske
Storytellers: Ingrid Refstrup Majgaard, Jan Hyldgaard Christensen, Lauge Majgaard Christensen

Welcome to Elk is like nothing else I’ve played. It’s a weird and wonderful game full of heart and carries an emotional deck like none other. A love letter to storytelling, our oldest art form, in a way I’ve never seen before. The entire game only takes about three hours to play, but it’s impossible to put down and I couldn’t stop thinking about it hours after rolling the credits.

I would implore anyone interested to just play Welcome to Elk without knowing anything more. With that said, I will be trying to keep as spoiler-free as possible because the game deserves it.

Welcome to Elk bar scene — The beautiful art direction also only highlights objects and people you can interact with — *image captured by the author*

You play as Frigg, a young girl who has just arrived on Elk Island. You’re here to learn about carpentry from Jan, an older man and a friend of your father’s. The island is mostly just a collection of fishing supplies and cabins, but the location you’ll be spending most of your time in is the bar. The ‘Hermit Bar’ is where all of the citizens of the island hang out on a daily basis. You meet them all on your first night — a collection of mostly nice people who have their own unique personalities and stories to tell. Most of these characters are based on real people, or at least parts of them are. For example, one of the heaviest drinkers during your first night in the bar is Sue. You’ll learn later in the game just how much she likes to drink and how if “there’s no beer, she’s outta there.” An apparent common saying from the real person who inspired Sue.

Welcome to Elk mostly plays like a typical adventure game: you move Frigg around the island, interacting with objects and characters. There are no puzzle elements or fail-states; it’s a narrative-driven experience through and through. Although, there are several fun mini-games throughout the game. They mostly exist as ways to help the pacing. At the start, for example, Sue challenges Frigg to a dancing competition that involves pressing different face buttons at the right time. Later, there’s a golfing game that may or may not be a cameo of What The Golf? But not everything in Welcome to Elk is fun.

Welcome to Elk singing mini-game — A singing mini-game is both a happy and sad moment for Frigg during her stay on Elk Island — *image captured by the author*

Although the game features a stunning minimalist art style that looks like a kids cartoon with characters that walk with ragdoll physics, this is an adult game. At several points, you’ll have to play a mini-game that’s not fun at all. Instead, they’re emotionally draining and demanding of Frigg as a character. These are also some of the most beautiful moments in the game. They draw you in and connect you to the characters of Elk Island in an almost spiritual way.

Play

Each day Frigg will come across a new story happening on Elk Island and become directly involved. From someone searching for their parents, to a fishing trip on the lake and even finding a dead body. Every day is a new story for you to experience and new things to learn about the people on the island. There’s no ‘core narrative’ in Welcome to Elk. It’s all about the stories happening around Frigg.

On the developer Triple Topping website, they talk about how they wanted to use true stories in ethical ways. Each story in Welcome to Elk was told by people the team knew and they are used as ‘tall tales.’ Which is to say: the stories aren’t one-to-one recreations. Names and places have been changed and then those characters may be involved in a different story taking place the next day on the island.

Welcome to Elk interview clip still — One of the interview clips — *image captured by the author*

One of the most distinctive aspects of Welcome to Elk is the incorporation of the people that told these stories. At different points, it’ll cut away from Frigg to real-life interview clips of the people telling the true stories. It may seem weird at first, but they’re engaging stories and the interviews are an important part of the Welcome to Elk experience.

Welcome to Elk is one of the most unique games I’ve ever played. The way the game is able to incorporate real stories into not only Frigg’s journey, but the thematic journey of the player is truly inspired. Some of the themes in Welcome to Elk are going to be harder for some players to play and the game is often sad, but you can tell it was paramount for Triple Topping that everything was handled with such care and love. There’s salient care for the characters in the game and the real people who inspired them. This is an adventure game like none other that left me with a single tear running down my cheek as the credits began to roll. It wasn’t because the ending left me upset; I just felt touched by the game’s final moments in an almost religious sort of way.