Birds Watching Review (PC)

When the world falls to molten ash and crimson dust, the birds will flutter forth and become the guardians of the apocalypse. Somewhere, somehow, a lone wolf will emerge from the shadows of a fallen empire and seek refuge beneath the wing of aviation. Society may crumble, and the fires may consume the lion’s share of humanity and the earth it once graced. But for one survivor, a flock of birds from afar will glide through the mist to play their role in the collapse. The birds, and the other winged specimen who shan’t be named.

Birds Watching is a short first-person psychological horror game that highlights the importance of wildlife in the wake of catastrophe. The experience, although condensed into a short sixty-minute journey, invites you, the last remaining human on earth, to step forth from the smokescreen of a fallen society and towards the apex of a mountainous region, where birds cloak the land as watchful servants and a darker, somewhat anthropomorphic presence looms in the balance. As the lonely soul in this short but oddly compelling tale, it falls to you to explore the mountaintops and catalog the birds, as well as unravel the secrets that orbit the sepia-drizzled apex as the fires scorch the world below. There’s a little more to it than that, but you get the idea. It’s bird watching with an eerie twist and a whole lot of sepia undertones.

In the fifty-plus minutes that Birds Watching keeps you behind the binoculars of an isolated castaway, you can accomplish a handful of things, most of which can be tackled with as little as the naked eye and the hope of becoming, well, a bird. Alone, and without the comfort of a populated world to guide you, you are given the chance to explore the cold yet eerily desolate landscape, where birds possess protective qualities and a seemingly beneficial animal companion tells you where to travel and, more importantly, how to stay afloat in a barren wasteland that houses no real value other than what’s left deep within the reserve. Again, it’s a pretty simple concept, and it doesn’t dive much deeper than a bog-standard bird watching sim. But, it’s what it does with its ashen world, that matters most here.

It begins with a small cabin and a simple task: catalog the birds. However, after you subject yourself to the simple art of bird watching, the world begins to unveil a darker secret. A cryptic message on your radio tells you that there’s an animalistic aura on the horizon, and that something lurks a lot closer than you think. Shortly after, a bird—your pet, weirdly—tells you that your only hope for surviving a peculiar fate is to befriend the other birds on the reserve. Herein lies the main problem: the birds hate human interaction, and they only choose to converse with folks who embrace their inner bird-like counterpart. From that, you have a simple, albeit disturbing ultimatum: allow the bird-like creature within you to take flight, or subdue your soul for the sake of catering to a grotesque menace that shadows your footsteps.

What takes place over a sixty-minute flight is a series of turbulent moments, some of which feel welcoming, some of which feel disturbing and highly unorthodox. Although there are multiple endings to knuckle in on and various dialogue options to work through, the goal remains the same: befriend the birds, even if it means losing the final grains of your human flesh to fool the winged angels into believing that you’re one of their own. It’s creepy, confusing, and honestly, a little dark. It isn’t just a bird watching simulator after all, then. Well, it is, but there’s another layer here that makes it just that little bleaker than you average cozy pastime.

Although the game itself leaves a fair amount to be desired and lot of blank canvases that would certainly benefit from a handful of additional features, Birds Watching does, thankfully, deliver a pretty solid gameplay experience and an all-round unsettling scene that manages to keep you high on your toes. It’s still a rather short game that doesn’t divulge much more than the bare necessities of a textbook catalog-centric sim, but for the record, it is a game that brings a couple of great ideas to the summit, including a sizable collection of birds to locate and document, a fairly large landscape with various boroughs to explore, and an unnerving climate that can keep you checking over your shoulder like clockwork from the moment you flee from the warmth of the cabin to the second you ascend the tallest peak. Could it be better? Absolutely. For an indie horror, though, it brings just enough to the table to make a lasting impression — and that’s exactly what I’m taking away from it.

Verdict

Birds Watching might not have the wingspan of a bald eagle or the flamboyant feathers of a peacock, but for a smaller bird that lacks a full flock to propel its wings and flaunt its tail, it does have a lot to offer, with a multi-path progression system, sepia-riddled landscape, and a sizable roster of birds to give it that little extra oomph. I won’t pretend that it’s the best psychological horror game on the summit, as it does sadly lack the depth and the audiovisual appeal of a modern thriller. That said, Birds Watching does capture the spooky essence of a barren world and the peculiarities of a desolate post-apocalyptic reserve, which in itself counts for a tremendous amount, truly.

If you’re looking for something a little different, then you might find just enough kookiness to scratch that itch of yours atop the mountainous world of Birds Watching. To echo, you shouldn’t expect anything that is even remotely perfect. Nevertheless, if you’re all for the idea of embracing your inner bird and taking a walk on the wild side, then you ought to consider flapping your wings to the beating drum or this post-apocalyptic rhythm.