The Samaritan Paradox

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Each time I alt tab to my other screen, the game crash in an annoying continuous sound... I played 5mn...

☀️

It's a very good classic-style point-and-click adventure game but the Scandi crime setting may be a little dry for most.

Das ist ein wirklich schönes Oldschool- Point und Klick- Spiel, die es auch heutzutage gerne öfters geben könnte. Sehr zum Empfehlen.

In [i]the Samaritan Paradox[/i] Ord Salamon, a student with a knack for cryptography is procrastinating so hard on his PhD-thesis that when he finds a code on a novel indicating that the deceased author has written another, “secret” book, he contacts the authors daughter Sara. She suspects that the secret book leads to her inheritance but does not want to look – if you do, she will share… This a classical point-and-click-adventure with nice ideas: Next to the grey setting of the Sweden in 1984 there is the world of the secret book, in which you adventure as Freja in a green fantasy setting. It’s a great contrast. Still, although I somehow liked the game, I cannot recommend it: There are issues with the mechanics: Sometimes the area to go to another place is so small that it is hard to find. But more importantly, the story is “half baked” and does not come together in the end. I will have to get into spoilers, so if you want to play, stop reading … [Spoiler] So as mentioned the game has a main plot (hunting the book), a “fantasy plot” (playing its chapters) and a minor side plot about weapons smuggling None of them function. The fantasy plot has some puzzles that give you hints for your real-life hunt. But as good as the idea is and as much as I liked the style of that setting, the story is bland, does not integrate with the real world and serves only to have a “shocking” reveal at the end. The side plot with the weapons smuggling is foreshadowed smoothly but leads nowhere. Game wise is used to change the pacing, introducing some sneak and “act-fast” situations and to have an action ending. But it is incomplete, not given the gravitas and feeling of danger it should elicit. While investigating a missing chapter, you stumble over a weapon smuggling operation “Samaritan” (yes…). It delivers weapons deliberately to dictators and possible war criminals. This could have been a chance to introduce tension and pressure, raising the stakes. But it was not used in this fashion. The side-plot suddenly features Saras brother Patrick, who was introduced earlier having started his own investigation into his father’s death, as a villain. But it is not clear why those story elements were mixed and how that made sense, i.e. why Parick was involved with the weapons smuggling or why he would bring attention to the operation by acting the way he does. The bad guys show up in the end and even shoot you, but not to silence you – no, Patrick wants to reveal the “shocking” twist to his sister, you intervene and get a bullet for your effort (you survive). This brings us to the main plot: The basic idea of hunting for a “secret book” with a message is great. As so often some of the puzzles are contrived and a bit out there. However, there are elements that break the “suspension of disbelief”. The best example is the start: For some reason the developers decided that Ord does not find the code flipping through the book. They wanted him to discover it on the dustjacket. So, it was hidden in the ISBN code… the International Standard Book Number, which as the name suggests is standardized and assigned by a third party. Therefore, creating one that contains a specific code seems impossible. Also, an “odd” ISBN code would lead to all sorts of problems and therefore would be discovered fast. Of course, this is a nitpick, but it is an unnecessary choice, and it stands out. Also, Ord’s “gift” for cracking cyphers that is featured heavily in the introduction is not really utilized after this first puzzle. Another major problem is that the two layer story telling of the real world and the fantasy world are not really interwoven. The obvious route, that each chapter reveals something about the family history or leads to Sara remembering something was not taken. You solve the puzzles and continue; Sara has nothing to do with you understanding the book’s meaning. This is a strange choice since it makes the “shocking” reveal in the end a sudden occurrence that is neither prepared nor foreshadowed: After you finish the fantasy story the heroin returns to a farmer that had given her shelter and advice before. The final scene is them embracing each other and getting sensual. While it was implied that the man was older and served little bit as a mentor, he also was living alone and was portrayed as a nice and well-balanced man. Therefore, not the worst choice for a partner. Well, it turns out it is not the bland happy ending for a bland fantasy story it seems to be… Ord explains, the farmer is supposed to be the father/author and since the heroin clearly is Sara, the “shocking” reveal is that the book was not about a secret inheritance but about the fact that the father sexually abused his daughter. Since she “forgot” all about this and he wanted to come clean/unburden his consciousness, he chose that (rather weird) approach. We can now discuss if such a topic is suited for a video game all together. I would argue that it is, if done intelligently and thoughtfully. BUT this was not the case. For me it was slapped on, as a “shock” ending (this is why I used inverted commas throughout this review) – and hence my assessment that the story was not told well. Last, I would like to talk about the title, that really bugged me: Wikipedia tells us “A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. […] Informally, the term is often used to describe a counterintuitive result.” So, Paradox indicates that the outcome of what is considered the act of a Samaritan is the opposite of what one would expect. What is a Samaritan? The term comes from the New Testament. When asked “Who is one’s neighbor [one should love]?” Jesus tells a story: A man, most likely a Jew (this is relevant) is robbed and left to die. Then, one after another, three men come across him. The first two are fellow jews and it is indicated that they know Gods law and are believers. However, both fear becoming victims themselves and hurry away without helping. The third man is a Samaritan, which as far I as I understand it was group of people that were partly Jewish but married also non-jews and were accused of not “keeping” the law by the more “orthodox” communities. The Samaritans were despised and looked upon by many groups within the Jewish community, and they themselves therefor were not fond of the “orthodox” believers. This is important, because from the societal perspective the third man was the one of which it was the least expected to help the victim. However, not only did he stop and help the man, but he even takes him to a roadhouse, pays and asks that he is cared for and visits him afterwards… This is where we get our term (good) Samaritan from: A person that renders help, although he is not obliged to and maybe inconveniencing himself or even put himself in danger… Why include a bible lesson? Because by no stretch of the imagination Ord is a “good Samaritan”. He is a nice guy, and he is willing to help, but he does so because he is curious and is offered a reward. It is even explicitly stated that he has money problems. It is also clear that Sara and her family do not have “enough”. I.e. she must immediately sell a painting to keep her parents’ house and goes on (while they are still looking for hints for the book) to sell more … The only time Samaritan is referred to is when the smuggling operation is named that way, and that is not relevant. I find this frustrating because with a little bit more effort there could have been a real [i] Samaritan Paradox[/i] posing some interesting moral questions. But so, it seems they only were looking for a cool title… enough said, thanks if you read all of this. I really thought a lot about that game and its frustrating elements afterward as you can see. [/spoiler] All in all, although it is cheap, I would recommend you play something else. There are a lot more interesting and thought-through games out there.

The graphics are very simple, but the puzzles are great. And... you can't beat the prize of 2€ for a full-voiced adventure.

maravilhoso!!!