Firebird

Firebird (2023) is a narrative game about taking on a dangerous road trip to make money in the hostile Great North. Play involves talking with characters, managing your resources, and making story-changing decisions. It's unique because it explores Slavic folklore through the work of a truck driver.

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You play as Mariska, a truck driver in financial trouble. To earn some cash and escape a loan shark, you take the only contract available: a long, arduous food delivery to a distant village with no guarantee of sufficient income. You pick up a girl from the village and start heading north one destination at a time, keeping an eye on the fuel tank.

Every stop along the way offers something different, be it a run-down log cabin, a crazy hermit in a forest, or the ghost of a Soviet officer. How you deal with unfriendly strangers and violent creatures like bears and wolves determines whether you live or die, and whether you'll have enough resources to make it to the village.

This results in a game about facing the dangers that come on a long, freezing road trip and carving your path to the Great North.

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Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Firebird 10 weeks ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 9 weeks ago.