I was really excited about Wayward Strand when I attended PAX 2019. I, unfortunately, didn’t get to play the demo — it was packed at all times. Great for developer Ghost Pattern; disappointing for me.

Nonetheless, the game’s demo arrived on my home PC over the weekend thanks to LudoNarroCon, and I finally got to find out what this Aussie game is all about.

The demo is only about 15 minutes long and clearly a work in progress, but it’s enough to get a feel for the core experience.

You play as Casey, a teenage girl visiting the airship hospital where her mother works. Arriving early in the morning, Casey’s mum runs off to her shift and Casey is left to explore at will. She has a goal, though: learn as much as she can about the people on board and the history of the airship itself. She’s planning to write about the ship for her school newspaper — and there might be more to this hospital than meets the eye.

Wayward Strand is point-and-click-lite. You choose which room or section of the ship to enter as you would in a traditional point-and-click adventure, but there are no fiddly puzzles or spam-clicking to progress — at least not in the demo. The game is focused on telling a character-driven story and letting player choice shape outcomes.

A key feature is that life aboard the ship unfolds in real time. A clock in the upper-right corner tracks the day, and characters follow their own routines — moving, talking, doing specific activities at specific times. They aren’t waiting around for Casey, as NPCs often do. Choose to talk to one person and you may miss someone next door, who moves on and isn’t in the mood to chat by the time you’re done.

In my first playthrough I spoke with a lovely woman named Ida, who happily answered questions about her life and the ship. In a second run I wandered into a room with an extremely confident gentleman named Neil who was interviewing another resident, Mrs. Fitzgerald, who more or less implied there are NSFW photos of her from her younger years. She was hilarious — a couple of her throwaway lines made me laugh out loud.

The writing seems solid. The characters I met felt distinct and interesting. Sometimes there was voice acting and sometimes there wasn’t — understandable for a WIP — but I hope Ghost Pattern is aiming for full VO, as it adds a lot of personality.

The voice work also enhances the ambience: PA announcements, the hospital’s buzz, and the murmur of conversations you pass by. Overhearing a chat in the hallway often made me want to linger and eavesdrop a little longer.

The game is set in 1970s Australia, and I’m hoping the final release digs further into that period within the context of the airship itself. I didn’t learn much about the ship in my brief time, but I’m intrigued — admittedly I was before I even played.

Among other adventure games, Wayward Strand is sure to stand out thanks to its children’s-book–inspired art style. It’s minimalist but detailed where it counts, especially in the character designs.

I’m excited to play more of Wayward Strand and continue Casey’s journalistic endeavours.

You can check out some gameplay below and wishlist the game on Steam here.