Wanderlust: Travel Stories

For a game that markets itself as "a bridge between literature and gaming", Wanderlust Travel Stories unfortunately falls shorts on both fronts. The main problem I have with this game is that the stories and characters lack much depth or complexity. I only played two stories out of four: Martine in Thailand and Bangladesh, and Tomek in Europe. Martine's story was the first one I played. There were a few moments where I felt weird out or shocked by some of the options. Martine is a German fashion student who goes to Thailand to look for meaning in life. She seems to have a presumption that everything Western in Thailand is bad, which I would say is a common black-or-white mindset among Westerners. For example, if a local hotel decides to keep its original German design, according to Martine, it is bad. Another example, when playing Martine, I was often offered a choice to change my "Western" or "tourist" outfit to local outfit when I was just doing some daily outing. I found this extremely weird because many people in Thailand and other Asian countries wear Western fashion brands. You don't have to ditch your "western" or "tourist" outfit to get to know the local culture. And i…

I find the game being interesting so far. You definitely can get immersed but the immersion for me was a bit broken at one of the parts near day 2 or 3 in Bangkok by the fact the protagonist asks about pronouns. Seriously good story until this sort of thing is added to the game. Highly doubt in other countries such as any local in Thailand is thinking about what pronoun they should be called. Lived in Latin America and I definitely know this is the least important thing any local will be thinking of. *UPDATE Stop inserting this weird and disgusting political view of gender and actually make good stories. The Sweden tourist in Ching Mai is so cringe making him nonbinary. Playing this story is just so unbearable. Destroy all immersion when you try inserting gender ideology and same sex stories like John the book keeper no one cares about. Gamers and story enthusiasts care about substance not this slop you are trying to feed the majority.

For Travellers and Readers Only...

This is not a game for the conventional. But if you enjoyed this game, I would like to say "Nice to share this with you, my friend."

Wanderlust: Travel Stories, developed by Different Tales and published by Different Tales and Pretty Soon, is an unconventional narrative experience that seeks to capture the essence of travel through introspection rather than spectacle. It is not a game in the traditional sense—it contains no combat, no puzzle-solving, and no skill-based mechanics—but rather a literary journey told through interactive storytelling. The game invites players to slow down, to think, and to feel, mirroring the quiet rhythms of travel itself. The premise unfolds through an anthology of interconnected stories, framed around five travelers who meet on Easter Island and begin sharing tales of their personal journeys. Each narrative is distinct in tone, geography, and emotional focus, yet all are linked by a shared sense of reflection and longing for meaning in motion. From the moment the game begins, it becomes clear that Wanderlust values atmosphere and narrative immersion above all else. The interface is elegantly minimal: players read through text passages accompanied by high-quality photographic backdrops and ambient soundscapes that evoke the locations being described. Every choice you make—whether …

The stories in this are very engaging. It really feels like you're traveling! Each story is good in its own way, and it's cool to read about interesting places like Africa and Antarctica. The Thailand story is by far the most interactive with lots of choices that really change the story. The others seem much more linear. The choices are mostly cosmetic, changing little bits of the descriptions and dialogue. But the subject matter and the quality of the writing make them interesting.