''The Wreck'' is a 2023
narrative adventure game by The Pixel Hunt. Players control a woman who attempts to process the events of a traumatic day while experiencing a repeating car wreck.
Gameplay
After Junon's estranged mother, Marie, suffers an
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...
, Junon discovers that Marie forged her signature and made Junon her
healthcare proxy
In the field of medicine, a healthcare proxy (commonly referred to as HCP) is a document (legal instrument) with which a patient (primary individual) appoints an agent to legally make healthcare decisions on behalf of the patient, when the patient ...
. As Junon discusses these emotional issues with her family and doctor, players can learn more about Junon's thoughts by clicking on words that represent Junon's
inner dialogue. Whenever Junon becomes emotionally overwhelmed during a conversation, she drives off in her car and gets into an accident; this same accident repeats throughout the game like a
time loop
The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby Character (arts), characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Time loops are co ...
that she is caught in. During the crash, objects fly loose and trigger interactive memories. Once Junon has processed these memories, she can repeat the difficult conversation and make better choices.
Development
The Pixel Hunt, a French video game studio based in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
based the premise of ''The Wreck'' on the anxieties their founder felt after a car accident that involved his daughter. They released it for Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and Switch on March 14, 2023. The iOS and Android versions were released on October 3, 2023, and are free-to-play with in-app purchases.
Reception
''
Rock Paper Shotgun
''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017.
History
''Rock Paper S ...
'' designated ''The Wreck'' as one of their favorite games of the year and called it "a wonderfully sensitive examination of grief, family, toxic relationships and personal discovery".
[ '']GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' recommended it to fans of video games with a strong narrative and said it left them with "a lasting impression". A month after its release on Steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
, it sold about a thousand copies, and it sold another thousand on other platforms.
It was nominated for excellence in narrative at the 2024 Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wreck, The
2023 video games
Windows games
PlayStation 4 games
PlayStation 5 games
Xbox One games
Xbox Series X and Series S games
Nintendo Switch games
iOS games
Android (operating system) games
Single-player video games
Indie games
Adventure games
Video games developed in France
Video games featuring female protagonists
Visual novels
The Pixel Hunt