Kona Review. A Different Take On Walking Simulators

Credit to GoG.com for this image.
I will bet that most of you, if not all of you have never heard of this game before. With around 600 reviews on Steam it is one of the hidden gems that really deserves more attention. The game will instantly remind you of Firewatch. Artistically and gameplay wise the two games are very similar.

Kona is based in Quebec, Canada in the 1970s. You play as Carl Faubert, a private investigator on his way to meet with a client W. Hamilton. Hamilton has hired you to investigate cases of vandalism that have occurred in the town. The game starts with the drive to the town. You are in your car driving in a snow storm when a car in the opposing lane swerves and causes you to crash. You wake up later to find your car stuck and the other car abandoned. You need to find shelter, wondering around for a few minutes brings you to the cabin. This is when you are introduced to basic gameplay mechanics. You have to start a fire to stay warm, let your body heal and plan what you are going to do next.

Without ruining too much of the story, once you have your car free and are able to continue on your way, the real game begins. You pull over at a gas station to fill up, when you notice a murder has happened. From here you have to investigate what events took place. The game does a good job of engulfing you into the story. With excellent voice over and musical notes, the player feels suspense for not knowing what could be around the corner. Speaking of the story, with a very solid first half and a mediocre last quarter, some may be left with a disappointed feeling after finishing the game. However I feel if you give yourself over to the game, and accept what it is offering you, then you will have a good time.
Kona is the closes game to Firewatch that I have ever played. While Firewatch has an amazing story throughout, Kona can make up for its lack of a staler ending with more interesting game mechanics and ideas. These I will leave for you to explore. Kona can take anywhere from 3-8 hours to finish. There are numerous threads on the discussions section of the steam community page to help you if you ever get stuck, and for being 50% off during the summer sale, I cannot recommend this game highly enough.

Story : 3/5
Gameplay : 4/5
Overall 3.5/5
[Steam Store Page] (http://store.steampowered.com/app/365160/Kona/)

Credit to heypoorplayer.com for this image.
Credit to Gameranx.com for this image of the gas station.