A Nautical Journey Through Grief
The 1970s pop icon Rod Stewart once sang of sailing stormy waters across the sea. I don’t know whether Rod had ever sailed, but this is a song everyone sings when they are on a boat of any kind.
But sailing itself is a hard business; it’s a very physical experience where you must operate rigging, sails, and rudders while trying to navigate a boat across sometimes very rough water. It’s also very dangerous, not only from the sea, but from the equipment aboard.
WILL: Follow The Light tries to give you that experience on a sailing boat, but it is also a game about loss, family, and lighthouses.
Will the Lighthouse Keeper
This is a first-person action-adventure with a big narrative from a new developer called Tomorrowhead Studio. It has a heady mix of puzzles, DIY, sailing, and exploration. Set in Norway, you play as Will; a lighthouse keeper on a remote island. He has lost his wife and is grieving, while his son is inland, missing his father. After a storm causes a life-changing accident in the town where his son lives, Will travels back to discover his son is alive, but has gone with his estranged grandfather to a remote lighthouse. Will goes on a journey to find them, but it becomes a spiritual journey about himself and dealing with his grief.
There is lots to love about this story and this world where Will travels to. I like the characters we meet along the way and the detail in the maritime world of ships, sea towns, and lighthouses. It has a supernatural element to the game as well, with magical moments on the journey where you don’t know whether Will’s experiences are a dream or if they are real at points. The landscape tells the story too, with its harsh conditions but beautiful vistas.
Ultimately, though, I found the conclusion of the tale a bit unsatisfying, and WILL: Follow The Light doesn’t feel like it lands the ending. It loses its way in the final third of the game, which is a shame, and the payoff doesn’t feel earned. That said, there is some brilliant writing throughout, especially in some of the more emotive cassette tapes you find on your travels.
Varied Events
Gameplay is a mixture of events. First are the exploration elements, which, at times, are about walking around, going from A to B, heading into interiors, and picking up clues and bits of interest. It has a semi-open-world feel to it, but I feel it’s still quite a guided, linear journey.
Secondly, there are the puzzles, which are a good mixture of finding codes to unlock doors, safes, or machines from clues hidden around the level, or conversations you can uncover from hidden memories.
Then there are the more DIY jobs that need to be done. At one point, you have to put together a winch from scratch, piecing all the parts together bit by bit on a workbench. In another section, you have to repair and build a sledge by selecting the right tools, like hammers and sanders, from a tool bench. There are a number of these activities that can be fun and a nice distraction from the main story.
Captaining the Molly
You also have a boat called “Molly”; a sailing boat. Here you will be sailing it properly by plotting a course on a map using coordinates and then putting the sails up and down depending on the weather. Steering the boat across calm and choppy waters is something you will do a lot of. It works really well and is quite calming, but you do have the option to skip the sailing and get straight to the next destination should you so wish. There are some great collectables to find along the way too; marbles, planets, and model ships, which you can view in your ship’s cabin.
Visually – whether looking at the landscapes, the sea, or the interiors – WILL: Follow The Light is very impressive. I loved the atmosphere of the world with its Nordic beauty and bleakness. Seeing the northern lights and the lightning flash across the sea is very impressive, as are lots of little, detailed visual moments. Audio is impressive as well, with a haunting score full of beautiful vocals and hymn-like melodies. The effects are good, and the voice cast does a great job all around, even though there is a wide range of accents for one small place.
A Nautical Adventure Worth the Voyage
There is a lot to love about WILL: Follow The Light; Tomorrowhead’s debut game. The varied gameplay is very interesting, and the visuals and sound are top-notch. I do think pacing is a problem in some places though, and the story is slightly at fault for this, failing to deliver what is promised, and I felt a little confused by it, even though the writing is very good. There are other elements that work well though, like the sailing, and the opportunity to take in the open water and comfy cabin.
Really, you should follow in Rod Stewart’s footsteps and give WILL: Follow The Light a nautical try.
Important Links
WILL: Follow The Light Sets Sail On Xbox, PlayStation And PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/will-follow-the-light-sets-sail-on-xbox-playstation-and-pc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/will-follow-the-light/9PCCJ927XMKF/0010
