Signs of the Sojourner

This game is quite something. It merges narrative and mechanics flawlessly. Characters tell stories with how and what cards they play and you'll be able to read their hands by how they talk to you. I played through a beautiful story of finding where home is, and i can't wait to go again to find all the different possibilities of what this tale could have become and meet all the characters i didn't ever see, all the towns i couldn't visit and all the help i couldn't provide.

Match the symbols game, each town has it's own preferences.. first three towns are all fairly identical. Circles and Triangles mostly. But as you interact with people on the journey, you're forced to take a card they played and exchange it for one of your cards. Actively punishes you for playing their game. Next few towns are entirely different, that's where the Squares and Diamonds come into play. I would love to just play the game but can't get past the feeling that trying to play the game actively ruins the game since you have to match to progress. As you visit new towns, you'll fail their conversation card game because you don't have those symbols, but you'll get a card of their symbol at the cost of one you have in your deck. Thus you lose the ability to talk to your own town, or the other two towns near yours. What a silly concept. As you venture further from home, you lose yourself.. that's the life lesson.. got it. Going to look for a mod that turns all the symbols into dog paws.

a really cool deckbuilding game about conversations. this game has some really cool ideas, the whole deckbuilding mechanic in relation to having conversations was such a cool way in melding gameplay and story. it really made me engage in the story making sure I was always choosing the right cards, and the right order, just so I could maximize my trips every month. it took me one run to realize how to properly gather cards so that you have more chances of succeeding in conversations, that by the second run I was very satisfied with my outcome. Yes, sometimes the card draw of you or the other person might not help the conversation, but if you play your cards right you can even mitigate situations like that. I will definitely play more so I can explore more but I am already very satisfied with just two runs and with both endings I got. A recommend for those who want a different kind of deckbuilding card game with some really cool mechanics and an intriguing story.

Amazing game. Short, but great for a few playthroughs and very worth the money. Also a gem for anybody interested in game design and strong ludonarrative.

I didn't think I'd like this game, but as it turns out, I loved it!! I can't wait to play again and see if I can do better next time. I know it'll take many playthroughs to get it right. It's mostly luck and a little bit of skill, and right now I am pretty bad at the skill part. I hope to get better!!

8/10