Two Falls – Nishu Takuatshina from Affordance Studio and Unreliable Narrators is a first-person narrative-driven experience that presents contrasting perspectives on French and Indigenous first encounters. Check our Two Falls – Nishu Takuatshina review!
Two Falls – Nishu Takuatshina from Affordance Studio and Unreliable Narrators is a first-person narrative-driven experience that presents contrasting perspectives on French and Indigenous first encounters. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness of the 17th century and places you in the dual roles of Maikan and Jeanne. Maikan is a young Innu hunter, while Jeanne is a Daughter of the King who finds herself stranded far from the safety of the colonies of Nouvelle-France. The Daughters of the King were unmarried, common-born women who were given a new lease on life by being recruited to marry colonists at Nouvelle-France in order to bear children and grow the population.
During the long journey there, Jeanne’s ship – the L’Intrépide – ran into some… issues. Jeanne and her dog – Capitaine – are the only survivors from the accident. She must now find a way to reach Quebec before it’s too late. Maikan is a young hunter-gatherer from an isolated Innu community and is the great-grandson of a medicine man. Maikan never got to know what life was like before the white men arrived. He’s worried about the decaying land of his people, so he sets out on a quest to try and find the source of this predicament to hopefully put a stop to things before his community suffers from the consequences. It’s definitely a very different situation from that of Jeanne, and it’s this duality that will offer you a pair of unique perspectives as you explore each location.
With the game being presented from a first-person perspective, that means you’ll be taking control of Jeanne and Maikan by using the left analog stick as you use the right analog stick to look around each protagonist’s current location. Press the L2 or R2 buttons to sprint. Interact by pressing the X button. This will allow you to interact with others, as well as with any items you find along the way. As you take on these interactions, you’ll sometimes be presented with different options for the next step that you’ll be taking.
You can press the Triangle to take a look at your current objective. Pressing the Touchpad on the DualSense will open up the Codex. From there, you can review information about the characters you’ve met, the locations you’re exploring, the local flora and fauna, as well as the history of it all. The entries will be different for Jeanne and Maikan, since each one will have their own point of view to offer, so be sure to check all entries to better understand the world of 1665 Nouvelle-France.
The game has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy waiting for you. The list is split into a single Silver trophy and 11 Gold trophies for you to work on. What are some of the objectives that you’ll need to complete to add that shiny Platinum trophy to your collection? Along with the trophies that will unlock as you complete each of the game’s different story chapters, there are also trophies for petting the dog, using the playing card you find during your journey, hearing a bullfrog croak, paying your respects, and giving a bone to Capitaine – that would be the aforementioned best boy.
Two Falls – Nishu Takuatshina is a first-person narrative-driven experience that presents contrasting perspectives on French and Indigenous first encounters. It takes place in the Canadian wilderness of the 17th century and places you in the dual roles of Maikan and Jeanne. Maikan is a young Innu hunter, while Jeanne is a Daughter of the King who finds herself stranded far from the safety of the colonies of Nouvelle-France. The Daughters of the King were unmarried, common-born women who were given a new lease on life by being recruited to marry colonists at Nouvelle-France in order to bear children and grow the population.
Some of the choices you’ll make during this journey will have an effect on each character’s growth, which will have an effect on their outlook on the world. This release was created by some individuals who come from different Native communities from Canada, and the developers also worked along with a Council of Elders composed of First Nations members, who advised on the overall story. Two Falls – Nishu Takuatshina is available on PlayStation 5.
Disclaimer
This Two Falls – Nishu Takuatshina review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Affordance Studio.
