Bite-sized Review:
Rosewater

By Chris Picone, 28 March, 2025

I've played and loved every Grundislav game to date, so naturally for the last six years it's been in development, I've been looking forward to Rosewater's release with great anticipation.  

Aesthetics

Aesthetically, Rosewater is Grundislav's greatest achievement by far, leaps and bounds above his past titles, and indead head and shoulders over the majority of point and click games out there.  The landscapes are huge and detailed and although still very much pixel art, is presented in gorgeous high definition.  there are also plenty of passers-by and other little finishing touches that help make the world feel alive. Impressively - and more so for a game that boasts more than 50 characters - the entire game is fully voiced, and by a team of professionals that have done an outstanding job.  The rotoscoping means the animations are smooth and natural and there are also quite a few cutscenes that really enhance the whole game.

Gameplay

The story itself is solid, although dragged out. You're a small-town journalist that becomes involved in a hunt for a missing (believed dead) scientist on the other side of the country. For those who have played former Grundislav games, the scientist dabbles in aethericity, and was involved in the Lamplight City incident.  Rosewater is full of references to Lamplight City, although playing it definitely isn't necessary to enjoy Rosewater. During the journey you form a ragtag posse consisting of a Spanish rebel, an Indian healer, a Chinese gunhand, an all-American showman, a black stagecoach driver.  Thankfully, in spite of the cliche cast, each character feels very genuine and fleshed out, with their own motivations and personality shining through every step of the way.  The story is treated similarly, with every American Western trope appearing in the game at some point.  You'll meet religious fanatics, the Pinkertons (sorry - Blackburns), a community cult, oil prospectors, archaeologists, even the Tong.  While mostly interesting it can at times feel cliche and I felt the constant side-questing was a distraction from the real story, although many of your decisions during these seemingly irrelevant scenes would have an impact on your options in the later game.  I found many of the puzzles a little tedious; there's no pixel hunting or moon logic but the majority of the game's "puzzles" are shopping list fetch quests that often see you hitting every hot spot in an area multiple times waiting for something to trigger something else into becoming interactable. Having said that, there are also a few clue-based and exploration-based puzzles that were really well done and thoroughly enjoyable.

Verdict

Despite some of my misgivings in regard to the drawn-out nature of the story and the repetitive nature of many of the game's "puzzles," Rosewater is a solid title overall. It really does look and sound amazing and one of its greatest strengths is the replayability:  Although I found my first playthrough dragged out a bit, you could speed through in later runs to make the most of the game's multiple solutions and relationship-based scenes. 

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1226670/Rosewater/