This dark puzzler mixes Dredge-like atmosphere with Chants of Sennaar symbology
Thaumaturgy. Have you heard of it? Strange Antiquities is all about it. It’s to do with imbuing items with powers and using magic to change things, in a nutshell – then in the game, you sell them to local townsfolk. If you’re not a fan of weird, wonderful, and likely cursed items, turn back now.
I first began my foray into the occult retail life in Strange Horticulture, Bad Viking’s delightfully gloomy indie game from 2022, where you run a plant store in a Cumbrian town. The plants on offer are mostly poisonous and out of the ordinary, which sets the premise for both of the Strange games. While Antiquities is a sequel, they’re not directly related, and you can play it separately if you want. Whichever you play first, there are mysterious goings-on that you need to help unravel through talking to the locals and collecting clues in both games.
Strange Antiquities reprises your role as part-detective, part-shopkeep. You’re tasked with looking after the store for a few days while your boss goes off to do something super secret. The issue is that none of the odd items on the shelves are labeled, but you have a few books to help with symbology and gemstones. There’s a half-filled handbook that vaguely tells you what each item is, too. What are these four different pointed metal things? What’s that human heart-shaped curio? You have to find out.
Read the full story on Pocket Tactics: This dark puzzler mixes Dredge-like atmosphere with Chants of Sennaar symbology
Thaumaturgy. Have you heard of it? Strange Antiquities is all about it. It’s to do with imbuing items with powers and using magic to change things, in a nutshell – then in the game, you sell them to local townsfolk. If you’re not a fan of weird, wonderful, and likely cursed items, turn back now.…