Preview Ghoul Britania: Land of Hope and Gorey

Brexit has gone into full effect, cutting the UK off from a huge part of the labor force it’s come to rely on. To solve this problem, the Ministry of Works started a program to resurrect newly dead people as a mindless workforce. But something has gone awry, and a zombie apocalypse has unfolded. Welcome to Ghoul Britania.

Binary Space’s upcoming point and click adventure game takes place after the UK has fallen to ruin, following the journey of Hope Andrews, a Londoner desperately trying to get home, and Dan Gorey, a newly made zombie who has somehow managed to retain his consciousness.

The PAX East demo had me choose between these two characters. Intrigued by the promise of uncovering some of the mystery surrounding the apocalypse, I chose Dan. The thing about Dan is, he doesn’t know he’s dead, or at least, he doesn’t want to believe it. Starting up with him, I found myself in a street blocked off by a crashed van and multiple smashed up yellow helmets that look unsettlingly like happy face emojis.

The aesthetic of this game lends itself handily to the creepy vibe it’s going for. All of the backgrounds are hand painted and rendered in muddy greys and other dingy colors that immediately illicit the apocalypse as it would be in a city as populated as london. In stark contrast, the character models are all 3-D. This juxtaposition adds a bit of the grotesque; the characters don’t fit with the backgrounds, they look strange and somewhat uncomfortable in them, but it works, adding to the atmosphere of disquiet the game is clearly looking to inspire.

Ghoul Britania is a 90’s style point and click through and through. Navigating each area requires puzzle solving through interaction with objects in the environment. After thoroughly exploring the first area Dan woke up in, I headed to the next where a distressed ELU and an enraged zombie elephant were waiting. Solving the puzzle of how to get by the elephant felt great because the puzzles made sense. I knew I needed a mouse to try to scare the elephant, I knew I needed a way to lure it out, and because Dan will basically tell you what he needs to complete the next action when you’re on the right track, I knew I could use a sippy cup I had found in the trash to keep the mouse in. It’s a relief to have this style of game rely on real logic instead of obtuse item manipulation.

I won’t spoil what goes down once you figure out how to get into the zoo, but let’s just say it’s very Caitlin brand wild bullshit and I was extremely pleased. This game is definitely willing to flirt with its own self awareness and while it might not always hit, I’m excited to see what’s really going on, and how Hope’s story will factor in.

All images courtesy of Binary Space.