Closer the Distance review: A story of grief that falls at the last hurdle
Back in June, I was lucky enough to preview the demo of Closer the Distance, an upcoming slice-of-life sim from Osmotic Studios.
It was here I fell in love with the story which told the story of the connections between those left behind following a tragic loss.
Set in a town made for leaving called Yesterby, we follow the residents following the death of one of its own, Angie. Over the course of the game, Angie is able to make contact with some of those left behind, granting her the ability to influence them and comfort them during a time of need.
Whether it is her little sister Conny, local doctor Galya, boyfriend Zek or best friend River, we as the player are able to step into their shoes and serve as their guardian in the weeks following Angie’s death.
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It is here we are able to check their needs and wishes and tie up some loose ends left behind all whilst trying our hardest to repair the connections that have frayed during the grieving process.
It is the characters that carry Closer the Distance with many of them offering a representation of the stages of grief.
Zek is angry due to losing both his mother and now his girlfriend and wishes to leave the town he feels like a ghost in.
Conny is in denial and is sure her sister is still here and can never leave. However, she is also burdened with the legacy her sister has left her; to protect the people of Yesterby and resolve the conflict that slowly lurks underneath the peaceful town.
We also meet Conny and Angie’s parents who are deep in their grief, Galya’s girlfriend Leigh who is struggling herself but is scared to speak out when everybody else is mourning and even Henrietta, the eldest in the town who stays to herself.
Some characters make more of an impact than others and there are some that I wish had more of a voice. Although we were not able to control every character, I wish their existence still had some relevance in the game and they didn’t feel like such two dimensional characters.
Gameplay is pretty straightforward and much like in The Sims, you control your character’s day whether that means heading to the fridge for a snack or asking someone to hang out.
You will also be given objectives that you can choose to attempt but some of them are time-gated and can be failed.
As a result of this, each playthrough will be unique as you will have to put away time to complete certain objectives whilst abandoning others.
In my playthrough, Leigh and her son Bohdi eventually left town for a while but I believe this was because I didn’t complete the objective of spending more time with her as Galya. Perhaps she would have stayed if I had but I ran out of time due to Galya’s other commitments and needs.
The artstyle in Closer the Distance is simple yet beautiful with the town of Yesterby feeling alive with warm colours, a swaying breeze and the ramshackle houses designed uniquely yet fitting to the people who lived within them.
So you may be wondering why I feel as though Closer the Distance fell at the last hurdle.
There were two major issues I had with the game: its voice acting and its slow ending.
Out of its fourteen characters, some of the voice acting felt a bit stiff and took away from the dialogue which can be heavy and grief-ridden.
However, there are some standouts such as Conny’s mum, Pia, who broke my heart with her monologues about her lost daughter.
More than my minor issues with voice acting, Closer the Distance let me down the closer we got to the end.
As the game comes to its conclusion, Angie will soon start severing her connection with Yesterby’s residents, meaning we are no longer able to control them.
As a result, there are several in-game days where you are unable to do anything but fast forward time and wait for something to happen.
I had completed all objectives and only had control over two characters whose stories had almost ended so I quite literally had nothing to do which disappointingly ruined the pacing of the game.
You knew it was coming to an end but it got to the stage where I wanted to end to come quicker so that I had something to do which is not how I wanted my experience with Closer the Distance to turn out.
However, the very ending managed to pull me back as it focused on the story of Conny and Angie and how the sisters had to eventually let go.
As someone who has experienced grief quite a lot in my lifetime, moments like this will always resonate deeply and also serve as a reminder that pain is part of being human and is something that connects us all.
The ending scenes are set against a beautiful soundtrack that is almost carried away in the wind as we say goodbye to the presence that has been our constant companion during the events of Closer the Distance.
Overall, my experience with this upcoming life-sim was a mostly positive experience.
I appreciated the focus on grief and how it can affect a small town such as Yesterby. How it can turn into anger, sadness, bargaining, denial. The way it can creep under your skin in ways you don’t expect and influence every aspect of your life.
The close-knit community and setting made the grief feel all the more suffocating and as the player, you try your hardest to inject hope back into the world. Whether that means bringing fading relationships back to life, giving someone a purpose again or just being the quiet presence that somebody needs.
Despite my issues, I believe Closer the Distance is a title that should be experienced for yourself as your story may turn out different to mine.
Pros: Heartbreaking narrative, simple yet beautiful art-style, fun Sims-like gameplay
Cons: Voice acting could be a bit off, ending felt disjointed
For fans of: The Sims, Midnight Mass
Score: 6/10: Good
Closer the Distance will be available on 2 August on PC (version tested), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. A code for review was supplied by the publisher. Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.
Topics: Indie Games, Reviews