Even being ambivalent to soccer, the inescapable passion for the World Cup caught up to me as well, though not to the actual field of play. A short experience—I played through in two sittings—this was story-based game from last year about the daily life of a young person in Ecuador following their national team in its quest for World Cup qualification. Of course, the story did not hit as hard for me, nor should it have, but I appreciated the personal nature all the same. The art style was fantastic, almost as if there was a sepia newsprint filter over realistic environments, while people, the soccer ball, and other important interactive objects were stark black-and-white. (Although quite a different tone, it was vaguely reminiscent of Tom Goes to the Mayor.) Near the end of the game, there was a moment when the scene suddenly shifted to walking around in color. At first, I thought my textures were not loading properly, but the narrator soon explained I was walking around a 3D rendered Google Maps equivalent of the area. As someone who frequently pulls up Street View of favorite places when I need a pick-me-up, this was stunningly poignant.
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