Heard it Through the Grapevine

Heard it Through the Grapevine is a charming sci-fi game about wine, Australia, conspiracies, aliens, roommates, cats, high-tech glasses, and dealing with anxiety.

Background
The story takes place in South Australia, sometime in the future where Earth has undergone some changes. Climate change, for instance, and vineyards have especially suffered. Fortunately, there are regions in Australia that still produce wine.

Until one day, an alien spacecraft, carrying a species of genderless humanoid amphibians called Scintillons, smashes into Barossa Valley, causing floods and destroying the infrastructure supporting the wine industry. Everyone has been stuck drinking synthetic wine ever since.

20 years later, red wine has been reproduced and will be served at an exclusive party. You are Miranda, an anxious, puff piece-writing journalist for Neo-Tanunda’s only newspaper, The Follower. And you’ve been tasked with covering this event. This could define your career…

…assuming you can bring yourself to step out of the taxi, of course.

Gameplay
The plan is for Miranda to take a water taxi to the party’s venue, Lofty Island. Gameplay is broken into three segments: the ride to the party, time spent on the Island, and the party itself. While the first two segments can be skipped, the game will adjust its parameters for you (ex. did you talk to so-and-so?), so you don’t get locked out of content.

The party is where the action happens. Player choices involve exploring areas, talking to people, and watching performances on the stage.

Check your notes.
Check out the stage.
Go to the bar.

Most interactions take up time, leaving the player with a limited number of choices before the party ends.

(time will pass) Wait.

You also have “smart glasses.” Noise-cancelling, notetaking, wi-fi enabled glasses. This is the future. During the gameplay you can check your notes to keep track of what you know.

Occasionally, I did encounter issues with the gameplay repeating scenes. It’s possible to (Spoiler - click to show)collect a sample of the wine in a bottle twice, and each time the game acts as if you’ve never done it before. In another case, (Spoiler - click to show)I had the same interaction with Newton-John at the bar right after they got up and left for the stage.

Characters
Miranda (and friends)
Miranda’s character has many dimensions, some of these clash with her being sent to a lavish party to report on wine.

We learn that she is autistic and can experience sensory overload, and there are moments in the game with the sights and sounds of the party become too much. She also struggles her with drinking and wants to stay sober… at a wine launch where she’s expected to at least try the wine.

Then Nikki shows up. Nikki is Miranda’s friend and roommate, and Miranda is in love with her. Nikki’s presence therefore makes it difficult for Miranda to stay on task. Especially since Nikki brought someone with her…

TL;DR: Miranda juggles a lot at this party on top of working as a journalist. (Spoiler - click to show)(It’s also possible for us to influence her relationship with Nikki.)

Scintillons
A highlight of the game. Originally a group of five refugees from a war in the Andromeda cluster, the Scintillons accidentally crashed into Earth. (Spoiler - click to show)Turns out, this is totally false, but we only learn that later. While they’ve been publicly accepted by the Australian government, they are not citizens and their future is uncertain.

And they are memorable NPCs.

We can interact with two of them. They are well-written, endearing, but also have hidden depths beneath the surface. Behind any humor is the frustration of being stranded on a foreign planet where you’re expected to smile and play the part of the polite alien- as well as the fact that from their perspective, we’re the aliens. Our chit-chat with Newton-John was one of my favorite scenes.

Their character portraits can give the wrong impression about their size. At first glance, they look like little salamanders in human clothes until the game describes them as “large, humanoid creatures.” Fair enough.

You see them stretch to their full 7-foot height on Lofty Island's manicured lawns.

But seven feet tall? Anyway, I enjoyed learning about this fictional species. And hearing their Australian slang. Gazza is delightful.

Story
I’ve already outlined the story, so I’ll skip to the core of the game, which is also the part that frustrated me: the wine.

The details are a bit vague, but the consensus is that the Scintillons have used the tech salvaged from their ship to help humans replicate the wine from the past. The details are murky, but everyone seems to agree that this collaborative effort symbolizes harmony between the two species.

So, yes, some parts of the overarching story are a letdown. The wine, specifically. But the game is much more than that. The characters are lots of fun and there are many ways the game can end. An intriguing story, nonetheless. And funny.

You grab the cat and tuck it under your arm like a football.

I love this bit of imagery.

Endings
There are 19 endings, and the “ending” page accessible from the game’s menu provides a hint on how to reach them. I reached nearly every ending, including Ending 7. I felt like such a scumbag. The only ending I have not found is Ending 16, and I really want to find it.

You see, Ending 15 takes a sad turn.

So, if anyone knows how to reach it, I would appreciate any help.

Themes
Without going too in depth, the game considers the stigma and beliefs around disability while Miranda navigates the party as a person with autism. The bouncer at the door serves as a focal point for the game’s discussion on disability. Due to policy, Miranda’s smart glasses, which she needs for their noise-cancellation properties, must be confiscated.

Keep looking.
Give up and hand over the glasses.

(Gazza can also show up and help us, but that’s beside the point.)

If we have Miranda hunt down her disability documentation so she can keep them, she puts up with the “but you don’t look disabled” commentary and the embarrassment of everyone watching the interaction unfold. If she is pressured into handing them over, the bouncer carelessly throws them into a bin and jokes, “was that so hard?” without any consideration that she might actually need them.

When disability is not visible, there is an assumption that that you are “faking it” or trying to game the system. People are less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt simply because “you don’t look disabled,” and therefore assume that you’re lying about having a disability. This results in individuals like Miranda having to endure skepticism, hostility, and ridicule.

I understand why it’s sometimes necessary to require proof of one’s disability. It’s the attitude and default suspicion towards people with disabilities that I’m criticizing.

The bouncer also- again, policy- confiscates Nikki’s EpiPen (she has a fish allergy) which can have (Spoiler - click to show)devastating consequences later.

Visuals
Overall, everything is polished and evenly formatted. Heard it Through the Grapevine demonstrates how upgrading Twine’s visual appearance (black screen, white text, blue links) through simple design changes can really enhance the quality of your game.

I liked the application of Twine’s visual effects for immersing the player. If the player checks their glasses’ notes, the game changes to a green background with digital-looking text. If our glasses were confiscated? A paper background with scrawling font. This was clever.

What really elevates the game is the artwork. The menu’s background is a green-tinted collage of vintage artwork, and during the gameplay the screen darkens to a black backdrop where you just barely see the artwork underneath. Characters also have their own portraits, and I feel that the game would not be quite as engaging without them. The style is rather antiquated. Frumpy, almost. And yet, it fits the game perfectly.

Final thoughts
Heard it Through the Grapevine is a humorous game, but also one that is more complex than the light-hearted premise that it wears on the surface. Going to the party is no small feat for Miranda, and the writing allows us to sample the story’s world from her perspective.

I’m giving it four stars because it feels like there is a disconnect between the mystery the game claims to have, and what we actually find if we decide to investigate said mystery. Other than that, I think it’s a fantastic game in both quality and content.

If you are interested in a protagonist-centered game with a mashup of science fiction, slice of life, and humor, I highly recommend Heard it Through the Grapevine.