Behind Every Great One, originally created for Ludum Dare 42, has you exploring a relationship between two individuals; an artist and a stay-at-home women who is suffering from depression.
Your partner has just sold off a very expensive collection of his artwork and is now working on another, much bigger, project. You are happy for him and his accomplishments, but at the same time, life isn’t the easiest for you.
You see, you don’t have any hobbies you take pride in. You don’t currently have a job – there isn’t much need for you to have one. A lot of the time, your partner Gabriel suggests softly that you should do more housework. He seems to be a bit judgmental of your hobbies, but you describe reading or playing on your PC as just messing around.
He spends all of his time locked in a studio in the house you both share until it is time for dinner. Then, you talk about your day and wait to go to bed. Each night, he talks to you before bed. There, you have a bit more conversation – more privately, followed by your partner sometimes asking if you’re up for sex. Then, a new day begins.
You wake up alone. Thoughts of the chores you were asked to do the previous day still might ring in your mind. There are always so many things to do, but before you know it, dinner is being served and you are back in bed for the night. This keeps repeating until suddenly, Gabriel falls.
This fall puts his leg in a cast, unable to work on his projects anymore, and brings with it a tide of bad luck. Suddenly, his judgmental parents are staying with you both, your sister needs help, and each day you still can’t seem to do enough.
Moments seemingly meant for work become overwhelming. The screen shakes a bit, and you break down. Each day becomes more and more cumbersome. Everyone around your house leaves very little space for you to cry alone. More and more people are looking to give you their opinions – on your ability to cook, or how you look, or why you’re not having kids yet. All of these people, piled on with the chorus and issues you are already trying to sort through, eventually becomes too much.
Behind Every Great One does an extremely beautiful job of showing you all of the pressures this character is enduring – all of the small comments, aspects of work, and pressures amounting to a huge, uncontrollable issue. Each day feels heavy and burdened. The mental state that you are put in is clearly broken, and the game leaves you feeling connected to your character. You really understand what was going on.
Behind Every Great One can be played for free over on Itch.io.
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