The Shivah Review

Shalom, friends! You know, one of the many things I love about independent games, regardless of their genre, is how they are so often obviously made without any desire to fit to standard storytelling templates or subject matter. This article is about one such little game.

The Shivah, created by game developer Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games, is a Rabbinical tale of murder, evil, regret, forgiveness, and salvation. And yes, you guessed it, you play as a Rabbi. This has to be a gaming first…seriously, name me another game in which the protagonist is a sworn man of the Torah.

I’ll be honest…upon reading the premise of this game the first time, I had quite a chuckle. The idea of a point and click game featuring a Manhattan Rabbi as the protagonist seemed to be more believable as a Penny Arcade parody poking fun at adventure games. But with $4.99 to blow, I said, “meh, why not?”

The Shivah’s protagonist, Rabbi Russell Stone, is not your run-of-the-mill tallis-clad neighborhood sage. Stone is one hell of a pissed off Meschugener, and more likely to hold you over the subway tracks by your shirt tie than counsel you on your Bar-Mitzvah preparation.

He’s bankrupt, surly, depressed, and needs a serious Chutzpah restoration; he’s a man who may not be ready to give up on his faith, but may be ready to give up on his people. His heart is in the right place (…or not, depending on how you play the game), but he is not afraid to pop you in the mouth if you’re asking for trouble.

The Shivah is short…very short. It might not take you more than an hour to finish if you click through the conversations, forsake the exploration, and don’t get snagged on the various “e-mail” puzzles the game features. That said, the game is highly enjoyable, regardless of how many minutes or hours you end up logging on it, and with three different endings, and a multitude of different conversation stems, the game has a significant replay value.

Now, truthfully, as a non-religious and not particularly spiritual twenty-something, whose closest encounters to Judaism have been a baker’s dozen of Bat/Bar-Mitzvahs and recurring fantasies of Natalie Portman, it wouldn’t make sense for this game to touch me in any personal or significant way. Yet it did. Not in some grand epiphany-invoking way that made me reconsider my spiritual identity, but in the sense that The Shivah very earnestly and aptly examines topics of faith, belonging, integrity, and some fairly taboo aspects of modern religion.

I have some more to say about this, but frankly, I’m worried it will bore you, so feel free to skip the following handily demarcated section.

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Seriously though, this game did get me thinking a bit. As someone who has been in the ethnic majority of all the places he has lived, and someone who has made himself aloof to most cultural traditions (be they of the majority or the minority) I’ve always felt intrigued yet simultaneously disassociated with various traditions and beliefs that many people regard as important in their lives.

For quite some time, I simply didn’t get why people of any common group, belief, background, or creed tended to band together. I personally fashioned myself as a cultural nomad, with no allegiances to any sect, spirituality, belief, or tradition. In what was perhaps a somewhat cynical perspective, I regarded the joining together of people of similar backgrounds to be more of a symbol of xenophobia and a human desire for exclusivity.

After playing through The Shivah, however, I now have a different perspective on this tendency for people of like-backgrounds to band together. These bonds are perhaps formed not so much from a desire of exclusivity, as I had once thought, but rather out of a desire for unity, community, and for cultural preservation; for the sake of holding on to something that they deem beautiful.

One of The Shivah’s recurring themes is the smallness of the world’s Jewish population, and the paradox that is Judaism’s profound impact on world history combined with the threat of its cultural “extinction.”

The world is on the move to globalize and homogenize. We talk about diversity but profit more from a people who share a mono-cultural background and belief system. Concessions can be made by minority groups to integrate themselves into the majority and thus ensure their continuity as a people, but at what cost? Should these concessions be made, or should cultural preservation be the number one priority? The Shivah addresses these issues very thoughtfully and eloquently.

OK. Now back to the game stuff.

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Philosophical ramblings aside, The Shivah is an interesting game that deserves to be played, and one that you deserve to experience. It feels home-made (and it is), but that suits the game just fine. Creator Dave Gilbert utilized the freeware AGS (Adventure Game Studios) in making the game, which is aesthetically reminiscent of early Sierra games such as King’s Quest or Lucasarts’ infamous SCUMM engine.

Maybe the visual nostalgia factor contributed to making the game even more enjoyable for me, so gamers who won’t accept anything less than 2.5D, take warning: you might feel a little under-stimulated when playing The Shivah. Even so, I recommend you at least try the demo. I think you’ll find it worth the time.

This goy truly enjoyed this unique, bizarre, and retro throwback of a game experience. Be a mentsh and check out the demo on Wadjet Eye Games’ official site

http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/.

Oy Vey I’m shvitsn…I’mma play games now, bye.