Dordogne

Lore & Background

The player controls a woman named Mimi who, in 2002, travels to Dordogne after her grandmother Nora's death. There, she attempts to recall her childhood through puzzles and minigames as Mimi relives her experiences with Nora as a preteen in the 1980s. The player can update Mimi's holiday scrapbook with mementos. The art style resembles watercolor paintings.

The game was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 13, 2023.

On Metacritic, Dordogne received positive reviews for Windows and PlayStation 4, and the Switch version received mixed reviews. Game Informer said it is 'like a charming French indie art film come to life'. Rock Paper Shotgun said the puzzles are simple, but it is 'a very sweet and tender coming of age tale'. Though they were disappointed by the narrative, Slant Magazine praised the art. Nintendo Life enjoyed the storytelling and the game's 'poetic expression', but they found some of the gameplay and performance on the Switch to be frustrating.

Reader's Guide

Dordogne stands as a notable entry in 2020s adventure gaming for its distinctive watercolor art style and its focus on memory and nostalgia. The game's structure—having an adult protagonist revisit childhood experiences through puzzles and scrapbooking—offers a reflective, personal narrative. Critical reception was generally positive, with particular praise for its artistic presentation and emotional tone, though opinions varied on the simplicity of its puzzles and the strength of its narrative. The mixed reception on Nintendo Switch, due to performance issues, highlights the challenges of porting visually rich games to hybrid hardware. Overall, Dordogne is recognized as a tender coming-of-age story that leverages its French setting and hand-painted aesthetic to create a unique atmospheric experience, even if its gameplay mechanics are straightforward.

Did You Know?

• The game's art style resembles watercolor paintings.
• The player controls a woman named Mimi who travels to Dordogne in 2002 after her grandmother Nora's death.
• The game was released on June 13, 2023, for multiple platforms including Windows and all major consoles.
• On Metacritic, the Windows and PlayStation 4 versions received positive reviews, while the Switch version received mixed reviews.