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Review
You and an appointed "dark-skinned" English crew member are appointed to explore the Island of Rhynin. (Spoiler - click to show)At the end, you get to decide whether to kill him or not.
It's pretty easy to get to the ending. Despite the blurb's claim, none of the choices I made seemed to have any effect on the plot. My choices just increased/decreased my stats, which had no effect on the game.
And then, the ending, which is where the colonialism really kicks in.
(Spoiler - click to show)At the end, the King explains, "You may also be surprised that we speak your language. This is because unbeknownst to you, an old group of explorers had once found this island's tribe in desperate need, and by the fruits of their generosity, they came to be their leaders. And I, who stands before you, am the last inheritor of those brave people."
I can only hope the author simply didn't consider the implications of this. The author imagined an island tribe simply couldn't lead themselves—they needed someone who spoke English to lead them. And they can't/won't lead themselves now, either; they'll obey whichever English-speaking stranger shows up and wins a duel.
The indigenous people have no agency, autonomy, or voice. The only indigenous person who speaks is a guard, leading you to the King.
And then, at the end, you get to decide whether to kill your dark-skinned crewmate (as far as I can tell, you automatically succeed if you try to kill him, regardless of whether you duel him or betray him), at which point, you become King.
You can also sacrifice yourself, in which case you automatically die, making your crewmate King. You can also try to escape, or murder the King, but both of those options automatically fail, and you die.
What was the point of this story? None of my earlier choices had any effect. The ending choice means nothing to me. The plot is nothing but a regurgitation of colonialist propaganda.
I think this would be a two-star game if it weren't for the dehumanizing colonialism. Instead, I'm giving it one star.
