Review: Strange Antiquities (Nintendo Switch)
Despite taking place almost entirely within a single shop, Strange Antiquities draws you thoroughly into its mysterious and intriguing world. You play as the apprentice of a store that trades in occult antiquities. While the owner is out investigating unusual phenomena plaguing the community, you are charged with successfully managing the shop in his absence.
Customers come into your shop with a problem. You have to find the item from your shop best suited to providing a solution. It is very rare that someone will come in knowing exactly the trinket they need. Instead, they’ll describe their issue and give you clues about what might help. You also have books and other resources available to you that you can use to research the different items at your disposal.
The artefacts you come across are gorgeously designed. They are drawn from various mythologies, folklore and stories, creating a vast and rich picture of the kind of world you live in. Your examination of each item not only covers what it looks like, but their material composition, the feel and smell of them, and even a sense of their vibe. Some have mysterious energies coming off them that you have to identify, some of which are only triggered by specific behaviours, like hiding them in darkness or holding them near a flame.
Your investigations are supported by texts that offer context for each piece. Descriptions will vary in terms of how obvious an item is. Some specify what material it is made of or what gemstone or rune it has on it. Others are more vague and you have to use other clues from supporting resources to help determine what you need. There are a handful of moments where there isn’t just one item that can offer a solution to someone, and which you choose will influence the course of the story.
Your shop shelves are sparsely stocked at the beginning of the game, making it fairly easy to figure out what they need in the early stages. Unlike other store management games, Strange Antiquities doesn’t have a financial component. Pleased customers show their gratitude by giving you new items for your shop, new pages for your book with additional information, and other papers you can use to investigate the mysteries of the community to find more objects and facts that allow your shop to thrive.
Strange Antiquities doesn’t suffer for its lack of financial management. There is more than enough going on without it, and removing it allows you to focus on all the minute and fascinating details of your ever-growing collection of supernatural objects, as well as the story developing around you.
With each person who visits your shop, you learn more about the world around you. You piece together the different threads of the dark mystery enveloping the town through comments people make when they visit and updates from your boss on the rare occasion he returns. Your sense of the community you sit at the heart of gets increasingly stronger, resulting in a real sense of tension when it is threatened by the looming supernatural.
The narrative ramps up to a climax that can conclude in a number of different ways. The ending options depend on some core choices you made throughout the game, with the final decision landing squarely at your feet. Strange Antiquities overall is incredibly well made, with a compelling story that really makes you feel the impact on your choice. The way that the entire story is described, but never seen beyond the suitably spooky designs of the artefacts and townsfolk, is incredibly effective, giving your imagination complete freedom to run wild.
A handy epilogue allows you one final day for any customers you didn’t meet during the narrative to pop by so that you don’t finish the game without having solved the mystery of every item in your store. This ensures a satisfying finish regardless of which ending you chose.
