Genre: Classic Adventure
Release date: February 8, 2017

All your life you have wanted to go to sea, just like your father. All your life you have been studying and learning as best you can. Then came the exam. 

Then came the letter. You made it! The Institute chose you over all the others to be its marine biologist. The ship is waiting. All that is left is to say your goodbyes -– to friends, to family, to childhood.

Leaving Lyndow is a short, classic adventure game from the Eastshade universe. Danny Weinbaum took some time off from developing Eastshade to create this game from some of the completed material. It does not use the same game mechanics as Eastshade and is intended to stand by itself.

The environment is beautiful. The story takes place in and around a small fantasy village.  The people there are not quite human, but close enough that you can relate to them. It is an open world where you can walk all over and do things in the order you wish.

The background music is lovely.  It includes piano and violin. I found myself occasionally stopping just to listen, which is OK as there is nothing chasing you and no clock breathing down your neck.

The puzzles are fair and simple. However, there is one audio puzzle where you have to play a tune you hear -– easy if you have perfect pitch, impossible if you are tone deaf. I fall somewhere in between and can usually tell which of two notes is higher.  That was enough to get me through. But it would have been much better if Danny had allowed for a written clue and well as the audio.

The game is short – you should be able to complete it within an hour. But it is also inexpensive for a PC game – just under $4.  Basically, it is a teaser for Eastshade.  I would recommend checking out both games – Leaving Lyndow on Steam  and Eastshade on its website. 

+ Beautiful environment + Fair puzzles + Inexpensive – One audio puzzle that cannot be bypassed