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Mu Cartographer (Windows, Mac)

BY TITOUAN MILLET

Much like David OReilly’s Mountain (2014), Mu Cartographer is a visual toy about exploring a planet from a distance. Unlike Mountain, however, Mu Cartographer allows you to interact with the landscape itself through a strange machine. In the game, you are a treasure hunter and, by jiggering the knobs at your disposal, you see different layers of the topography. Through experimentation and close attention to detail, you peel back the landscape’s colorful secrets, like pyramids and temples. Shaping the glitchy peaks and valleys through various filters leads you organically from one mystery to the next. As you become more familiar with the impenetrable controls of your viewing machine, you also come to understand more about your archaeological subject.

Perfect for: Archaeologists, David OReilly, treasure hunters

Playtime: A couple hours