Gerda: A Flame in Winter is Dontnod’s latest game, but it’s unlike anything the studio has put out before. It made its name off the back of Life is Strange and Tell Me Why, both magic-realism stories of ordinary teenagers who find themselves in ordinary circumstances, talking in hella cool slang and being as embarrassingly down with the kids as they are emotionally astute and painfully heart wrenching. Twin Mirror, though starring an older protagonist and badly hurt by the late switch from episodic to complete, follows the same formula. Even Vampyr and Remember Me, though both very different, share similar action roots and typically exciting video game stories. Gerda isn’t really like them either. It’s entirely unique, not just in Dontnod’s stable, but across gaming as a whole. It’s a brave risk, but after sitting with the game for a week as part of a hands-on preview, I’m unsure whether the risk will pay off.
