Bernband

Game: Bernband

Developer: Tom van den Boogaart

Platform: PC/Linux

Download Link: https://gamejolt.com/games/bernband/34864

City life has intrigued me to some degree. I got to experience it for a week when I took a trip to Washington D.C. with the family 6 years ago. We stayed at a hotel in Crystal City, Virginia, a city just a subway ride away from D.C. It was a very memorable trip for me: experiencing the subway rides, walking along the streets of Crystal City, and staying in a high rise, apartment-like hotel room are all stuck in my memory. And for good reason too, as the experience was very endearing, living in a downtown area of a big city. While many games take place in a huge sprawling city, like the Grand Theft Auto line of games, their intentions aren't necessarily making the player experience being in a sprawling metropolis and soaking everything in. In the current state of video gaming, one of the best games to invoke a big city atmosphere is Bernband.

Bernband is a walking sim developed by Tom van den Boogaart, a member of the Sokpop collective. The game has you exploring a big city. 

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Okay. I'm going to be blunt here. This game is not for everyone. I mean this in a way where one person isn't necessarily going to get the same experience that I did. A lot of the games I have covered so far have been experiments in some form or another, presenting ideas in a fairly straightforward fashion. Bernband's goal to the player is to soak in the atmosphere of its world and to "get lost" in it. For some people I know, their definition of a video game is going to be vastly different from mine, and will probably write off these types of games as pretentious fluff. And they have every right to make such a statement. I'm not going to act like walking simulators are the greatest artistic expressions to come out of video games, but when they are done well, they can really leave a lasting effect on the player. Bernband is one of those games, to me anyway.

Bernband has no set objective to it. You just go around exploring the city. There's no guide to tell you where you must go, no emotion it's trying to invoke, no story to be told. You just explore a city and soak in the atmosphere around you. It's like stopping to smell the flowers and taking in your surroundings that you may often take for granted. Sometimes I look at the overpass by the park near my home and think about just walking underneath and soaking it all in, the shadow of the overpass, the ambiance of highway traffic above, it sounds intriguing to me, albeit also pretentious (lol).

The presentation of the Bernband is pretty amazing. The sound design is expertly done. The ambiance of futuristic cars driving above and the music and background noise of the multiple bars and clubs you can go to are deafeningly realistic in volume, though not to the point of aggravated annoyance like in a bass boosted "ear rape" meme video. The world feels super alien, both figuratively, and somewhat realistically, as you are surrounded by alien civilians living out their lives, walking down the street, or even going to a night school. The game itself also looks great too, with its minimalist, pixel art style being really charming but nonetheless absorbing.

Doing some research on Bernband was also an interesting experience, as this game got some publicity by some gaming outlets such as PC Gamer and more accessible news outlets like Vice. There was also an open letter discussion I found between two writers who had their own takes on Bernband that they shared with each other one being positive and the other more mixed. I also found out that a possible updated version is being made by the Sokpop collective as well, with updated visuals and possibly a bigger world to explore.

Bernband is a game that is very good at what it tries to accomplish in my eyes. Its atmosphere is intriguing and its world was fairly enticing. It's a short, free game that in my opinion goes a long way. Have an open mind and give this a shot. Don't just take my word for it.