On the eve of her prophesied awakening, Simurgh, the goddess of Lantern City, has been kidnapped by The Scientist, and it falls to you—a young girl named Zig who spends a lot of time on her phone—to figure out what's going on. That's the beginning of the story in 30 Birds, a gorgeous and unexpectedly funny exploration-adventure that's out today on Steam.
30 Birds initially caught my eye with its Persian-inspired art style and unusual mix of 2D and 3D visuals: Lantern City is literally a collection of giant lanterns floating in the cosmos, with gameplay unfolding across the surfaces of each. What held my interest, though, is its light, breezy, wonderfully funny writing and low-pressure gameplay. At first glance I expected something relatively serious and sombre, as befits an indie art game, but it's really more like, well, this:
Zig isn't alone on her quest to discover the fate of Simurgh. The first step, in fact, is to track down a collection of birds spread throughout Lantern City, each of whom will help in their own unique way. They're an eclectic mix of personalities: The very first bird you meet is something of a degenerate gambler, who may or may not have had something going on with someone else's wife. Details aren't provided, at least as far as I've made it into the game (I haven't finished it yet), but he definitely seems like a character.
Artistic director Coline Sauvand said they and co-creator Laurent Toulouse were inspired to make 30 Birds by a trip to Istanbul a few years ago. "I wanted to tell the story of our trip through traditional Persian art: Persian miniatures, which we had discovered thanks to the book My Name is Red," Sauvand explained. "Back in Brussels, we made an interactive painting based on this idea, and that's when we said to ourselves, 'Hmm... it would be fun to create a videogame based on this idea!'"
One of my favorite moments in the early bits of 30 Birds came when I encountered a fire djinn guarding a door. I solved the djinn's puzzle in short order, he opened the door, and everything seemed fine—except that as soon as the door opened, a little goblin-like creature came charging out screaming "gooba gooba" and immediately started undoing all my work—which of course caused the door to close again. It was a genuine surprise that added an unexpected layer of complexity to the puzzle—and despite my annoyance at having to chase the creature around like it was a small dog playing keepaway with its favorite toy, I also got a good laugh out of it.
30 Birds does a nice job of guiding players along the required path, but wandering around and poking at things is a viable strategy too. There's plenty to see and do—puzzles, games, hidden items to find, and conversations to be had—and no fail state: An innkeeper who won't let you in because you're too young will just keep telling you you're too young until you figure it out. (Tip: Lie about your age. Yes, it's that simple.)
The sense of discovery that comes from just fiddling with things is really the magic of 30 Birds. It reminds me a bit of The Manhole, Cyan's 1988 puzzle-adventure: Even when I wasn't sure exactly what I was supposed to be doing, I could just do stuff and eventually something interesting would happen. I don't often use the word "delightful," but it really applies to 30 Birds.
30 Birds is available now on Steam for $16/£13.49/€16—10% off the regular price—until December 11.
