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80 Days (2014 video game)

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80 Days
App Store icon
Developer(s)Inkle
Publisher(s)Inkle
Director(s)Joseph Humfrey
Jon Ingold
Artist(s)Jaume Illustration
Joseph Humfrey
Alan Dukes
Writer(s)Meg Jayanth
Jon Ingold
Composer(s)Laurence Chapman
Platform(s)iOS
Android
Windows
Mac
Nintendo Switch
ReleaseiOS
July 31, 2014
Android
December 15, 2014
Windows, Mac
September 29, 2015
Switch
October 1, 2019
Genre(s)Interactive fiction
Mode(s)Single-player

80 Days is an interactive fiction game developed and published by Inkle. for iOS on July 31, 2014,[1] and Android on December 15, 2014. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X on September 29, 2015.[2] It employs branching narrative storytelling, allowing the player to make choices that impact the plot.[3]

Gameplay and plot

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The player makes choices that impact the direction the story takes.

The plot is loosely based on Jules Verne's 1873 novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The year is 1872 and Monsieur Phileas Fogg has placed a wager at the Reform Club that he can circumnavigate the world in eighty days or less. The game follows the course of this adventure, as narrated by Phileas Fogg's manservant Passepartout, whose actions and decisions are controlled by the player.

After leaving London on an underwater train to Paris or a mail carriage to Cambridge, the player can choose their own route around the world, travelling from city to city. Each city and journey contains unique narrative content. The developers estimate that on one complete circumnavigation of the globe players will see approximately 2% of the game's 750,000 words of textual content.[4][5]

In their role as valet, the player must manage their finances, their master's health, and time, as well as buying and selling items in different markets around the globe. The choices made by the player in story sections can also have a large impact on how the journey proceeds.[6]

The game has several secrets, easter eggs and hidden endings, as well as several references to Verne's works, including Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and From the Earth to the Moon.[7] The game is partly inspired by the steampunk genre, featuring such elements as sapient mechanical transport, hovercraft, submersibles and a city that walks on four gigantic legs.

Reception

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The game received "generally favorable reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[8][9][10] Phill Cameron of The Daily Telegraph described the iOS version as "one of the finest examples of branching narrative yet created".[6] AppleNApps said of the same iOS version "The story is absolutely superb with the little twists, and nuances on the classic to keep you constantly engaged to press onwards."[23] Pocket Gamer said, "It's rich with ideas, brilliantly written, and creates a world that you'll want to visit over and over again."[17] Gamezebo said that the same iOS version "has a solid amount of depth to it, [and] a great story...It's a challenge – but an intelligent one."[12]

The iOS version was named as Time's 2014 Game of the Year.[24] Despite being a game, The Telegraph newspaper also named it as "one of the best novels of 2014".[25] The lead writer, Meg Jayanth, won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for her work on the project.[26]

The game received four BAFTA nominations in 2015, for Best British Game, Best Story, Best Mobile Game and Game Innovation.[27] It won the award for "Excellence in Narrative" at the 2015 IGF Awards, and was nominated for Excellence in Design and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, both of which went to Outer Wilds.[28][29] During the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated 80 Days for "Mobile Game of the Year".[30]

The game was featured in the British Library's Digital Storytelling Exhibit, 2023.[31]

It is (2023) listed as the #5 game in the Interactive Fiction Database Top 100.[32]

80 Days exhibited at the British Library's Digital Storytelling Exhibit in 2023

References

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  1. ^ "80 Days". App Store. Apple Inc. 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "80 DAYS is coming to PC and Mac on Sep 29th". Inkle. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "To The Pole - And Bring a Robot!". Inkle. December 5, 2014. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  4. ^ Todd Martens (August 30, 2014). "'80 Days': Jules Verne-inspired game brings a more global perspective". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  5. ^ "New adventures in 80 DAYS!". Inkle. September 17, 2015. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Phill Cameron (August 18, 2014). "80 Days review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.(subscription required)
  7. ^ "Tips and Tricks". IGN. Ziff Davis. August 19, 2014. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "80 Days for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "80 Days (2015) for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "80 DAYS for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  11. ^ Hope Corrigan (September 30, 2019). "80 Days Review - A Man And His Fogg (NS)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Carter Dotson (July 31, 2014). "80 Days Review: We're Going on an Adventure! (iOS)". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Mitch Dyer (December 4, 2014). "80 Days Review (iOS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  14. ^ Ollie Reynolds (October 2, 2019). "Mini Review: 80 Days - A Wordy But Wonderful Jaunt Around The Globe". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  15. ^ Joel A. DeWitte (October 21, 2019). "80 Days (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  16. ^ Andy Kelly (October 13, 2015). "80 Days review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Harry Slater (July 31, 2014). "80 Days". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Alana Hagues (September 29, 2015). "80 Days (PC)". RPGFan. Emerald Shield Media LLC. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  19. ^ John Tucker (July 31, 2014). "80 Days (iOS)". RPGFan. Emerald Shield Media LLC. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Shaun Musgrave (August 1, 2014). "'80 Days' Review – This Adventure Is More Than Just Hot Air". TouchArcade. TouchArcade.com, LLC. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  21. ^ Chad Sapieha (September 4, 2014). "Three iOS games that were able to get us through the summer". National Post. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Jed Pressgrove (October 1, 2015). "Review: 80 Days (PC)". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  23. ^ Trevor Sheridan (August 1, 2014). "80 Days - Embarking On A Wonderful Adventure". AppleNApps. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  24. ^ Matt Peckham (November 24, 2014). "Top 10 Video Games". Time. Time USA, LLC. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  25. ^ Tim Martin (November 23, 2014). "Christmas Books 2014: best fiction to read". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.(subscription required)
  26. ^ Administrator (January 19, 2015). "Writers' Guild Awards: winners announced". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  27. ^ "Nominees Announced for the British Academy Games Awards in 2015". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. February 10, 2015. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  28. ^ "2015 Independent Games Festival Announces Main Competition Finalists". Independent Games Festival. January 7, 2015. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "2015 Independent Games Festival Winners". Independent Games Festival. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  30. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details 80 Days". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  31. ^ "British Library". www.bl.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  32. ^ "IFDB Top 100" (archived), ifdb.org, 13 November 2023.
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