Content warning: ‘Welcome To Elk’ presents a number of personal journeys that may be triggering to some players. Triple Topping handles each story with care and love and is done to educate players whilst doing justice to people’s experiences.
The game contains scenes including deaths and children experiencing murder. Alcohol abuse, sexual assault, prostitution, violence and offensive language.
Welcome to Elk is a biographical adventure set on an island like no other, where every character you encounter has a story to tell. From the weird and wonderful to the dark and desperate, all the tales on Elk are based on true stories of life on the less travelled road. You play as Frigg, a young carpenter trading their busy life in the city for an apprenticeship in a small town. When she arrives in Elk, Frigg worries that the slower pace of life will be boring (they don’t even have the internet), but quickly discovers nothing could be further from the truth!
Welcome To Elk is a story that personally stuck with me (Jake) for all the right reasons, from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
The characters are easy to get attached to, and you feel yourself rooting for them whilst playing. The protagonist in this story is Frigg, who arrives on the island where the first port of call is to head to the bar to meet the residents. Frigg will talk to all of the characters, and you’ll pick up information about each resident, as well as the island’s villain, Leeroy.
After fun and games with the village, the players returns home (a little intoxicated) before falling asleep. Frigg wakes up for their first day being a carpenter, but quickly learns that other tasks will always take precedence over the job at hand.
Over the next few days, players learn that the stories in every act, while are often very hard-hitting, are beautifully told and demonstrated by the developers. The stories are presented as little mini-games and sequences. After each act is complete, a small documentary begins with the real person telling their story. It’s very heartfelt, but heartbreaking when realising these are people’s realities.
Welcome To Elk has this way of drawing you in from the start, and it is an adventure that we recommend, but want to remind players to be aware of how hard-hitting the stories can be. It demonstrates the extremes that grief, mental health, and more can go – but they’re told in such a beautifully empathic and sympathetic way. Well done to Triple Topping for managing to approach these subjects with such care.
Features:
- Beautifully hand-drawn graphics that make you want to see more of the island
- Heartfelt but heartbreaking stories told in an empathic way
- Characters each with different personalities and traits
- Interactive island with items to search for with little backstories