Storyteller - Review

How will you tell the story?

Console: Nintendo Switch 2

I came across Storyteller in a, for me, atypical fashion: YouTube shorts. I am not a social media guy, but I do have the bad habit of mindlessly scrolling YouTube before bed. I really need to stop that, but in this instance, it led me to something fun. Shorts by heyKipp playing this intriguing puzzle game all about creating stories. 

It's a game that looked like a lot of fun, but not a title I thought I would end up playing. It seems like just a Steam and mobile release to me. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my go-to console, the Switch 2, is the only console to have Storyteller. Not only did I luck out there, but it went on sale 2 days later. 

Well, if that's not the world saying 'go and play it', I don't know what is! So, without further ado, let's talk about it. 

Storyteller is presented as you, the player, flipping through an old book. At the end of the book lies a magical crown, bestowed upon the finest storytellers of the realm. Every page is empty, except for a title. Fill up all these pages with the most captivating of tales, and you will prove yourself worthy of the title of Storyteller and that crown!

This entire presentation, the 3D book you flip through, and the opening narration, were not what I expected. I noted the 2D, pencil-like art style in those YouTube Shorts, but I hadn't given a thought about how you got to each puzzle. Simple as it is, I find it a very fitting way to present the puzzles and give the package a little more pizzazz.

Just be aware: the narration only appears in the English version. If you switch over to another language, like German, there is no narrator to read the titles out loud (and clear his throat when you interrupt him). 

I'm impressed with this presentation, which actually wasn't the original look of the game. Storyteller is the brainchild of independent developer Daniel Benmergui, who worked on it since 2009. That early prototype, which was awarded the Independent Games Festival back in 2012, featured pixel art graphics. Personal troubles, however, caused Benmergui to give up on this prototype before eventually picking it back up again years later. With some help, the pixel art was replaced with a picture book aesthetic, and the game was completed. 

With that history lesson out of the way, how does Storyteller actually play? Well, you are given an objective, like 'Adam gets Eve killed', and a set of characters, locations, and a number of panels to achieve it in. Characters interact differently with each panel and each other, and depending on how the panel before it plays out. For example, a woman might shrug when she stands in front of a man’s gravestone, but if you made them meet in the panel before, she will cry instead. This way, you need to chain together a series of (often unfortunate) events to make your goal happen.

An example of an unsolved puzzle. Not quite right, now is it?

I really dig this core concept. It's a game that speaks to the storyteller in me with this 'create your own story, sort of' premise. True to its promise, the game is very open to solutions. For example, gay marriage is a thing, and when a specific character isn’t named, 9/10 it's up to you who plays that specific role. 

However, the game can also be frustratingly limiting. You think a wife would grieve her husband's death without explicitly establishing they are married, but that only works in certain chapters. This is an issue as you will find yourself creating scenarios that logically should work, but don't. This 'sometimes there are multiple solutions, sometimes not' is really annoying. 

I was also going to critique the, what initially seemed to be, small number of levels in this game. Then I learned that once you get the crown, 2 different types of new puzzles show up. One involving the devil in a 'mess things up' type of deal, and a slew of challenges in the stamps. Nice. 

That said, I do wish these stamps were a little less vague. I get that this is a puzzle game, but would it have been too much to ask for at least some sort of clue or hint on which level they can be earned? I guessed a good amount right, but I also spend time in levels trying to get a stamp, only learning it was the wrong one. That said, some stamps can be earned in multiple levels. Again, that inconsistency, even if I understand it better in this case.

One last remark before I wrap this up. I don't think Daniel Benmergui will push a Nintendo Switch 2 update for Storyteller, because why would it even be a priority, but there is a perfect opportunity for it. In handheld mode, you use the touchscreen to quickly drag and drop characters and scenes onto the panels.

In docked mode, you have to use button combinations to do the same. It's slow and clumsy, which makes it a poor way to play the game. With the Switch 2 Joycon's mouse mode you could feasibly control the game with the mouse, just like on Steam.

Conclusion

Storyteller is a quirky, charming, and memorable experiment. Its core premise of solving puzzles through stories caught my attention, and I was pleasantly surprised by its picture-book presentation, the larger number of puzzles than I expected, and its willingness to let you experiment with different outcomes. At the same time though, the logic behind these multiple solutions is inconsistent, and a few minor issues left me feeling there’s still untapped potential in this concept.

I’m glad to have played it, even if I suspect not everyone will be as drawn into its pages as I was.