A beautiful island sits abandoned in the ocean, strange machines jutting out from undergrowth. This is the setting for ROM, a wonderful, experimental experience.
Games are wonderful. Sometimes we find ourselves in worlds busy with words and stories, other times we find ourselves in experiences so action-packed that we can’t even stop to think. Then, there’s projects like Bincurl Games’ ROM. ROM has you explore the reaches of a small island experiment. Beacons litter the landscape and can be activated in various manners, with certain combinations resulting in a shift of season. It’s a beautiful game, too, with a lovely art-style and some really fantastic, atmospheric music.
I know that I normally grab and cover newer titles, scraping them off the top of the itch.io barrel before serving them up here. ROM has been around for a while now, however it has continually been served to me as a recommendation. It’s rare for a system like that to hit the nail so straight on the head, but it really did this time.
Even though it is only a short experience, ROM‘s world is an extraordinary one. The presence of old machines straddles the line between technology and magic, and the collision of technology (magic?) and nature is a stark contrast.
So, if you’ve got half an hour spare to become absorbed in a strangely poignant, artificial ecosystem, then there is really not a better one to get lost in at the moment.
ROM is available for free on Itch.io.
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