When people talk about games as art, they usually mean that video games are as valid an artistic medium as any other. Gameplay is an aspect of said art – the way that player agency, gameplay systems, and unique mechanics synergise to create a specific experience can elevate storytelling. In the same way movies, novels, and music are art, video games are too. None of these things are art in the same way, but they are all art nonetheless.
Not every video game strives to beart, and not every video game isgoodart, either. Some strive to be more fun than anything. Some strive to make loads of money at players’ expense. ButMiniatures,developed by theBAFTA-nominated creators of Tick Tock: A Tale For Two,isone of those games that feels like it’s actively striving to be art.
How it plays, at least in the demo I experienced at TGS, is pretty simple. Miniatures has four memories, each represented by an item in an old wooden box. The game as a whole is very short, averaging at about 45 minutes long. The two stories I experienced were entirely point-and-click, with some simple logic and visual puzzles to solve.
This simple gameplay, though, lets the astoundingly beautiful visuals shine through. Every memory is hand drawn, in slightly different styles – some are more muted in tone, while others are high-contrast and use negative space very liberally, but each and every one of them is stunningly illustrated. Since these memories are so short, describing them at all would be spoilery, but I will say, as vaguely as I can, that the visual variety fits in with what each story explores.
And I’d be remiss to not describe the tone of Miniatures, which is why it really stands out. These aren’t just gorgeously rendered visuals, they’re surreal, strange, sometimes even dark. One of the memories I played through left me feeling strangely disturbed and discomfited, as if I’d seen something I wasn’t supposed to. Another played on the loneliness of being a child left on their own, having to find things to do and devote attention to.
Considering that the first story, Familiar, was about a family assembling a flat-pack cabinet, and the second, The Paludarium, was about a boy feeding a lizard, you may probably tell that these memories get pretty strange. They’re abstract, dream-like, rooted in magical realism and have the lightest touch of horror.
They feel more like an experimental animated film than what we typically expect from a game, but that isn’t necessarily a mark against it – it’s just trying to achieve something different. It’s less a game, and more an experience akin to walking simulators like Gone Home and Dear Esther, both of which are often derided as not really being games because they don’t have traditional gameplay and focus primarily on storytelling.
Miniatures is short, beautiful, and worth your time. you’re able to play the demo now onSteamand play it on Steam, Switch, and iOS when it launches on November 14.
Miniatures
WHERE TO PLAY
Inside an old wooden box lies four curious items: a toy lizard, a captured moth, a screwdriver and a seashell. Each one has its own story to tell…Step into four hand-drawn memories and discover the mysteries lurking beneath the seemingly calm surface. Explore one story at a time, or play them in a single sitting, in this solo-play adventure about the stories we tell ourselves and how they shape our world.Average playtime is 45 minutes.The Four StoriesEach story has a distinct gameplay and art style and can be played in any order:• Familiar: Experience the challenges of a family assembling a flat-pack cabinet.• The Paludarium: Immerse yourself in a world where a boy, home alone, navigates nature’s invasion.• The Last Sand Castle: Interact with the music-loving inhabitants of a sand castle.• The House of the Moon: Join Alma on a journey as she searches for her lost mother in a mysterious seascape.
