The Storytelling of RiME
RiME is an underrated gem, so today, I’m discussing how the game utilizes visual storytelling to take the player on an emotional journey.
Spoilers ahead, advance at your own risk!
RiME is a video game developed by Tequila Works, a Spanish development studio. The game was finally launched in 2017 after a four-year wait. RiME is a third-person adventure, puzzle, and exploration game set in a secret paradise that the player will have the opportunity to discover. RiME follows a young boy named Enu, who is shipwrecked on a mysterious island with no recollection of how he got there or who he is. The player embarks on a journey of mystery and excitement as they explore the various stages while guided by the player’s sidekick, a fox who will frequently lead you to the next chapter. The game received great reviews and won two awards for ‘Best Spanish Game’ and ‘Best Soundtrack.’ However, it is generally considered underappreciated and unknown because it is an indie game in a genre with a small audience.
The game’s storytelling stands out the most. It’s a very unusual way of presenting a tale; most games nowadays rely on conversation and cutscenes to drive the story, but this game focuses on visual aspects to depict pieces of the story for the player to piece together. This includes using the game’s architecture and atmosphere to mirror the characters’ emotions to propel the story along. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance are the game’s five chapters. Each chapter represents the five stages of grief. RiME leads us to believe that we’re playing through the perspective of Enu, the son, coming back to his father. We don’t find out until the end that we’ve been following his father’s point of view and that Enu was the one who died in the shipwreck. The father, Manu, fantasises about his son surviving the shipwreck and finding his way back to him. Each chapter of the game reflects a distinct emotion that Manu is going through, and we, the players, are walking beside him as he grieves.
The island we begin on in the first chapter, Denial, is a joyful, serene, and utopian paradise, reflecting the mentality of being in denial about a tragedy. The island also symbolises Manu, the character’s father, hoping that his son is still alive and well, washed up in their fantasy paradise rather than being dead. Anger, the second chapter, illustrates the second stage of grieving, in which you try to place blame on everyone but yourself. There are three windmills in this stage, one underwater, one made of wood and sails, and one painted with images of Enu. Raúl Rubio Munárriz, the founder, creative director and CEO of Tequila Works, said this regarding this chapter in an interview with ‘Eurogamer’:
”They represent what the father is trying to blame his loss on. At first maybe you are blaming the sea, because the sea took away your kid. Then maybe you blame the boat because it was your way of life — why couldn’t you be a carpenter? This wouldn’t have happened! Then obviously you blame your own kid — he was careless, he shouldn’t have done that, you were warning him.”
As the story progresses a storm destroys all the windmills, signifying that this loss is nobody’s fault, but the fathers.
Bargaining, the third chapter, is similar to Denial. The most visible difference is that everything is overgrown with greenery. This chapter aims to lead you down a few different pathways until you locate the one that leads to the next chapter. You will often be taken in circles and sometimes find yourself back at the beginning of the stage. This is the Bargaining stage of grieving, where someone can come up with a variety of ideas and explanations to lead themselves on in their hunt for solutions, only to end up back where they started until they take an objective look at the issue. Finding the correct answer will lead you to the fourth stage, Depression.
Depression, the fourth chapter, is supposed to resemble the physical manifestation of depression as a location. The unimaginative and dreary level design represents the raw emotion, while a rain shower represents tears, leaving the protagonist in a hopeless and despairing state.
Acceptance is the story’s final chapter, in which you play the father as he comes to terms with the loss of his son. Enu’s purpose, in conclusion, is to accept his death and move on to the afterlife, which he does by willingly falling from a tower into the stars.
RiME is an effective way of bringing the audience to its emotional limits. As the story progresses and the player works their way through each chapter of grief, the narrative begins to put itself together. Similar to Breath Of The Wild, we see memories throughout the gameplay that triggers an emotional response from the audience. The game’s unique level design, inspired by Giorgio de Chirico, helps convey the feeling of loneliness and isolation, which fits the story’s tone. The father and his child are the only two main characters in this game. Even though Enu, the child, bears a strong resemblance to a boy, it’s never verified what gender the character is, leaving it up to the player to determine. This is done so that players who have also lost a child, whether a boy or a girl, can relate to the game emotionally. In RiME, it’s unclear what the race of the characters are; however, we can assume, based on the fact that the game design is based on work by Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico, that the game is set somewhere in Italy.
Because there is no language in the game, it depends extensively on semiotics to help drive the tale and establish meaning. You’ll come across paintings and artworks with symbols and elements that you can decipher throughout the game. One of these illustrates ocean waves and stormy clouds, representing peace and chaos. These two things contributed to the shipwreck at the beginning of the game and represents the two states of mind that the father is experiencing throughout the narrative. You can obtain optional treasures in the game, some of which depict game components such as a windmill, a sentinel wind chime, and a bird. The toy bird depicts anger, the windmill indicates the father’s inner struggle, and the sentinel wind chime represents the relationship between father and son. These are all toys Enu used to play with.
RiME is an excellent example of a video game that takes a simple concept and turns it into an in-depth and emotional roller coaster for the player to enjoy. The storyline is distinctive and excellent at what it’s aiming to achieve, even though it mainly relies on metaphorical storytelling. In today’s games, most of the plot is driven by conversation and cutscenes, while RiME focuses on Mise-en-scène and visual elements to portray pieces of the tale for the player to put together. This includes using the game’s architecture and atmosphere to mirror the characters’ emotions and push the story along.
RiME is an underrated gem of a game. It’s currently available on multiple platforms, such as the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and is also available on Steam. It’s definitely one I recommend. It’s a fantastic emotional exploration adventure that focuses primarily on the journey.
