I Mother descends on Steam

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Prehisotric adventure starring a Neanderthal woman available now for download on Windows and Mac

Lots of adventure games feature no words at all, but the newly released I Mother, from solo developer Adam Buczek of Hell Yeah!, has a better reason than most: it takes place before language was even invented. 

After having been injured on a woolly mammoth hunt and separated from her tribe, a Neanderthal woman must set out on an arduous journey all alone. She'll need to use her keen senses of sight, sound and touch in order to scavenge for food, water, and other resources to "avoid larger predators, create shelters, and most importantly, survive." She will have some help, however, from a most unexpected source. Along the way she'll be guided by symbols she doesn't understand at first. But as she begins to interpret their purpose, these "primitive drawings" reveal to her the "tasks, objectives, and ideas" required to succeed. In doing so, her quest stops being one merely of survival or even getting home, but rather evolves into "an exploration of how early humans connected, communicated, and passed on meaning." Her experiences during the day are then reflected in her surreal dreams each night, which become "an extension of that emotional journey ... transforming fears and memories into symbolic imagery" left open to interpretation.

At first glance, I Mother may seem like any traditional third-person 3D survival adventure with light action elements, including a bit of platforming and evading of dangerous animals. There are on-screen gauges for health, food and water, with clearly marked bushes nearby to forage for berries, ponds to drink from, and wood to collect for fires. In time, both the resources and the protagonist's abilities will increase as she begins to decipher the strange symbols she encounters. It's these markings that give the game an educational component, as they're inspired by real "archaeological sites dating back to 35,000 to 10,000 BCE, and based on the research of paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger." In a prehistoric world without maps, text or dialogue, "everything you see means something – but nothing will be explained," exactly as it would have been for our ancient ancestors themselves. In time, however, these symbols will start to form "the foundation of interaction, gradually building significance through association and interpretation." As that happens, the game's "unique navigation mimics real mind-mapping techniques, with memory and perception replacing traditional maps to guide the way forward."

If you're up for an unusual "artistic journey of experience and discovery" dating back many millennia, then don't say another word – just head on over to Steam, where I Mother is now available to download for Windows and Mac.