The Yawhg

Developer: Damian Sommer, Emily Carroll | Publisher: Damian Sommer | Release Date: 2013 | Genre: Indie / RPG | Website: N/A | Format: Digital Download

We are not quite sure what a “Yawhg” is, but according to the indie title by Damian Sommer and Emily Carrol, it is something terrifying. The game throws you into a situation where the arrival of The Yawhg is imminent, but your characters are blissfully unaware of the impending doom.

It all boils down to a type of choose-your-own-adventure game that lasts only six turns. Each turn is a week in-game time, and you can choose which of the eight locations you want to visit. Each location only offers a choice between two activities, but the outcomes depend on your stats. As the characters have no idea what will transpire, all their options consist of everyday activities such as hunting, chopping wood, landscaping, or boozing it up in the tavern. Depending on what transpires, your character may gain or lose points in stats such as physique, charm, and wealth. The stat points also influence the outcome of certain choices, so a character with high magic might be able to zap a ghost out of existence while everyone else will have to put up with it.

The game consists of only six turns, so it can basically be completed in less time than it takes to read this review. Usually, short games raise questions about value for money, but The Yawhg does have randomization in its favor. Because the game is so short, it is perfect for playing with a group of friends who might otherwise have no interest in gaming.

The charming artwork by Emily Carroll will help draw players into the fantasy world of The Yawhg, and the whole experience will be over before anyone has a chance to become bored. As there are more than 50 unique endings, the replay value is also relatively high, although we did encounter a lot of repeats during our time with the game.

The Yawhg has quite an ominous vibe, but there is also a surprising amount of humor. Most of the outcomes of your choices are pretty funny, which makes playing in a group so much fun. It’s hard not to laugh as your character gets a ton of stat points for doing something, while your friend might end up with a character afflicted with all kinds of misery. While technically you can “win” or “lose” the game, the focus is more on all the randomized events and how the outcomes affect the game world.

You can play the game alone, provided you take charge of two characters, but as we’ve mentioned, it improves immeasurably when enjoyed with a group. There are four different characters to choose from, and although there are no animations, the artwork is very good. If you are not familiar with the illustrations and comics by Emily Carrol, we strongly suggest you check out her website, with “His Face All Red “being our favorite. The game doesn’t discriminate, so the burly, bearded character is just as welcome to attend a ball at the palace as anyone else and has a nice picture to depict this act. The soundtrack is also very good, but you must read all the text yourself as there is no speech.

Despite how short the game is, we had a lot of fun with The Yawhg and can definitely recommend it if you regularly have friends over. Everyone can jump in and have fun because there is no need to explain what stuff like mana and hit points are. If you play on your own, there is still fun to be had, but it is not quite the same. It will take a while to discover all the endings, and despite some repetition, we did discover something new during every playthrough.

If you can appreciate a game that dares to be different and don’t have a problem spending most of your playtime reading, you should try The Yawhg. If you measure the value of a game based on its length instead of how entertaining it actually is, you might as well watch a YouTube video instead. The Yawhg is not the type of game that you play through once and then never again. Instead, return to it now and then to see what other mysteries it has to uncover.