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Sunset (Mac, Windows, Linux) 

BY TALE OF TALES 

Most games give you a list of chores to do, only they call them missions, and claim you’re saving the world by doing its housekeeping. Yet, no matter how much these games coat your chores in the hero’s journey narrative, it still comes down to “do this” and “talk to that NPC.” Tale of Tales’ Sunset turns this trope on its head, casting you as a literal housekeeper, while the revolution outside your window waxes and wanes in spite of you. Of course, the subtle differences in how you carry out your housekeeping duties ripple out into larger effects on the revolution happening in this fictional South American country. Yet Sunset keeps your interactions rooted in the micro, while maintaining the macro at a distance. Even though your kept in constant conversation with the world at large, you are not its sole hero. Like the real world, you’re just another human being, trying to survive and make sense of it.  

Perfect for: Art collectors, not-the-hero types, civil rights activists.

Playtime: About six hours.