Indie Journal 20 || Burden Street Station

„Life is an accumulation of moments“ is the first sentence we read. Every moment shapes us, creates an impact, produces value. What if that value isn’t limited to only ourself? If moments could turn into a resource for higher beings? How much value is left for us? How much is lost in the process?
These are questions we, a librarian whose job it is to organize these moments, don’t ask ourself. It’s our purpose to serve the greater good and harvest moments. Yet everything changes when a book arrives without a moment. That’s not possible, the celestials await their supply. We can’t fail.
A noble thought that poetically spirals into a mission to find a missing god.

Before we know it the nameless librarian and the empty book Memo, arrive at Burden Street Station. A dirty, messy city comes into our view. Void of any light or cohesive shapes. Shapes are also what we are made off. We start as a basic being but by talking to the locals we widen our horizon and extract moments. These moments turn into a shape, that makes us look as funky as it is useful. These moments contain a certain emotion which will help us in conversations.

That’s our main objective. Talk to people, notice how you affect each other and find any clues about the missing goods. On your way you encounter unique characters, each with their own sort of problems that won’t resolve with a simple chat. You need to understand them and stay persistent. They are a group of misfits seeking help from a being that doesn’t even have their own fit and is build through different shapes.
These conversations are a delight thanks to the quirky characters and their animated movements. This turns each conversation into its own canvas, oozing with paint and style. You get to choose how to respond and while there is a right answer you need to progress, it’s very humorous to pick some of the wrong answers. Cynical replies always made me chuckle as well as lines like „is it a bad time to ask you to pet me?“

The visuals look like something straight out of a dreamscape. Everything looks surreal with their shapes and vibrant colours. Structures that make no sense, seemingly random objects and paths that might not even lead anywhere. It made every new screen and every new conversation into a piece of art. Going through the screens felt like flicking through an art book.

As if that wasn’t enough to lead you through a dreamy place, the music plays familiar notes, which you’ve never heard before. Very few music pieces can make you feel nostalgic for something you haven’t experienced yet. It swings somewhere between sombre and jazzy, always filled with soul and passion.

Burden Street Station is a perfect example of why I love the indie scene so much. It shows me an experience that is hard to replicate because of how uniquely the single components get glued together. There is so much friction and passion in this game. It’s a game not everyone will find appealing but those who do, will find solace in it. I am happy to be in the latter group.