Four Horsemen looks to explore what it’s like to be an immigrant teen learning the nuances and brutalities of life in a new land, dealing with the conflicting desires of wanting to fit it, preserving their heritage, or trying to be your own person.
And also the violence that comes with being an ‘unwanted’ stranger.
Four Horsemen follows four teens who are squatting in a WWII bunker, working to find their place in a world that makes it quite clear they aren’t wanted. These worlds can vary, as the game draws from twelve different homelands, each with their own vocabulary, culture, and prejudices that no one will make any attempt to teach you, forcing players to learn the hard way that their beliefs aren’t welcome. Players will have to read into what is acceptable in their country to fit in, assuming that’s what they want to do.
While dealing with the day-to-day challenges of just living in this world, players can also craft new items to spruce up the bunker, giving them a little break from events. However, it won’t be long before you’re back into the fray of living, possibly running into bigots who mean to do you harm as well. Players can choose to defuse these situations with words, but fighting is also possible. It just might not end well, as Four Horsemen means to take a more realistic look at violence. Also, decisions made in the game have realistic consequences that the player may not expect, so pulling a knife might not work out too well in a country that is looking for any reason to hate you.
Four Horsemen is an eye-opening, complex look at immigrant life, with choices that offer multiple ways of experiencing the challenges these teens face.
Four Horsemen is available for $ 15 on Itch.io and Steam. For more information on the game and developer Nuclear Fishin’ Software, you can head to the developer’s site or follow them on YouTube and Twitter.
