Kona

turned out to be one of my favorite games. the atmosphere is amazing and the graphics has a specific style i really liked. the best games for people who likes relatively easy but engaging puzzles and a large lore.

That game was amazing! Le jeu était vraiment très bon! When I learned that the game was set in Québec, I immediatly switch to french and was agreably surprised by the voiceover from Guy Nadon. Amazing narator and its nice to have a game set in my native tongue once in a while.

this game is an absolute classic and one of my faves to sit back and run through. heads up achievements didnt work on steam deck. i had to move over to pc for those

This is one of those cases where a middle-thumbs would be nice. I recommend it for those that enjoy an atmospheric narrative-driven game. Or for those like me that played the sequel and want a little more story.

Pros:
+Nice winter weather effects, though obviously the sequel improved on this.
+Nice driving with realistic gear shifting. You drive around a lot in this game. The skidoo was cool too.
+Investigating houses was neat. Lots of stuff to find, from tools to loot to notes left by the inhabitants. The house layouts are very detailed and well thought-out.
+Monster actually looks scarier and better than in the sequel imho. Shame he's only there briefly.
+Journal is great, but fills too quickly and it doesn't open to new entries when you press when added. Sequel fixed this.
+I liked that you could keep ANY polaroid in the journal, dunno why they removed this in sequel.
+I think sanity is a good mechanic to have, though underused here and removed in sequel. There are so much potential for a variety of hallucinatory events you could create (in Kona 3?). However I recommend limiting recovery methods (drinking water is too easy), though game progress and relaxing by a fire is good. Interacting with NPCs could be another good way too.
+Map was fantastic, glad we could check it while driving. Fast-travel would be nice though.
+Couple fun surprises I honestly wasn't expecting!
+Voice acting in the original Quebecois french was top-notch. I recommend it with subtitles.
+I liked following tracks to find things, à la Witcher 3.
+Zero game breaking bugs, no crashes.

Neutrals (Things you may or may not like) :
~Some puzzles were a bit obtuse, but then again I don't like puzzles very much (unless they're imbedded in logic and realism). They're serviceable though and I only needed online help for one.
~Combat is actively discouraged; it's not that kinda game (even though you have guns). You actually get an achievement for dealing with enemies non-violently, or avoided altogether. Sets it apart from others in the genre.
~Advertises itself as a survival game, but lacks food and water meters. The only real threat is the cold, which acts the de-facto antagonist. Even so, I only died once to it and only cuz I went somewhere I needed a warmer coat. However, it focuses more on the story, don't expect any challenge aside from your patience.
~Some Achievements are a tedium and a couple require replaying the (linear) game in boring ways (e.g. not driving), if you care about that.
~Fire/rest/house spots are very close apart and you can easily get to each one in a moment's notice. On one hand, more time spent investigating. On the other, easier game.
~Has a lot of optional texts that tend to ramble on inanely and not be of much relevance to the story. You can just skip it, but one may like that kind of thing. Sequel's were more interesting.
~Ending is short and swiftly plops you right into the sequel.
~70s Quebecois culture! Vive le Québec! ⚜️

Cons :
-Game will often freeze out of nowhere (e.g. while driving) to load with a little wheel. This isn't a great way to handle an "openworld" game.
-Guns are buggy, can't be reloaded, sound bad and there are only two. You don't need to *use* them per-se, but they're required to progress.
-Inventory designed for gamepad use rather and mouse&keyboard (Shortcuts on d-pad not labeled 1-2-3-4) Sometimes bugged in car storage (name not matching with icon).
-Lotsa empty open space with not that much to find. I did enjoy a little treasure hunt I randomly stumbled upon though. Can get boring if you go out in the wilderness to explore.
-Weight limit uses an bar that is annoying. If you're full, you just can't pick up anything more, forcing you to temporarily drop an item. Better to just progressively slow you down. Also a backpack upgrade would have been nice.
-Only one enemy type (not counting boss). To be fair, the Penumbra games also had few enemies (like 1 or 2), but still, it would be nice to have more.
-Music was very short loops and got kinda annoying. Sequel also improved on this.
-Graphics look a bit dated for a 2017 game, though I believe it was the studio's 1st game, so it's to be expected. Design is fantastic and makes up for it.
-The strident sound and flashing visual from the frozen corpses made me think it was attacking my character's sanity so I stayed away from them for most of the game. This is not the case. I got stuck because of this poor design choice... I did figure it out but only by accident. It was really cool sequences though, shame they didn't bring this back in the sequel.
-Revisiting areas multiple times looking for progress items pushed game length longer than it normaly would be.

Conclusion:
This game is just brimming with imagination and neat ideas, some of which land and some which don't. Some mechanics (good & bad) were dropped in the sequel - maybe because they couldn't figure how to make them fun or weave it into it's different level design. I do believe the latter is superior and playing this one is optional to enjoying the story, but a good intro nonetheless.

I hope they'll make a 3rd game, which could improve previous entries' gameplay setpieces, while also doing it's own thing... I really felt like Carl Faubert's story wasn't quite over yet at the end of Kona 2... and exploring more of old-timey Quebec would be great.

Interesting detective walking sim. You get summoned to help in a case of vandalism by a store owner in Northern Quebec, but as soon as you arrive there, you find yourself alone, stuck in a town abandoned by everyone. As you struggle to survive the cold, you now have to find out what has happened with the town and how to get out of it.
The environments are quite beautiful, plenty of screenshot worthy opportunities. The soundtrack is decent, though you will mostly hear the same two songs for the majority of the game. But honestly, I never really got tired of them. The gameplay is very simple, as I said, it's mostly a walking sim, with some driving to get you places, and looking for clues to piece together the story. You have some very light survival elements, keeping yourself warm and sane, both of which are quite simple. As well as some light combat, all you fight are some easy to get rid of wolves at times. The story is pretty intriguing, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Piecing together different cases in the town and slowly getting to know the simple townsfolk who used to live there and their secrets was satisfying and enjoyable.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☑ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☑ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☑ 9
☐ 10

Kona is a first-person narrative adventure developed by Parabole and published by Parabole and Ravenscourt that delivers a slow, atmospheric descent into isolation, mystery, and the harsh beauty of Northern Canada. Set in October 1970, the game places you in the role of Carl Faubert, a private investigator sent to the remote area of Atamipek Lake to investigate a string of seemingly mundane acts of vandalism. Upon arrival, however, Faubert is greeted not by clients or suspects, but by a relentless blizzard and an eerie, abandoned settlement. From its opening moments, Kona establishes a strong sense of place, using the frozen wilderness and empty cabins to create a mood that is quietly unsettling rather than overtly frightening.
The narrative unfolds through exploration and observation rather than exposition-heavy dialogue. As you search deserted homes, vehicles, and forest paths, fragments of the town’s story reveal themselves through notes, environmental clues, and personal belongings left behind. This method of storytelling makes the mystery feel organic, as if you are uncovering the truth at your own pace rather than being led by the hand. A distinctive narrator frames events with a reflective, almost storybook tone, offering insight into Carl’s thoughts and gently guiding the player without undermining the sense of solitude. Over time, the investigation shifts from grounded detective work toward something more ambiguous and unsettling, blending psychological tension with hints of the supernatural.
Gameplay in Kona sits at an intersection between exploration, light survival mechanics, and puzzle-solving. The cold is a constant threat, forcing you to seek warmth from fireplaces, stoves, or vehicles, and adding an ever-present layer of tension to even simple journeys between locations. Managing resources like fuel and matches becomes essential, reinforcing the idea that the environment itself is one of your greatest adversaries. Occasional encounters with wildlife, particularly wolves, punctuate the quieter moments and remind you that danger can come suddenly and without warning. These systems are relatively simple, but they work effectively to support the game’s themes of vulnerability and isolation rather than distracting from them.
Visually and aurally, Kona excels at conveying atmosphere. Snow-covered landscapes stretch out in every direction, emphasizing both the beauty and emptiness of the setting, while interiors are cluttered with believable details that suggest lives interrupted rather than erased. The sound design is especially effective, with the howl of the wind, creaking wood, and distant, indistinct noises creating a constant sense of unease. The music, inspired by regional folk influences, adds emotional texture without overwhelming the experience, often fading into the background to let silence do the heavier work. Together, these elements create a world that feels convincingly cold, lonely, and indifferent to your presence.
Where Kona may divide players is in its pacing and narrative resolution. The deliberate, methodical progression encourages patience and contemplation, which can feel deeply immersive for those drawn to atmospheric storytelling but slow for players expecting more frequent action or clearer plot beats. As the story reaches its conclusion, some threads remain open to interpretation, prioritizing mood and thematic resonance over a neatly wrapped mystery. This approach reinforces the game’s introspective tone, though it may leave some players wanting firmer answers after investing time in the unfolding investigation.
Overall, Kona is a thoughtful and evocative indie experience that prioritizes atmosphere, setting, and slow-burn storytelling over conventional thrills. Its blend of detective fiction, survival elements, and psychological mystery creates a distinctive journey through a frozen landscape that feels both beautiful and oppressive. While it may not appeal to everyone, especially those seeking fast-paced gameplay or explicit horror, it offers a memorable and immersive experience for players who appreciate environmental storytelling and narratives that linger in the mind long after the final moments fade into the snow.
Rating: 8/10