First Stop — “El 39” Game Recommendation

Low-poly depiction of a city street. There's a bus with a "39" sign comming, the captions urge you, in spanish, to press E in order to signal the bus the stop. — (El 39, by Bohemian Productions. Image taken from the Steam store page.)

Will you find a way back home…?

It was a few months ago that I had the pleasure of interviewing Ramiro about the first outing of Bohemian Productions, a simple little narrative game called El 39. Being completely honest, it’s hard not to have a bit of a bias: both Ramiro and Lucas used to be classmates of mine. Very talented guys, and I think the result shows promise.

I’ve talked before about the apparent obsession indie horror has with PSX graphics. I still maintain that there’s an aesthetic, thematic appeal on display, far more than just nostalgic indulgence. I can easily see it on El 39. There’s nostalgia aplenty, yes, but the simplistic graphics convey a liminal, otherworldly tone to a very bizarre sequence of events, all elevated through wonderful ambiance and instrumentation.

Coming out of a party, our unnamed protagonist is tasked with arriving home. We have our finals tomorrow, you see. Being there and awake is a question of life and death. When the last bus on line 39 passes by without stopping for us, we’ll end up resorting to less conventional methods for coming back home.

We’re in a risky part of town, too. What could go wrong?

It’s a simple set-up with a simple premise. I can’t say the narrative itself is the strong suit of El 39. Rather, the game’s strong point resides in its beautiful atmosphere.

The initial scene presents a spectacular low-poly reconstruction of a Buenos Aires street. It’s easily recognizable and chock-full of references and in-jokes from the capital city. The layout is simplistic, but there’s a lot of detail in textures depicting the different facades of each building.

It’s very memorable, and the section stands out along with the ending scene for its stunning, recognizable visuals. That alone makes it an easy recommendation for a good taste of Argentine ambiance.

The middle half suffers a bit because of a less imaginative environment with repetitive texturing. Our travel from one point of the city to the other is made through subterranean means, which lends itself to plenty of dark tunnels.

A dark wall in a city street, with a guy resting against the wall mimicking a mural behind him. The caption says, in spanish: "With that guy there, there's no way I'm going." — (*El 39*, by Bohemian Productions. Taken from its Steam Store Page.)

There’s a certain level of interaction provided through simple spatial puzzles and basic navigation, but it tends to exhaust its welcome through prolonged sections of wandering about. The occasional use of voices and sounds adds to the atmosphere, but remains somewhat unexplained, giving it a detached feeling. Why does someone scream when I close this valve?

The use of a camera to document the place provides a bit more engagement with the sequence, but there isn’t a reason to partake in the picture-taking to begin with. It’s perfectly possible to just avoid using the camera as anything more than a lantern, which might end up misguiding the players towards lesser experiences.

None of these shortcomings should really be surprising. El 39 is, after all, a debut game from a new game-making duo, and it’s clearly been made with a lot of care. There’s a level of passion for recreating the urban life of Buenos Aires that shines through the rough edges. It’s really trying to connect with the more quotidian side of the Argentine experience. Maybe you’ll find it charming, but if my previous criticisms deter you, I can see why.

Here’s hoping that Bohemian Productions will continue on its endeavors. If the closing messages of El 39 are anything to go by, the best is yet to come. I’ll just have to make sure not to miss their next outing. I hear the last bus is about to stop by.

Here I go then. Otherwise, I’ll have to find a way through.

El 39 is available on Steam.

Author: Claribel M

Writer, narrative designer, journalist. Perpetually doing too much.

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Do not copy our content in whole to other websites. If you are reading this anywhere besides TheGeekiary.com, it has been stolen.
Read our policies before commenting. Be kind to each other.