Are you ready for a new narrative experience on Nintendo Switch? Then check out our Gerda: A Flame in Winter – Liva’s Story review!
After the excellent Gerda: A Flame in Winter, Bird Island (formerly known as PortaPlay) and DON’T NOD decided to go back and give us a new way of experiencing the from a different perspective thanks to the Liva’s Story DLC. And since this is a DLC release, that means you’ll need to own Gerda: A Flame in Winter on Nintendo Switch to be able to play Liva’s Story. On that note, Liva’s Story is available as a standalone journey that you can access from the main menu right away. While it’s not mandatory to complete Gerda: a Flame in Winter before being able to play through Liva’s Story, it’s certainly recommended so that you can get the best experience possible.
If you haven’t played Gerda: A Flame in Winter, which I got a chance to review on Nintendo’s console last year, it follows Gerda in a story inspired by real-life events during World War II. The DLC places you in the shoes of the titular Liva, the leader of a small group of Resistance members who has been forced to flee from Copenhagen and retreat to the small village of Tinglev. You’ll get to meet Liva and the Resistance members in her group early during your time with Gerda: A Flame in Winter.
The plan is to regroup, rework your strategy, and listen to your team members so that you can give it your all and hit the German army using sabotage, infiltration, spying… or other more dangerous and deadly endeavors. While Gerda had a more overall emphatic approach to the situation at hand, Liva is not afraid to use force and violence to get things done. It’s up to you to find the right balance between actions in search of justice and those that might be driven by a sense of anger with a dash of revenge.
As is the case for the main experience, you can play Liva’s Story either with the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, or by using the console’s touchscreen if playing in Portable or Tabletop Mode or if playing Liva’s Story on a Nintendo Switch Lite console. You can explore each location by using the left analog stick, interacting with objects and other characters with the A button. There are many choices to make along the way, and you’ll have to pay attention to how each one impacts your journey.
The choices you make and the way you react to each interaction will change how other characters feel about Liva and the plan she has for the small Resistance group she leads. Said choices will dictate with branching story paths open up for you, which means you won’t be able to see everything that Liva’s Story has to offer in a single go, since some dialogue choices and decisions will cancel out others.
Some choices you won’t be able to select right away since they will need a dice roll. What this means is the game will roll the dice behind the scenes to see if the action you want to perform or the answer you want to give to an interaction fails or not. Your current values for how each faction feels about you, as well as how individual characters feel about you, will also play a role. And on top of that, there are also some extra elements to consider. While Gerda had Compassion, Insight, and Wit, Liva favors Care, Duty, and Fury. Your actions will add or subtract points from these elements, sometimes locking you out of making some choices if you don’t have enough points.
If you enjoyed Gerda: A Flame in Winter, then getting the DLC should be a priority for you. It expands the story by giving us a closer look at things from a different perspective, offering some insight into Liva and her group of Resistance fighters who are trying to defeat the German Nazis, who are up to no good. How will your journey unravel based on the choices you make along the way? Liva’s Story is available as DLC for Gerda: A Flame in Winter with a $5.99 price tag. You can also get Gerda: A Flame in Winter – Modstand Bundle, which includes the main game as well as the DLC, saving you $2.50 in the process.
Disclaimer
This Gerda: A Flame in Winter – Liva’s Story review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by DON’T NOD.
