"The Uruguayans have let their relationships go stale, thus the sky is silent." Or so the instructions for Night Raveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans says.
A submission to TIG's procedurally generated content contest, Night Raveler is not a deep game, but packs an emotional punch. The screen shows residential high-rises, with people moving back and forth behind lit windows, gossamer strands across space indicating where 'relationships' exist between them. You play "the night raveler," essentially a mouse pointer in the shape of a little fellow with scissors. And what you do is sever the bonds between people.
But with the best of intentions! For if you do it right, the weak (grey) pre-existing links get replaced by stronger (white) links; each person can only have two links, and stronger ones make them happy. But on the other hand, if you sever too many existing ones too quickly, the Uruguayans commit suicide in despondency, flinging themselves through their windows and plumetting to their deaths.
It takes five minutes to play; like The Crossing, this is not so much a game as a tone poem, an evocative little piece that despite its shortness remains with you.
