Review of the first indie game made in Cuba

I remember that at the beginning of 2017 I read a report in the defunct Vice Games about an independent game that was being developed in Cuba. It was supposed to be ready the following year, but it actually took seven more years because making games is incredibly difficult and it’s even more so on that Caribbean island. Saviorless It finally came into my hands and – as you will see in this review – it is a very special title.

This game is being promoted as “the first indie game made in Cuba.” Although there are surely independent developers and teams there that made games before this one, Saviorless It is the first to officially leave that country. Although this is very interesting and deserves to be highlighted, this work shines with its own light regardless of its origin.

This is the story of a young man named Antar, who seeks a way to reach a legendary place known as The Smiling Islands. There he can become a ‘Savior’. But something has changed, the storytellers have lost control of this story and someone named Nento seeks a new destiny for the Islands and the Saviors.

Welcome to The Smiling Islands

Saviorless It is a 2D platform game. It is not a ‘metroidvania’, since its map is not interconnected. We go through several linear levels overcoming obstacles and puzzles in the style of games like Limbo e Inside while we slowly learn of an equally mysterious plot. Sometimes we have access to a character capable of fighting and we can face enemies that we previously had to avoid, but most of the time we will have to use our cunning and agility to get out alive.

Although these combats lack depth, they add variety to the game. Not that I need it much because the levels are very well designed. They offer a good number of different challenges that are solved by jumping, pushing objects and moving levers. Its difficulty increases little by little and in the last levels I had to move quickly between platforms with great precision.

After trying it for a few minutes, Saviorless It may seem like a ‘slow’ game. Although the main actions are jumping and evading enemies, we must do it with caution and calculated movements. The jump is something ‘heavy’ and we must get used to it. However, these are not defects. This type of movement is very well calculated for this type of experience. The sections with Nento and the Savior are faster and more action-packed, but with speed also comes some inaccuracy and chaos.

I should add that this is a short game that can be finished in about four hours, but it has an ace up its sleeve. Each level hides five pages and we have to put them all together if we want to see the true ending. If we don’t have them at the end of a phase, a certain character offers us the opportunity to return to the beginning of the level and play the whole thing again to look for them. In our first game, we will probably reject these offers, but after the credits it is worth starting over with that goal in mind and discovering a more satisfying ending to the tale of Antar and Nento.

Latin American art

Visually, Saviorless It is a true gem. The graphics are hand drawn with detailed and very deliberate animation. At times it seems like a cartoon, but not one with the Japanese or American style that we are used to, but with a more European tone.

Although the design of the protagonist Antar is somewhat simple (it is important that it is), the game stands out for the fantastic designs of enemies and creatures. Nento is an especially bizarre and attractive character, but the different variants of Saviors are not far behind. There is also some animated gore that convinces us of how brutal this world is despite its supposedly divine nature.

It is not difficult to discover that part of the visual inspiration of Saviorless It comes from Catholic iconography. It’s not something as direct as what he does Blasphemous, but there is definitely a commentary on religion here. In fact, it is a very thematically rich game that leaves a lot of room open to interpretation.

The story of Antar comes from the mouths of a group of seemingly divine Storytellers. They have the responsibility to always narrate things in the same way so that the story does not change. But inevitably things get out of control and the Villanesque Nento takes the opportunity to carve out a different destiny for himself.

The legendary Smiling Islands and the promise of the Saviors have religious as well as historical and political connotations. It is possible to read in a plot against those who seek to control the destiny of others, the deceptions of messianic leaders and crises of faith. These are ideas that fit with certain visions of Cuba, the country where it was made, but this game goes further. There is also a clear narrative about the nature of the stories and whether or not they should change over time. Saviorless invites to be analyzed in depth. He wants us to come up with our own theories about his events.

A Savior is born

Saviorless It is a fantastic game and a great example of the talent that exists in the Latin American industry. His art is marvelous and his narrative is intriguing. Although some may not appreciate the slow pace of its gameplay, I found it completely appropriate for the type of game it is and what it asks of its players. It’s the kind of game I want more people to know about so I can sit down and discuss its themes and meaning.

I hope that this work is a success and that its creators can continue making video games. It is clear that there is a lot of potential in the Cuban development scene and we want to see what more they can do.

Review made with a digital copy of Saviorless for Steam provided by Dear Villagers. The game is also available for PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch.