While one of the strengths of great indie titles is breaking new ground, and presenting experiences that deviate from the norm, there’s no doubt that it can also be a liability. While there are people out there who seek out things that are new and different, failing to adhere to expectations absolutely risks losing a portion of the audience before they even get started. In the past the developer behind TR-49, named inkle, has proven to be quite effective at marrying strong storytelling with various methods of choice, typically pulling the player into the story quite well. In the case of TR-49 though it really feels like they’ve gone the extra mile, creating an alternate world that may well hang in the balance, based on your ability to use a World War II-era computer to reveal a hidden secret that could destroy everything.

This is absolutely the sort of experience where you won’t want to know too much about the game’s actual story and secrets, but you’ll want to be sure that it’s a good match for your tastes. Working through pages of information, there’s going to be quite a lot of reading, and while working out connections and codes hidden within the text offers its own thrills, it can also be slow going in places. In particular, getting started was a challenge while coming to understand how the two-letter, two-number codes worked and related to the documents they reference. Once you come to understand all of that, the progress comes more easily though, as you’re able to start filling in blanks without as much hand-holding, but it can be very meticulous work.

Aside from the interface being quite minimalist, some people may not be very good at making the necessary leaps of faith it requires to be successful. The game is really asking you to earn your way through each step of the journey, and if you are lacking in patience it may be hard not to choose to move on, rather than to keep chipping away at it. The fact that this is a pretty dry affair, lacking in some of the wit the developer’s games have often had, also makes it tougher to stay committed to. The diligent may well enjoy this very different approach to the player taking part in how a story unfolds, but for others it will likely be a pass.