Wheels of Aurelia
Wheels of Aurelia
Sorti le 20 septembre 2016, Wheels of Aurelia est un jeu narratif indépendant développé par Santa Ragione et édité par MixedBag et Santa Ragione. Il se présente comme un road trip sur la Via Aurelia, le long de la côte tyrrhénienne italienne, dans les années 70. Le joueur y suit Lella, une jeune femme tourmentée au volant de son coupé. Mêlant fiction interactive et jeu de course en vue isométrique, le titre propose des parties d’environ quinze minutes et seize fins différentes, ce qui encourage fortement la rejouabilité.
Les choix effectués et les lieux visités déterminent le déroulement du récit : courses-poursuites, courses de rue illégales ou discussions enflammées avec un prêtre catholique. Le contexte historique de l’Italie des années 70, marqué par le terrorisme, les enlèvements et l’agitation politique, imprègne l’aventure. Le jeu est disponible sur PC Windows, Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One et Linux, au prix de 14,99 euros. Pour les joueurs souhaitant tout découvrir, la durée de complétion complète avoisine les cinq heures et demie. Le jeu tourne sous Unity. Une bande originale comprenant quatre chansons italiennes inédites dans le style des années 70 est également proposée à l’achat.
À sa sortie, Wheels of Aurelia a obtenu des notes moyennes de 63 sur Metacritic et 55 sur OpenCritic. La presse italienne, notamment Multiplayer.it et Eurogamer Italy, a évoqué un road game intéressant, plus signifiant pour qui connaît l’histoire italienne, et une expérience curieuse où le gameplay n’est pas le cœur du propos, les graphismes, la bande-son et la narration étant salués. Certains joueurs ont regretté un jeu décevant au regard de ses promesses, tandis que d’autres ont fait part d’un enthousiasme très vif, allant jusqu’à le recommander sans réserve.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Wheels of Aurelia is an interesting road game, more meaningful if you know the Italian history. »
« Wheels of Aurelia is an interesting experiment where the gameplay is not the core of the experience. The nice graphics, the soundtrack and the storytelling makes the latest game from Santa Ragione a compelling journey into the Italian history of the late Seventies. »
« Abortion, women's rights and the fight against fascism are just three of the various themes that conduct the player along Wheels of Aurelia, a proud "on the road" adventure that tells about a difficult moment of Italian history. The game is fun, but you must be prepared to live the same dialogues many times to discover all the 16 finals. »
« It's definitely a game those interested in storytelling have to try. Wheels of Aurelia has some shortcomings, but it's also a very unique and enjoyable ride. »
« Wheels of Aurelia is an interesting storytelling experiment. It tells the story of fictional characters in the Italian Seventies through a dialogue system with multiple answers. It lasts 20-30 minutes but it has 16 endings. »
« Lella’s journey is compelling, and the game itself is unlike anything we’ve seen before. »
« Wheels of Aurelia is best when it’s immersing you in the culture it came from, and when it offers you a scope of choice that seems as boundless as the roads you drive on. While it succeeds at that more often than not, the unexciting driving, the stilted and ill-fitting conversations, and the few paths it forces you to take end up taking me out of its fascination with roads not taken. »
« It's a shame the journey itself can't match the poignancy of the final destination. [December 2016, p.123] »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« Acá le dieron baja nota porque es medio ****, pero la verdad es que es bastante ingenioso el jueguito. »
« L’étron indé du jour nous vient -une fois n’est pas coutume- d’Italie, la patrie des Arts… mais il s’agit en l’occurrence d’une sorte de jeu merdique en flash en un peu moins ou un peu plus de 256 couleurs -pour être gentil- et vu du dessus, ce qui donne -vu la qualité (?) du titre- juste envie de s’essuyer les pieds dessus. De préférence quand je porte mes rangeos et que je rentre du jardin. Juste après la pluie. En tout cas, on se demande toujours comment une telle bouse a trouvé le moyen de se financer et de sortir finalement sur PC mais aussi sur consoles…! c’est pourtant le niveau zéro du jeu vidéo, à peine, à grand-peine interactif et bien buggué (apparemment, ça ne lui plaît pas trop quand on joue avec une manette sur PC !). Quoi qu’il en soit, pendant qu’on conduit (enfin, façon de parler !) le passager ou la passagère vous prend la tête avec des conneries comme dans un Woody Allen en pleine crise de colique verbale. C’est à la fois très chiant, pathétique et pitoyable. Mais aussi un sérieux foutage de gueule… Bref, un non-jeu doublé d’un non-sens et un sale étron indé de plus, nul à chier des briques debout ! »
« _экскурс по Италии 1978 года представляет игра Wheels of Aurelia,колесить по Аурелии будем в компании двух прекрасных барышень, их попутчиков. В программе: дискуссии на острые темы, исторические факты, сложные решения и прекрасная музыка! _excursion to Italy in 1978 is presented by the game Wheels of Aurelia, we will drive around Aurelia in the company of two beautiful young ladies, their fellow travelers. The program includes discussions on sensitive topics, historical facts, complex decisions and wonderful music! »
« I'd better spend my dollar on the hotdog than this game. It feels like creators didn't know what they actually wanted from their game. Like a lot of other players, I bought it only because of its attractive style and atmosphere. In fact, I got a style without an aesthetic atmosphere at all. Uncomfortable gameplay (It is so uncomfortable to ride and read the story at the same time) and a weird plot make this game look like something made by a person just to test his programming or art skills. The only bright side of this game is the music. The only thing that makes a player not feel deadly bored. This Italian music of the 70s is really good. Also, I want to add that there are good historical references, not only about the history of the 70s but also about the mentality of the Italian people. But the player can't really notice it because of the problems indicated above. »
« got the game for free ( thank **** god ) it broke the record of fastest game to become so obnoxious with pretentiousness i stop playing it ( ten 15 minutes or about 10 lines of dialogue ). theres virtually no gameplay ( yes i know i played 15 minutes but i've seen tiger electronics game with more in depth playability than this ) it IMMEDIATELY becomes political without even acknowledge ANYTHING , who are we? where are we? why are we doing what we doing? doesn't matter art need to be controversial so here is a bunch of half assed comment about the history of inequality in italy in the 70s. WHAT ? there seem to be a idea floating around some peoples head, that " if you can draw , at least the most basic of things especially with pretty colors or artstyle that seem to be popular " YOU SHOULD MAKE A GAME. please stop this , the last 15 minutes where some of the worse wasted minutes of my life. worse than creating an account here and writing this review. »
« [PT-BR] Gostei bastante do jogo, ele é bem curto, o jogo no total possui 16 finais. ele é um jogo de visual-novel misturado com corrida, poderia ter mais opção de escolha sim, mas são tantos finais que você até se perde nas escolhas, tem tradução e a trilha sonora é bem boa e agradável, poderia ser melhor mas esta ótimo pelo preço baixo que paguei na steam, voltaria a jogar qualquer hora sem duvidas ! »
« Game is bad. There is no penalty for reckless driving or hitting stuff in a game about driving. Try to turn 180 degrees and turn on Eurobeat. Dialogs options are slow and cant be put in faster. Overall its a story that never tried to get me and a game that deserves 1/5. Original artwork is all this game has. »
« A great idea, not so well applied. Im sad, because i loved the aesthetic, and setting... But the dialogues are just too forceful, not genuine ones. Like, they are all the time talking about historical events in a not natural manner, while no one ever talks like this. The characters are not well built and not so good. Still, i really appreciate the efforts of the devs in this game, i wish to see more italian games! »
